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    A sprig of flowering rosemary lying against an ivory-white background and the twelve insects that surround it fills this horizontal painting. Stretching nearly the length of the composition with the cut end to our left, the rosemary has blunted, needle-like, gently curling teal-green leaves and small periwinkle-blue flowers along the ash-brown stem. Several insects perch on the sprig while others are seen as if looking from overhead, resting on the white background. The three largest insects perch along the top of the sprig, with an ivory-white butterfly with moss-green and black markings to the left, a black and golden, fuzzy bumblebee near the center, and a lemon-yellow butterfly with red antennae to our right. A tiny red insect, perhaps a ladybug without spots, sits on a leaf between the bee and yellow butterfly, and a small wasp-like insect rests on a leaf in at the lower left. Another mosquito-like insect alights on the surface nearby, next to a beetle with a honey-orange body with black, almost tiger-like stripes. A large cockroach sitting near the lower right corner has six spindly legs, a mahogany-colored abdomen, a black thorax, and tiny, black head. Spaced somewhat evenly across the top of the panel are a brick-red, winged insect to the left, a mint-green, beetle-like bug near a moth patterned with bone white and black, and a black, fly-like insect to our right. Lit from the upper left, the rosemary and insects cast shadows on the surface. The artist signed and dated the work with gray in the lower left corner: “J v. kessel . . f. Ao 1653.”

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    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
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  • Exhibitions & Events

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    • Kid-Friendly Events
    A sprig of flowering rosemary lying against an ivory-white background and the twelve insects that surround it fills this horizontal painting. Stretching nearly the length of the composition with the cut end to our left, the rosemary has blunted, needle-like, gently curling teal-green leaves and small periwinkle-blue flowers along the ash-brown stem. Several insects perch on the sprig while others are seen as if looking from overhead, resting on the white background. The three largest insects perch along the top of the sprig, with an ivory-white butterfly with moss-green and black markings to the left, a black and golden, fuzzy bumblebee near the center, and a lemon-yellow butterfly with red antennae to our right. A tiny red insect, perhaps a ladybug without spots, sits on a leaf between the bee and yellow butterfly, and a small wasp-like insect rests on a leaf in at the lower left. Another mosquito-like insect alights on the surface nearby, next to a beetle with a honey-orange body with black, almost tiger-like stripes. A large cockroach sitting near the lower right corner has six spindly legs, a mahogany-colored abdomen, a black thorax, and tiny, black head. Spaced somewhat evenly across the top of the panel are a brick-red, winged insect to the left, a mint-green, beetle-like bug near a moth patterned with bone white and black, and a black, fly-like insect to our right. Lit from the upper left, the rosemary and insects cast shadows on the surface. The artist signed and dated the work with gray in the lower left corner: “J v. kessel . . f. Ao 1653.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Now on view

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    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
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    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events
    A sprig of flowering rosemary lying against an ivory-white background and the twelve insects that surround it fills this horizontal painting. Stretching nearly the length of the composition with the cut end to our left, the rosemary has blunted, needle-like, gently curling teal-green leaves and small periwinkle-blue flowers along the ash-brown stem. Several insects perch on the sprig while others are seen as if looking from overhead, resting on the white background. The three largest insects perch along the top of the sprig, with an ivory-white butterfly with moss-green and black markings to the left, a black and golden, fuzzy bumblebee near the center, and a lemon-yellow butterfly with red antennae to our right. A tiny red insect, perhaps a ladybug without spots, sits on a leaf between the bee and yellow butterfly, and a small wasp-like insect rests on a leaf in at the lower left. Another mosquito-like insect alights on the surface nearby, next to a beetle with a honey-orange body with black, almost tiger-like stripes. A large cockroach sitting near the lower right corner has six spindly legs, a mahogany-colored abdomen, a black thorax, and tiny, black head. Spaced somewhat evenly across the top of the panel are a brick-red, winged insect to the left, a mint-green, beetle-like bug near a moth patterned with bone white and black, and a black, fly-like insect to our right. Lit from the upper left, the rosemary and insects cast shadows on the surface. The artist signed and dated the work with gray in the lower left corner: “J v. kessel . . f. Ao 1653.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Now on view

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    1. Home
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    3. Jan van den Hoecke

    Jan van den Hoecke

    Flemish, 1611 - 1651

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    Two women, four men, and a satyr, which is a creature with a man’s body and hairy goat’s legs, gather in a wooded landscape in this horizontal painting. All the people have pale, peachy skin. At the center of the group, to our left of center, a young, cleanshaven man balances on the ball of one foot as he strides toward us. He turns his head to his left so he faces our right in profile, and he looks off in that direction. He wears a ring of laurel leaves in his blond curls and his lips are parted. He holds a jeweled, golden stringed instrument, a lyre, in the crook of his right arm, on our left. He lifts his other hand to gesture toward the men to our right. He is nude except for a coral-red cloak fastened with a gold clasp at his neck. The cloak billows around his muscular body, and one bottom corner curls across his hip to cover his groin. To our left, two women sit on a rocky outcropping. The woman to our left holds a sapphire-blue robe to her chest. Her golden brown hair is pulled back, and she looks at the young man. The second woman sits with her body facing away from us, her arms resting on the rock in front of her. Her nude back faces us and she has a soft, rounded belly. She sits against a white cloth, and a light sage-green cloak pools around her hips and lies across one thigh. To our right, behind the young man holding a lyre, two bearded men sit on a rock with their bodies angled toward each other. The man to our left wears a leafy crown and holds a wooden staff. The second man wears a topaz-blue hood and robe, and turns to speak to his neighbor as he points in the opposite direction. Closer to us, near the right edge of the painting, the satyr plays a set of pan pipes. The man sitting next to him has tall, pointed, ass’s ears and a pointed, red beard. He wears a shimmering butter-yellow cloak over a brick-red tunic, and he rests one hand on the satyr’s shoulder. The entire group is enclosed by tall, tawny-brown rocks and leafy, sage-green trees. In the upper left corner, lilac-purple clouds float across a pale blue sky. The scene is painted with swirling brushstrokes that are especially visible in the clothing and background.
    Jan van den Hoecke, The Judgment of Midas, c. 1640, oil on panel, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.143.18

    The Judgment of Midas

    The Judgment of Midas

    Jan van den Hoecke · c. 1640 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2015.143.18

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