Visiting The Met? The Temple of Dendur will be closed Sunday, April 27 through Friday, May 9. The Met Fifth Avenue will be closed Monday, May 5.

Learn more
A composite image featuring renaissance portrait paintings with partially obscured faces, set against a countryside backdrop, titled "hidden faces: covered portraits of the renaissance.
Exhibition

Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance

House Altarpiece, Oil and gold on wood; metal fixtures, German
German
ca. 1490
The Lamentation of Christ, Simon Marmion  French, Oil and tempera (?) on oak panel
Simon Marmion
ca. 1473
Bronze box mirror, Bronze, Greek
Greek
2nd quarter of the 4th century BCE
Gold aureus of Augustus, Gold, Roman
Roman
20–19 BCE
Gold aureus of Diocletian, Gold, Roman
Roman
293 CE
Portrait medal of Cecilia Gonzaga (obverse); Innocence and a Unicorn in a Moonlit Landscape (reverse), Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)  Italian, Bronze (copper alloy with warm brown patina under a worn layer of black wax)
Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)
model 1447 (old aftercast)
Portrait medal of Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (obverse); A Pelican (reverse), Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)  Italian, Bronze (yellowish copper alloy with brown patina and traces of black lacquer or wax)
Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)
model 1446–47 (possibly cast 15th or 16th century)
Portrait medal of Paolo Giovio (obverse); Giovio Raising a Man from a Grave (reverse), Francesco da Sangallo  Italian, Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina<br/>under a layer of dark wax.)
Francesco da Sangallo
model ca. 1552 (probably a later cast)
Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486), Rogier van der Weyden  Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Rogier van der Weyden
ca. 1460
Portrait of a Man with an Open Book (Guillaume Fillastre?) (recto); Branch of Holly and Inscription (verso), Rogier van der Weyden  Netherlandish, Oil on oak panel
Rogier van der Weyden
1430s?
Johann von Rückingen (recto); Wild Man with von Rückingen Coat of Arms (verso), Wolfgang Beurer  German, Oil on wood panel
Wolfgang Beurer
1487
Friedrich Faut von Monsperg (recto); Faut von Monsperg Coat of Arms (verso), German , Frankfurt(?), Oil on walnut panel, German
German
1485
15A Portrait: Heinrich zum Jungen (recto); Inscriptions (verso)
15B Cover with zum Jungen Coat of Arms (recto); Vine Scroll Decoration (verso), German , Frankfurt(?), Portrait: mixed media(?) on parchment, laid down on spruce panel<br/>Cover: distemper on canvas, laid down on wood panel, German
German
1477
Portrait Cover with a Wild Man (recto); Inscription (verso), Jakob Elsner  German, Oil on limewood panel
Jakob Elsner
1497
Portrait of a Man (recto); Flowers in a Vase (verso), Hans Memling  Netherlandish, Oil on panel
Hans Memling
ca. 1485
Allegory of Chastity (cover for a lost portrait?), Hans Memling  Netherlandish, Oil on oak panel
Hans Memling
1479-1480
Young Woman with a Pink, Hans Memling and Workshop Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Hans Memling
ca. 1485–90
Portrait of a Boy (recto); painted porphyry (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)  Italian, Tempera and oil on wood panel
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1475-80
Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck, Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)  Italian, Oil on wood; verso: oil and gold on wood
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1485–95
Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)  Italian, Oil on wood; (verso: oil and gold on wood)
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1485–95
Dialogo dell'Imprese Militari et Amorose, Gabriel Symeoni  Italian, Woodcut
Multiple artists/makers
1574
Book Case, Leather (Cuir bouilli), Italian (?)
Italian (?)
15th century
Portrait of a Man (possibly Pietro Bembo) (recto); inscription with a Verse by Horace and Tied Laurel Branches (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)  Italian, Tempera and oil on wood panel
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1475-97
Portrait of a Lady (recto); Pseudo-marble with Inscription (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)  Italian, Oil on wood, Italian, Venice
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
1470s
Portrait of a Man (Giulio Mellini?) (recto); Allegorical Landscape (verso), Unknown, Oil on wood panel
Unknown
1492-1507
Portrait of a Woman (La Monaca), Ridolfo Ghirlandaio  Italian, Oil on wood panel
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
ca. 1510
Cover with a Mask, Grotteschi, and Inscription, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio  Italian, Oil on panel
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
ca. 1510
Portrait of a Young Woman (recto); Laurel Wreath, Shield, Ornamental Ribbons, and Poetic Inscriptions (verso), Agnolo del Mazziere  Italian, Oil on poplar panel
Agnolo del Mazziere
ca. 1485-1490
Portrait of a Woman, Lorenzo Lotto  Italian, Oil on wood panel
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Cover with an Allegory, Lorenzo Lotto  Italian, Oil on panel, Italian, Venice
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Cover with an Allegory, Lorenzo Lotto  Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian, Venice
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Medal of Bernardo de Rossi, Francesco Francia  Italian, Bronze (Copper alloy with an olive<br/>green to brown patina.)
Francesco Francia
ca. 1520 (possibly cast seventeenth century)
Two Satyrs in a Landscape, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)  Italian, Pen and brown ink, highlighted with white gouache on fine, off-white laid paper
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1505–10
Cupid and the Wheel of Fortune, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)  Italian, Oil on canvas, Italian, Venice
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1515-1520
The Triumph of Love, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)  Italian, Oil on canvas, mounted on panel
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1545
Livret Emblemes de maistre Andre Alciati, Andrea Alciato  Italian, woodcut
Andrea Alciato
Chrestien Wechel
1536
Jakob Stralenberger, Martin Kaldenbach  German, Oil on linden panel
Martin Kaldenbach
1506
Sliding Cover with Stralenberg Coat of Arms, Martin Kaldenbach  German, Oil on linden panel
Martin Kaldenbach
1506
Manuscript Leaf with Coat of Arms, from a Book of Hours, Tempera, ink, and shell gold on parchment, Netherlandish
Netherlandish
ca. 1500
Coat of Arms with a Skull, Albrecht Dürer  German, Engraving
Albrecht Dürer
1503
Portrait of a Young Man; (reverse) Girl Making a Garland, Hans Süss von Kulmbach  German, Oil on poplar
Hans Süss von Kulmbach
ca. 1508
Portrait of a Man with a Rosary, Lucas Cranach the Elder  German, Oil on oak
Lucas Cranach the Elder
ca. 1508
Margarethe Vöhlin (recto); Vöhlin Coat of Arms (versos), Bernhard Strigel  German, Oil on linden panel, poplar frame, German
Bernhard Strigel
1527
Hans Roth (recto); Roth Coat of Arms (verso), Bernhard Strigel  German, Oil on linden panel, poplar frame, German
Bernhard Strigel
1527
Portrait of a Woman; Sliding Portrait Cover with Inscription, Ludger tom Ring the Younger  German, Oil on copper panel, wood cover
Ludger tom Ring the Younger
ca. 1560
Allegory of Virtue, Lucas Cranach the Younger  German, Oil on poplar panel
Lucas Cranach the Younger
1548
Tabernacle mirror frame, Unknown, Walnut, Italian, Florence(?)
Unknown
1540–60
Martin Luther and Katharine von Bora, Lucas Cranach the Elder  German, Oil on wood panel, German
Lucas Cranach the Elder
1525
Portrait of a Man in Royal Livery, Hans Holbein the Younger  German, Oil and gold on parchment, laid down on linden
Hans Holbein the Younger
1532–35
Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony; Cover with a Centaur, Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)  German, Wood, pearwood; canister bottom: walnut, partially painted
Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)
1525
Anna Rasper or Anna Dornle (?); Cover with a Siren, Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)  German, Portrait: wood, pearwood; canister bottom: walnut partially painted
Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)
1525
Coin Box (Schraubtaler) of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel: Wild Man and Portrait of Ferdinand II (obverse); Portrait of a Lady (interior), German, Coins: silver; portrait: gouache on vellum (?), German
German
1604
Portrait of a Woman, Lavinia Fontana  Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian
Lavinia Fontana
Portrait of a Man, Lavinia Fontana  Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian
Lavinia Fontana
Portrait of a gentleman, Relief: pigmented wax, black glass, seed pearls, gilding;  frame: glass, gilded and black wood, Italian, probably Florence
Italian, probably Florence
1565–85
Portrait of a lady, Relief: pigmented wax, black glass, seed pearls, gilding;  frame: glass, gilded and black wood, Italian, Florence
Italian, Florence
1565–85
Portrait of Paulus Praun, Cover, and Carrying Case, Matthäus Carl  German, Portrait: colored wax, paper; capsule: wooden; case: leather, German
Matthäus Carl
1584
Portrait of a lady, Pigmented wax, seed pearls, emerald, ruby, linen, metal thread; gilded-copper or brass alloy, glass, probably French (wax), probably southern German or northern Italian (case)
probably French (wax), probably southern German or northern Italian (case)
1560–80
The Rape of Europa and Mercury and the Three Graces, Lambertus Vrythoff, Case and dial: enameled gold; Movement: gilded brass and steel, partly blued, French, probably Paris case with Dutch, The Hague watch
Lambertus Vrythoff
Simon Vouet
case ca. 1645, movement ca. 1750
Portrait of Elisabeth Krauss with Sliding Cover, German , Nuremberg, 17th century, Colored wax and wood
German
1639-1640