#pierodicosimo

The Young Saint John the Baptist, Piero di Cosimo, ca. 1480–82, European Paintings

The Bequest of Michael Dreicer, 1921 Size: 11 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (29.2 x 23.5 cm) Medium: Tempera and oil on wood

Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Saint Cecilia, and Angels, Piero di Cosimo, 1500, Art Institute of Chicago: European Painting and Sculpture

One of the most imaginative and unorthodox artists in Renaissance Florence, Piero di Cosimo, like many painters, came under the spell of Leonardo da Vinci. In their dense grouping and shadowy presentation, the figures in this work reflect the "dark manner" of that famous older master. Gathered around the Virgin and Child are a pair of wingless angels and two saints—John the Baptist, who eagerly offers plums to Christ, and Cecilia, who holds a sheet with musical notations and appears to be singing to him. Both gestures are unusual for a painting of this period. Round pictures, or tondi, were typically created for the bedroom of a wealthy patron (circular frames were very expensive) and usually celebrated the birth of a child—in this case, perhaps to a woman named Cecilia. Lacy Armour Fund Size: Diameter: 75 cm Medium: Oil on poplar panel

Portraits of Giuliano and Francesco Giamberti da Sangallo by Piero di Cosimo, Museum of the Netherlands

This exceptional diptych shows the leading Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo and his recently deceased father Francesco, who was an architect as well as a musician. These are among the earliest portraits to characterize their sitters by profession: a pen and compass allude to architecture, the sheet music to music. Both disciplines are based on notions of harmony and proportion.

The Young Saint John the Baptist, Piero di Cosimo, ca. 1480–82, European Paintings

The Bequest of Michael Dreicer, 1921 Size: 11 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (29.2 x 23.5 cm) Medium: Tempera and oil on wood

A Hunting Scene, Piero di Cosimo, ca. 1494–1500, European Paintings

Gift of Robert Gordon, 1875 Size: 27 3/4 x 66 3/4 in. (70.5 x 169.5 cm) Medium: Tempera and oil transferred to Masonite

The Young Saint John the Baptist by Piero di Cosimo, European Paintings

The Bequest of Michael Dreicer, 1921 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Tempera and oil on wood