The Renaissance is one of my favorite periods of art history. It gave us some of the world’s most powerful and unforgettable images.
From grand frescoes to intimate portraits, these paintings launched a new era of creativity, realism, and human emotion.
In this guide, I explore 20+ of the world’s most famous Renaissance masterpieces. I tell you where to find them, why they matter, and what makes them stand out even today. 20 isn’t very many, I know, but a blog article can only be so long.
For ease of reference, I’ve put them in chronological order. Ready for a tour?
Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel
📍Padua, Italy
The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua might just be the most important room in Western art. Painted by Giotto around 1305, this fresco cycle marked a major turning point in art history.
He broke away from flat, symbolic Byzantine art and toward something deeply human and emotional. If you want to see where the Renaissance really begins, this is it.
The chapel is covered in 39 luminous frescoes that narrate the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ.
Giotto’s figures cry, clasp, lean, and stagger. They react with real human gestures and facial expressions. The Lamentation scene alone is enough to stop you in your tracks. Or maybe even make you cry it’s so wrenching.
Above it all is a deep blue ceiling scattered with stars. At the far end, The Last Judgment looms. It’s dramatic, chaotic, and filled with detail.
Giotto’s use of light, perspective, and architectural space was radical for the time. You can sense the future in these walls: Masaccio, Michelangelo, and Raphael all owe him something.
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Masaccio – The Tribute Money
The Brancacci Chapel is absolutely foundational to the history of Western art. Yet most people don’t bother to cross the Arno River in Florence to see it. Horrors!
Masaccio’s The Tribute Money is the chapel’s star image. Painted around 1425, it tells a biblical story from the Gospel of Matthew. But the real drama is in how Masaccio tells it.
In one fresco, you get three scenes: the tax collector asks Jesus for money, Christ tells Peter to fetch it from a fish, and Peter pays the tax. Masaccio weaves the scenes seamlessly, almost like a Renaissance comic strip but far more elegant.
This is one of the first great uses of linear perspective in art. The vanishing point is right on Christ’s head, so all lines lead to him. The figures look solid and real, with shadows and volume. This was brand new at the time.
Masaccio also puts ordinary Florentine men in the scene. It feels grounded, human, and emotionally alive. You can see how this single painting helped shape the entire course of Renaissance art.
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Jan van Eyck – The Arnolfini Portrait
The Renaissance wasn’t just a Florentine affair. It was unfolding in Northern Europe, too.
One of the most iconic works from that region is The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, housed in London’s National Gallery. It’s often considered one of the earliest masterpieces painted in oil rather than the usual tempera.
This full-length double portrait is remarkable for its lifelike detail. It most likely depicts a wealthy merchant and his wife in their home in Bruges, though the exact identity of the couple is still debated.
Some believe it captures a marriage ceremony. Others think it was meant to flaunt status and prosperity.
What’s certain is its innovation. The painting may mark the beginning of domestic interior scenes in Western art. The rich fabrics, ornate furnishings, and the couple’s solemn pose all hint at a layered meaning beyond simple portraiture.
At the back of the room, a convex mirror steals the spotlight. It reflects the couple (and two unseen figures) adding a layer of depth and perspective that was groundbreaking for its time.
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Fra Angelico – The Annunciation
📍San Marco Monastery, Florence
Fra Angelico’s Annunciation is one of the most iconic paintings of the Renaissance. Yet, this famous artwork is tucked swear in a peaceful, almost hidden spot in Florence.
And it’s unexpectedly huge. So large and present that you can’t help but stop and slowly take it in.
The scene shows the Angel Gabriel delivering his message to Mary in a calm. It’s set in ann enclosed courtyard that mirrors the architecture of the convent itself.
Mary is shown in soft colors, seated with a quiet, almost world-weary grace. The angel’s wings are the only truly ornate element, decorated with peacock-like patterns.
There’s a quiet power to this fresco. It doesn’t rely on dramatic symbols or emotional cues. Instead, it invites you to pause, reflect, and experience the moment just as the monks once did at the end of each day.
Piero della Francesca – The Flagellation of Christ
Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ is a small painting with a big reputation and plenty of mystery. Art historians have long debated its meaning, with Kenneth Clark even calling it “the greatest small painting in the world.”
Despite its title, the focus isn’t entirely on Christ. The composition is divided.
Christ is shown being whipped on the left, while three men stand calmly on the right, seemingly unaware of the ensuing violence. The disconnect is jarring and clearly intentional.
No one fully agrees what the painting means. Some say it’s a political allegory about the fall of Constantinople. Others believe it’s a quiet memorial to a murdered ruler from Urbino.
What makes the painting so compelling is its stillness. Everything feels precise, almost frozen in time. The architecture is perfectly balanced, the figures carefully placed. Yet, there’s a tension beneath the calm.
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Giovanni Bellini – St. Francis in the Desert
Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert is one of the standout works at the Frick Collection in New York City.
This sublime painting shows St. Francis of Assisi alone in a rocky, sunlit landscape. It’s a scene infused with stillness and spiritual weight. It may depict the moment he reputedly received the stigmata.
His arms are outstretched and there’s a quiet intensity to his expression. It’s like he’s caught in a moment of profound transformation.
Bellini’s mastery is evident in the way he handles light, texture, and natural detail. The careful composition and emotional resonance reflect the best of his style.
And look closely, Francis is surrounded by signs of life: a rabbit, a donkey, a heron. They’re all subtle nods to his deep connection with nature.
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Andrea Mantegna – The Dead Christ
Mantegna’s Lamentation is one of the most famous works in the Brera Gallery in Milan. It’s a masterclass in extreme foreshortening, a technique that makes the figure seem to recede realistically into space.
The painting shows the body of Christ laid out on a slab of stone. While it’s often called a lamentation, some believe it might actually represent a deposition due to the unusual setting.
Despite its small size, the impact is enormous. The scene is raw and unflinching, with Jesus’ wounds rendered in precise detail.
The muted tones give it a haunting stillness, as if time has paused. You feel almost like you’re standing at his side, part of the moment.
The work was found in Mantegna’s studio after his death. Some art historians believe he created it for his own tomb.
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Sandro Botticelli, Primavera
Botticelli’s Primavera, also known as The Allegory of Spring, is one of the most famous of Renaissance artworks. Set in an orange grove, the scene subtly references the Medici family, Botticelli’s main patrons, who had adopted the orange tree as their symbol.
At the center stands Venus, surrounded by mythological figures. To her left, the Three Graces dance in sheer gowns, with Mars next to them clearing the skies.
On the right, Zephyrus pursues a nymph who transforms into Flora, the goddess of spring. The painting is rich in detail, from pearl-studded hair to the flowing, weightless figures.
The meaning still remains debated. Many believe it represents the domain of Venus or perhaps commemorates a spring wedding, possibly tied to a Medici family member.
Botticelli’s style, with its elegant, elongated figures and decorative flair, stands apart from the realism favored by other Renaissance artists. One of the women may be a portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, a celebrated beauty of the time and a Botticelli muse.
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Sandro Botticelli – The Birth of Venus
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is the Uffizi’s most iconic painting and one of the most recognizable images in Western art. It’s a poetic vision of beauty and love. It was originally made to hang in a villa, possibly above a marriage bed.
What made it revolutionary was its subject: a large scale nude that wasn’t religious, but mythological. It marked a bold return to pagan themes after centuries of church dominated art.
Venus, the goddess of love, emerges from the sea fully formed, standing on a giant shell. The wind gods Zephyr and Aura blow her ashore, while a figure waits to cover her with a flowing cloak.
Her stance echoes ancient Greek sculpture, and her pale, windblown elegance feels dreamlike and delicate.
The model was likely Simonetta Vespucci, the beauty I mentioned above. Botticelli’s soft lines and glowing colors create a sense of innocence rather than sensuality.
Though he understood anatomy perfectly well, Botticelli cared more about grace than exacting realism. The Birth of Venus still hangs in the Uffizi’s Botticelli Room, restored and as radiant as ever.
Leonardo da Vinci – The Last Supper
📍Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is one of the world’s most famous and enigmatic Renaissance paintings. It’s tucked away in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, where it stretches across an entire wall.
The massive mural captures the tense moment after Jesus tells his apostles that one of them will betray him. Each figure reacts differently, making the scene feel alive with emotion, doubt, and disbelief.
The work is also known for its fragility. Leonardo used an experimental technique rather than traditional fresco. Sadly, it began to deteriorate almost immediately.
Over the centuries, environmental damage and poor restorations made matters worse. What survives today is a quasi-preserved version of the original, with only fragments of Leonardo’s hand still visible.
Moreover, seeing the painting in person is no easy task. Tickets are limited, sell out fast, and must be booked in advance. Only small groups are allowed in for 15 minutes at a time, passing through dehumidifying chambers to get rid of contaminants.
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Albrecht Dürer – Self-Portrait
📍Alte Pinakothek, Munich
This Albrecht Dürer Self-Portrait was a radical tour de force of the Renaissance. The way Dürer chose to present himself redefined the role of artists.
The artist daringly painted himself in a frontal pose, staring directly at the viewer with one hand raised to his chest.
This kind of composition was traditionally reserved for reverential depictions of Christ, not everyday people. The symmetry, dark background, and stylized hair all evoke medieval religious imagery.
By painting himself this way, Dürer wasn’t claiming divinity per se. But he was boldly linking the creative power of the artist to divine creation.
While self-portraits existed before this, they were usually informal or placed subtly within larger scenes. Dürer’s portrait is striking because it’s just him, front and center, as the main subject In a large scale painting.
He even signed it, rather pompously, with the Latin phrase “I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg, painted myself thus, with undying colors, at the age of 28.”
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Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa
📍Louvre Museum, Paris
The only Renaissance painting more famous than Leonardo’s The Last Supper is the Mona Lisa. It’s easily one of the most recognized, and most visited, paintings in the world.
It’s placed behind bulletproof glass in its own gallery at the Louvre. Despite its modest-size, it draws millions each year.
Leonardo worked on it for many years. He started around 1503, and continued to add layer after layer of subtle details.
The subject is widely believed to be Lisa Gherardini, a Florentine woman. Though the identity has sparked plenty of theories and speculation over time.
Unlike traditional portraits of the era, Leonardo broke new ground with the Mona Lisa. He turned the sitter toward the viewer, added hands, and placed her in front of a dreamlike landscape.
Her faint smile and quiet expression seem to shift depending on where you’re standing, giving the painting its famously elusive quality. The soft, smoky technique Leonardo used—called sfumato—makes the transitions between light and shadow almost imperceptible.
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Raphael – The Marriage of the Virgin
📍Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin is an early masterpiece, painted when he was just 21. Signed and dated, it already shows the confidence and grace that would define his career.
The scene comes from The Golden Legend, a popular medieval text. It shows the marriage of Mary and Joseph, with a priest officiating in front of a grand temple.
Joseph is shown placing a ring on Mary’s finger, having won her hand with a staff that bloomed. This was a miracle that proved he was the chosen suitor.
While the figures are elegantly posed, it’s the architecture that really dominates the scene. The circular temple in the background anchors the painting, creating a perfect sense of depth and symmetry. It reflects Raphael’s fascination with classical balance and geometry.
Michelangelo – Doni Tondo
📍Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, or Holy Family, is his most important painting outside the Sistine Chapel. It’s his only major panel painting. I think it’s simply luminous.
The painting was commissioned by Agnolo Doni, a wealthy Florentine, to mark his marriage and the birth of a child. Michelangelo approaches the figures like a sculptor. Each one has a powerful, almost carved appearance, especially the muscular Virgin Mary.
Her strong arms and solid pose are striking and unusually physical. Far from the soft grace typical of earlier Renaissance Madonnas.
When Michelangelo painted it, the famous Laocoön sculpture in the Vatican Museums had just been discovered in Rome. Its twisting figures seem to have made an impression on him.
The composition of the Doni Tondo is tightly coiled, with a complex spiral that leads the viewer’s eye through the scene. This kind of dynamic movement would become a hallmark of the later Mannerist style.
The colors are vivid and a bit unnatural, adding to the sense that this isn’t your typical Holy Family scene. There’s a tension and intensity to the figures, an energy that feels ahead of its time.
Giorgione – The Tempest
Giorgione’s The Tempest is one of the most puzzling and debated Renaissance paintings in the world.
Created by an artist who remains something of a mystery himself, the painting defies easy interpretation. Giorgione had a short career, dying at just 37. But this work secured his place in art history.
When it was first unveiled, viewers were confused. The subject didn’t match any known religious or mythological scene.
It simply showed a woman nursing a baby and a man watching nearby. Critics and scholars have been guessing at its meaning ever since.
Some believe The Tempest marks the beginning of landscape painting as a genre. The dramatic setting—a stormy sky over a lush, moody landscape—seems just as important as the figures. The woman stares back at the viewer, as if aware of your presence.
Others suggest Giorgione broke all the rules on purpose. Maybe it wasn’t meant to tell a moral or biblical story at all, but was just a poetic image. Some stIll link it to the Holy Family’s rest on the flight into Egypt.
But Giorgione leaves the door wide open for interpretation. And that’s exactly why it still fascinates people today.
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Raphael – The School of Athens
📍Vatican Museums, Vatican City
Raphael’s The School of Athens is one of the greatest frescoes of the High Renaissance. It’s in the Stanza della Segnatura, one of the four Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Museums.The fresco depicts an imagined gathering of the great thinkers of antiquity.
At the center are Plato and Aristotle, locked in a philosophical debate. Plato points to the heavens, Aristotle gestures to earth. Around them are dozens of luminaries, including Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Diogenes.
The architecture feels monumental, with arches and a barrel vault inspired by Bramante’s work on St. Peter’s. It’s a perfect example of Renaissance perspective: all the lines draw your eye toward Plato and Aristotle.
But there’s more than just symmetry. Raphael included portraits of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and even himself into the scene, blending the ancient with the contemporary.
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Michelangelo – The Creation of Adam
📍Sistine Chapel, Vatican
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam is the most iconic scene in the Sistine Chapel ceiling. And it’s one of the most recognized images in art history.
The Bible says God formed Adam from dust. But Michelangelo chose a more dramatic vision: a near-touch between two outstretched hands.
In his version, God is a muscular, dynamic figure surrounded by angels, reaching toward Adam to spark life. That single gesture, the almost-touch, has become so famous that it’s often mistaken as the actual biblical moment of creation.
Adam reclines below, nude and idealized. He gazes up at his creator with quiet anticipation. The gap between their fingers is filled with tension, as if life itself is about to leap across the space.
Some scholars believe Michelangelo embedded a hidden anatomical reference in the image, suggesting God is framed by the outline of a human brain.
Whatever the interpretation, this legendary “hand of God” moment continues to inspire everything from art history debates to coffee mug designs.
Titian – Assumption of the Virgin
📍Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice
Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin is the crown jewel of Venice’s Frari Church and one of the most significant paintings of the Renaissance. Located in the chancel, it’s visible through an arch as you walk down the nave.
At 20 by 11 feet, it’s a massive work. And even more impressive when you realize it was Titian’s first major public commission, completed in his late twenties.
The painting shows the moment when the Virgin Mary is taken into heaven, not through death, but through divine sleep and ascension. Unlike more restrained Renaissance versions of this theme, Titian’s version is positively bursting with movement and emotion.
Mary rises toward a golden burst of light, arms lifted in awe, as apostles reach upward and angels swirl around her. The composition is divided into three tiers—earth, sky, and the divine—creating a clear vertical motion that mirrors Mary’s journey to heaven.
What really sets the painting apart is Titian’s command of light and color. The scene is filled with energy, glowing reds and golds. It has a sense of divine drama that broke from the stillness of earlier religious art.
With this single work, Titian established himself as the leading painter in Venice.
Raphael – La Fornarina
La Fornarina is the star of the Palazzo Barberini’s collection. The painting is famous not just for its beauty, but for the scandal behind it.
Raphael painted the portrait of Margherita Luti, a baker’s daughter from Trastevere, with whom he was deeply infatuated. Their affair began while Raphael was working on frescoes nearby at the Villa Farnesina.
He became so obsessed with Luti that he started skipping work, frustrating his patron, Agostino Chigi. At one point, Chigi even had her taken away to get Raphael back on track. But his plan failed.
Raphael died young, at just 37. According to art historian Giorgio Vasari, it was from a fever brought on by “excessive love.” Many believe La Fornarina was with him on his final night.
The portrait itself is unusually sensual for Raphael. Her hand rests over her heart and her pose recalls ancient Venus statues. It links her to the goddess of love and hints at the passion behind the brushwork.
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Titian – The Rape of Europa
📍Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
The Rape of Europa is perhaps the most prized painting in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s collection. Originally commissioned by Philip II of Spain, this brilliantly colored work was fully restored in 2020, bringing back its vibrant hues and fine details.
The painting draws from a myth in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which Jupiter, king of the gods, becomes enamored with the mortal Europa. Disguising himself as a gentle white bull, he lures her in. Then, Jupiter abducts her by swimming across the sea with her on his back.
Titian was known for his rich color palette, sensual forms, and mythological storytelling. The Rape of Europa is part of a series he painted for Philip II known as the “poesies.” They combined poetry and painting in scenes drawn from classical mythology.
When Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased the painting in 1896, she made headlines. She outbid major institutions, including the Louvre and the National Gallery in London, setting a world record at the time. Her acquisition helped cement the painting’s legacy and her own as a discerning collector.
Bonus: Tintoretto, Accademia Paintings
Tintoretto was in the last wave of great Renaissance masters, right before the advent of Mannerism. He was a pupil and rival of Titian. But Tintoretto was more avant garde, producing highly dramatic works.
He stormed Western art with his emotionally resonant canvases, mythological scenes, bold handling of paint, and revealing portraits. You could almost get drunk just looking at his canvases.
It’s hard to pick one outright masterpiece of his. The Last Supper tends to get top billing.
But if we’re talking most powerful or artistically admired, his paintings at the Galleria Accademia are often considered his true masterpieces by those who care about more than just fame.
Miracle of the Slave was Tintoretto’s breakout painting. The dramatic foreshortening, violent energy, and divine intervention are all classic Tintoretto. It caused a stir when unveiled, and firmly established him as a rising star in Venetian art.
Finding of the Body of St. Mark is haunting, mysterious, and technically brilliant. It captures a moment of revelation and spiritual tension with Tintoretto’s usual flair for light, shadow, and movement.
Tintoretto’s The Body of Saint Mark Brought to Venice captures the dramatic return of the city’s patron saint. Its full of swirling motion, theatrical lighting, and deep architectural space.
The painting blurs the line between the sacred and the civic. It turns a legendary moment into a charged spectacle of Venetian pride and religious fervor.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the world’s most famous Renaissance paintings. You may enjoy these other art guides:
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- famous Picasso paintings
- famous Matisse paintings
- famous Chagall paintings
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- famous paintings by Raphael
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