ticketsMember | Make a donation

Scene from a Novella

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 604
These companion panels are from the front of a chest (cassone) and show two episodes from an unidentified story, or novella. In one, a youth is smitten by a maiden who appears at a window and seems to gesture for him to join her inside. In the other, they engage in an erotically charged game of chess where she is about to lose. Both were common themes in the amatory literature of the Renaissance. The figures’ bleached blond, frizzy hair was the height of fashion in fifteenth-century Siena. Liberale was a brilliant illuminator and worked on choirbooks in Siena between 1467 and 1476.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Scene from a Novella
  • Artist: Liberale da Verona (Italian, Verona ca. 1445–1527/29 Verona)
  • Medium: Tempera on wood
  • Dimensions: 13 x 16 1/8 in. (33 x 41 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gwynne Andrews Fund, 1986
  • Object Number: 1986.147
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
The Chess Players, Liberale da Verona Italian, Tempera on wood
The Chess Players
Liberale da Verona
ca. 1475
Saint Catherine of Siena Exchanging Her Heart with Christ, Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Italian, Tempera and gold on wood
Saint Catherine of Siena Exchanging Her Heart with Christ
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro, Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi) Italian, Tempera on wood
Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro
Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi)
ca. 1488
The Flight into Egypt, Cosmè Tura (Cosimo di Domenico di Bonaventura) Italian, Tempera on wood
The Flight into Egypt
Cosmè Tura (Cosimo di Domenico di Bonaventura)
1470s
Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius, Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi) Italian, Tempera on wood
Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius
Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi)
ca. 1500

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.