Court Networks, Luxury Arts, and Traveling Artists in Northern Italy, 1430–1490
Stephen Campbell, professor of art history at Johns Hopkins University, explores how the circulation of artists and works of art in the Italian Peninsula complicates traditional and current notions of early Renaissance art centered on Florence and Venice, and the taxonomies of regional style. Campbell suggests a counter-geography incorporating cities such as Padua, Camerino, and Naples.
Thursday, May 14, 7:00 p.m
Getty Center: Museum Lecture Hall
Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts
March 31–June 21, 2015Getty Center
The Renaissance courts of northern Italy, among the wealthiest and most sophisticated in Europe, attracted innovative artists who created objects of remarkable beauty. Princes and courtiers offered painters and illuminators favorable contracts and social prestige in return for lavishly decorated panels and books. These works prominently displayed their owners' scholarly learning, religious devotion, and elite status. Drawn primarily from the Getty Museum's permanent collection of manuscripts, this exhibition celebrates the magnificent illuminations that emerged from this courtly context—an array of visual riches fit for the highest-ranking members of Renaissance society.
Accompanying the show is an online virtual exhibition, produced in collaboration with institutions in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice, and Verona, that allows visitors to view additional illuminated manuscripts by artists active in the northern Italian courts as well as items owned by various patrons who lived there.
RELATED EVENTS
A variety of special programs complement the exhibition. All events are free, unless otherwise noted. Seating reservations are required. For reservations and information, please call (310) 440-7300 or see information on planning a visit.
TALK
COURSES
Magnificence and Minerality: Art and Wine from Northern Italy
Enjoy the perfect pairing of art and wine from northern Italy with curator Bryan Keene and certified sommelier and Cicerone Mark Mark Botieff. Participants tour the exhibition Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Court, explore art history and wine production, and savor delectable wines from the Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Veneto regions.
Course fee $65. Complimentary parking.
Saturday, April 11, 1:00–4:30 p.m.
Repeats Saturday, June 13.
Getty Center: Boardroom
Learn more about this program and buy tickets
A Renaissance in Dining: Culture and Cuisine of the Northern Italian Courts
Explore the majesty of Renaissance art, culture and cuisine from the courts of Northern Italy with museum educator and chef Nancy DeLucia Real in this hands-on culinary workshop. Participants tour the exhibition, discover period dining practices, and prepare a meal highlighting historic recipes and ingredients.
Course fee $85. Complimentary parking.
Thursday, May 14, 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Repeats Friday, May 15.
Getty Center: Private Dining Room
Learn more about this program and buy tickets
TOURS
Curator’s Gallery Tour
Christopher Platts, co-curator of the exhibition, leads a gallery tour of the exhibition. Meet under the stairs in the Museum Entrance Hall.
Wednesday, April 15, 2:30 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Galleries
Curator’s Gallery Tour
Bryan Keene, assistant curator of manuscripts, the J. Paul Getty Museum, leads a gallery tour of the exhibition. Meet under the stairs in the Museum Entrance Hall.
Wednesday, May 27, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 10, 2:30 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Galleries
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

Explore illuminated manuscripts and other works by artists active in the northern Italian courts. View the online virtual exhibition, produced in collaboration with institutions in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice, and Verona.
MOBILE TOUR
Free GettyGuide® Multimedia Player
Video

Making Manuscripts
Learn how illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance were made in this short video.

The Structure of a Medieval Manuscript
Discover how Medieval manucripts were created and assembled in this short video.
PUBLICATIONS
Publications are available in the Getty Museum Store, by calling (310) 440-7333, or online.

Italian Illuminated Manuscripts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Second Edition
Thomas Kren and Kurt Barstow
(Paperback, $19.95)

The Knightly Art of Battle
Ken Mondschein
(Paperback, $14.95)

Gardens of the Renaissance
Bryan C. Keene
(Hardcover, $9.98)

Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance
Edited by Christine Sciacca, with essays by Bryan C. Keene
(Hardcover, $65)
Exhibition Checklist
Download the illustrated exhibition checklist PDF (6 PP, 1.49 MB).
Gallery Text
Read and download the gallery text that accompanies this exhibition in PDF (5 PP, 1.2 MB).