A focal point of the exhibition is the Haggerty Museum's recently acquired Portrait of Piero di Domenico Pagni by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561). Ghirlandaio was a leading Renaissance portraitist who maintained a large and successful workshop. Several artists included in the exhibition such as Michele Tosini, Domenico Puligo and the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend are historically linked to the "family of Ghirlandaio" having worked as apprentices in their school. Similarities between individual works found throughout the exhibition reflect the close working relationships established in the workshop environment of the time. The sfumato technique of creating soft outlines through the gradation of tones can be seen in Christ the Redeemer by Domenico Puligo, an artist who trained with Ghirlandaio and worked in the workshop of Andrea del Sarto.

Assembled together this group of works reflects the rich artistic traditions in Italy from the late fourteenth through sixteenth centuries. Changes in the types and function of Renaissance art are well represented in individual sacred and profane works in the exhibition. The exhibition surveys the wealth of materials used by Italian artists including gold leaf, Verona marble, gilt bronze, rock crystal, and semiprecious inlay. It also offers a representative selection of the wide range of subjects and genres in Italian Renaissance art including religious images, mythological subjects and portraiture. In particular, the rich and varied Italian Renaissance portraits in the exhibition reflect the growing awareness and expression of individualism characteristic of the Renaissance period.