when "the national gallery" opened, there was a strong opinion that paintings of the high renaissance period of the late 1400s to baroque paintings of the 1600s were the finest type of art. the word "primitive" was used to describe italian paintings from the 1300s and early 1400s. luckily, the director of the gallery, sir charles eastlake, thought it was important to collect some of these "primitive" paintings, as well as the more popular high renaissance paintings. that is how the "national gallery" came to own so many very rare works from the late middle ages and early renaissance periods.