Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, whose nickname means "the red-haired Florentine, " was born in 1494 in Florence, where he studied in Andrea del Sarto's studio.

WSJ: Il Rosso Fiorentino | Deposition | A Maelstrom of Grief | Masterpiece by Peter Plagens

Newly cleaned works are among the other highlights here, for example the spectacular Hans Memling "The Annunciation" (1465-75) and a ravishing Andrea del Sarto "The Holy Family With the Young Saint John the Baptist" (c. 1528 or 1529).

WSJ: The Met's European Reunion

Despite their robust modeling, they seem schematic, as do many of the images of young blondes that follow, paintings by such masters as Filippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli and the Pollaiuolo brothers, and suave marble busts by Desiderio da Settignano and Andrea del Verrocchio.

WSJ: The Renaissance Portrait | From Out of a Featureless Crowd | By Karen Wilkin