London’s National Gallery holdings of Italian paintings are both deep and wide-ranging. This new, richly illustrated catalogue of the Italian paintings from 1400–1460 includes entries on masterpieces by the greatest artists of the period, such as Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Pisanello, and Uccello.

Since the publication in 1961 of Martin Davies’ catalogue of the earlier Italian Schools, much new evidence has become available through both scientific and archival investigations. Discoveries have been made and new theories advanced, not only about the identity of the artists but about the nature of their subject-matter and the original settings of their work. Among the completely new findings published here are the discovery of a concealed signature on an Annunciation by the Florentine painter Zanobi Strozzi and the identification of the missing predella panel from the Trinity altarpiece, begun by Pesellino, and completed by Filippo Lippi.

Each picture has been reexamined by conservators and new information gleaned about its technique and condition. All the paintings are reproduced full-page, in color, together with many details, comparative illustrations, and reconstructions.


The National Gallery in London houses one of the most important collections of early Italian paintings outside Italy, including works by Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto and the di Cione brothers. This completely updated catalogue of the collection is the first published since 1989, and it now includes four exceptional acquisitions from the intervening years: the 13th-century diptych now attributed to the Master of the Borgo Crucifix, The Virgin and Child by Cimabue, The Virgin and Child by the Clarisse Master, and The Coronation of the Virgin by Bernardo Daddi.

For this volume, Dillian Gordon takes into account the substantial body of new research published over the past twenty years to review and in some cases reattribute the works. All but two paintings have been re-examined by the National Gallery's team of curators, conservators, and scientists. Through the use of infrared reflectography, much new information has been revealed regarding the significance of underdrawings and technique. Each work is illustrated in color, and many are accompanied by details and technical and comparative illustrations.



Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press