“Vision of St. Augustine'' by Filippo Lippi circa 1460. Aurelius Augustinus was a bishop of Hippo Regiusin Northern Africa (Nowadays Algeria) and one of the Fathers of the Church. Originally part of an altar, this work takes its subject from a description of the life of St. Augustine. The legend says that the monk Augustine, pondering on the dogma of the Holy Trinity, went to the seaside. Augustine was trying to comprehend the dogma of the divine Trinity as he walked along the seashore when he saw a small boy removing water from the sea with a spoon and pouring it into a hole. When Augustine asked him the purpose of what he was doing, the child answered that any attempt by the human mind to comprehend the mystery of the nature of God was as vain and hopeless as seeking to remove all the water from the sea with a spoon. Having said this, he disappeared. Fra Filippo Lippi was possibly the first artist to take up this rare subject. He depicts the mystical event as a real scene taking place amongst the hills of his native Tuscany. Instead of the sea he showed a stream, and in the distance to the left we see the bend of a river and the towers of a small town. In the upper right corner is a three-faced sun, a symbol of the Trinity. The high horizon and the small hills and trees, as compared with the figures, testify to the artist’s mastering of the principles of linear perspective.

No European country is as famous for its magnificent monumental frescoes - paintings on walls applied directly to wet plaster - as Italy in the period of the Renaissance. However, museums outside Italy contain few examples of frescoes. This exception is “Virgin and child with Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinas” by Fra Beato Angelico. It is a fresco from the Monastery of Saint Dominique in Italian town Fiesole, where Fra Angelico, a Dominican monk, was prior. After the monastery was closed in the 19th century this fresco was removed and sold to the Florentine painters A. Mazzonti and C. Conti, who then sold it to the Hermitage. This symmetrical composition, with the Madonna enthroned and surrounded by saints, developed in the medieval period and became widespread in Italian 15th-century painting. It is the composition of “Sacra Conversazione” – a theme in Christian Art, a depiction of formal grouping of saints around Madonna and Child where Madonna’s image is usually prevalent. The images of the saints in the fresco are individualized. To the left of Mary is St Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order. For instance, everything in the image of St Dominic is deeply symbolic. He founded a monasterial order in 1215 to stand against heretics, so here you can see him with a lily in his right hand – a symbol of purity; there is a book in his left hand which is a symbol of truthful knowledge. The Spanish monk is wearing black and white – the colors are synonymous with Dominican Shepherd dogs (Анатолийская овчарка). “Domini canes” - dogs of God are to protect the Purity of the Teachings of Christ.  To the right is the great theologian St Thomas Aquinas Angelic Doctor has a book in his hand; above the book we can see the shining Gloria – symbol of Sun, and on the pages of the book he is holding we can read the text of the Psalms. Unlike the saints, who are given individual features and character, the image of the Virgin is greatly idealized. It is her inspired image which gives the painting its mood of sublime lyricism.

Madonna from the Annunciation Scene by Simone Martini. Virgin Mary is depicted against the golden background, her head brewed, she listening calmly to the words of Archangel Gabriel who brought her the evangel telling her that she is to give birth to the Saviour of the human race. Seated on a cushion, Simone's Madonna is the very embodiment of elegant femininity. Here the artist sought to embody not the physical but the spiritual in the appearance of Mary. Her figure seems to have no corporeal volume and rather looks like a silhouette against the warm reddish gold ground. This painting was once the right-hand wing of a folding diptych showing the Annunciation. The left wing, with its image of the Archangel Gabriel, is now in the National Gallery in Washington The masterpiece came to the Hermitage Museum in 1911 from the collection of russian noble Stroganov family.

Simone Martini was one of the leading late-Gothic (Proto-Renaissance) masters. His works are marked by refined colour and linear rhythms, a wealth of ornament and graceful figures.

German art historian and cultural theorist Aby Warburg’s famous phrase "God is in the details" is directly related to Renaissance art.

The "big four" greatest artists of Renaissance period are:

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Raphael
• Michelangelo
• Titian

The plot of "The Adoration of the Magi" was widely known, though often the details of the visitors varied to include more people and even exotic animals. In the compositions dedicated to this topic, painters depicted three sages, who are called "magi". Having reduced their number, the artists nevertheless gave them different features, trying to show that these three, in fact, are a collective image. Therefore, one of the magi is always young, the second is mature, and the third is old. Often, two of the magi are white-skinned, and the third is dark-skinned. This is how Hieronymus Bosch depicted them. The eldest of the magi, with white hair and a white beard, despite his venerable age and solid appearance, knelt down before the baby to present Him with a precious gift. On the right is a mature magus and his young black companion who also wanted to pay homage to the baby. On the left is a picture of Joseph kneeling, and behind him is a stall in which you can see a sitting ox and the back of a donkey. In the center is the Madonna with the baby Jesus on her lap. She sits on a golden carpet, indicating that, despite the modesty of her surroundings, this woman is the Mother of God.

Boy on the right - Pleasure;

Girl in green behind boy on the right - Deceit;

Old woman rips her hair - Jealousy;

Old man (father) - Time;

Woman in the upper left corner - Truth.

Jealousy and deceit are no less frequent companions of love than pleasure.

Luncheon or “Breakfast” (about 1617). It comes from a famous series by Velázquez called “Bodegones” – scenes of everyday life. In the painting here we can see the genre scene of a regular meal, where three common Spanish persons of different ages eat in the tavern. It’s a combination of a group portrait and still life. We see ceramic dish with fish, a glass of wine, pomegranate and bread. A boy in the center of the painting looks excited and smiles – for the first time in his life he is allowed to sip some wine with the adults. The young man looking at the audience in the right part of the painting is supposedly Velázquez self – portrait.

Velázquez created this depiction of a Breakfast, when he was just 18 years old. He was attracted to scenes from the life of the common people. The males gathered around the table represent three ages of human life and the young artist managed to give a precise characterization of each personage. The work was painted under the influence of Caravaggio’s oeuvre, as is indicated by the dark background, the abrupt contrasts of light and shade, and the sense of volume in the objects lying on the table. Note the bread and the handle of the knife – they seem to extend beyond the surface of the canvas. The old man depicted occurs in other paintings by the artist. The boy is also known: he lived in Velázquez’s home and served him as a model. The younger man seated on the right, though, undoubtedly has an entirely specific portrait resemblance and cannot be found in other works by the artist. It has been suggested that this image is a self-portrait of Velázquez. The old man’s white collar is hanging on the wall. It was the custom at the time when you sat down to eat indoors to remove and hang up your hat and collar. In these representatives of the common people Velázquez depicted traits of character typical of the Spanish: cheerfulness and restraint, good-naturedness and a certain austerity.

Unlike most of his contemporaries Diego Velázquez painted very few pictures on religious subjects, concentrating mainly on the portrait. He produced some excellent portraits of Philip IV of Spain. The king was an admirer of his work and even had a key to Velázquez studio and his special chair where he would sit watching the artist at work. Velázquez also frequently painted Count Olivares – king’s favorite and a clever but cruel statesman who took advantage of Philip’s week will. This portrait is an outstanding example of the psychological portraiture in Catholic Europe in those days. The person we see in the portrait is a significant political figure in Spain of the XVII century. Philip IV of Spain (1605 – 1665) ascended Spanish throne in 1621 when he was just 16 years old, and like his father, had no interest in politics and state matters. He let the power go so it was gone into the hands of Count Olivares who was a close friend of the young king. Olivares was greedy and power – a thirsty person. Velázquez was commissioned an official portrait of Count Olivares. It was the time of inquisition in Spain, besides, the most powerful person in the country was supposed to be idealized in the official painting according to the rules of those days. Nevertheless here we see quite realistic psychological depiction of Olivares – far from being a handsome middle – aged man with suspicious expressions on his face. Velasquez shows us the personality of the Regent – clever, alert, but sly at the same time.

The profound realism and democratic spirit of Velázquez’s painting, his interest in the ordinary people and his technical skill greatly influenced Spanish artists.

Antonia Zarate was an actress, member of psychological theatre which was very popular in Spain then. She was famous and loved. Antonia and Francisco were true friends and she was always there for him during his “times of troubles”. Here Antonia is depicted being very sick. She had tuberculosis which was not curable in those days. They both knew she was going, so it is very personal and very sad work by Goya. It was his last farewell to his beloved friend Antonia. She died soon after the portrait was finished.

Luis de Morales was a Spanish painter active during the Spanish Renaissance in the XVI century. Known as "El Divino", most of his work was of religious subjects, including many representations of the Madonna and Child and the Passion.

Influenced by Raphael and the Lombard school of Leonardo da Vinci, especially in his early work, he was called by his contemporaries "The Divine Morales" because of his skill and the shocking realism of his paintings, and because of the spirituality transmitted by all his work.