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Sale, Paris

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An older girl and a younger child, both with pale skin, bend toward each other as they look at a book spread open on a wooden cupboard in this nearly square painting. Shown from the hips up to our right, the girl leans over the cupboard with her body facing our left in profile. She looks at the child peering over the low ledge at the back of the cupboard with her head tilted slightly in that direction. The older girl has a straight, delicate nose, her smooth cheeks are flushed, and her rosy-red lips are pursed. Her brown hair is tucked under a bright white, ruffled cap encircled with a gold and cranberry-red ribbon. The long sleeves of the muted sapphire-blue dress seem to have been rolled back along the forearms to reveal cascading, white cuffs. A translucent white neckerchief, like a short, full scarf, is tucked into an ivory-white apron that also covers the flaring skirt. With both hands on the open book, she points to one page with a metal pointer like a knitting needle. Facing us, the smaller child looks at the book from behind the wood cupboard, eyes downcast, resting one forearm on the surface and pointing to a detail in the book. The child has delicate brows, a short, wide nose, and full raspberry-red lips are closed. The padded cap the child wears covers the ears and is loosely painted with a pattern of honey brown, silvery white, and slate blue. The nutmeg-brown sleeves are pushed back along the forearm and there are white cuffs or sleeves beneath. The cupboard has two diamond-shaped, iron-gray metal pulls in front. Light illuminating the pair from our left creates a greenish glow on the tawny-brown background behind them.
Jean Siméon Chardin, The Little Schoolmistress, after 1740, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.91

The Little Schoolmistress

Jean Siméon Chardin · after 1740 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.91

Shown from the waist up on the other side of a strawberry-red table, an elderly, pale-skinned woman sits facing us, sleeping with her head propped on her hand in this vertical painting. She is brightly lit from our upper left, which creates deep shadows across her face, and behind and around her. The woman rests her cheek against her closed left fist, to our right. That elbow is propped on a gold and amber-yellow cushion tucked into the corner where the table meets the wall to our right. Her brows are slightly furrowed over deep-set eyes. She has loose jowls, thin lips, and wrinkles line the corners of her eyes and her mouth. Almost lost in shadow, her other hand rests on the large book lying open before her. She wears a black coat draped over a parchment-white garment. Her hair is covered by a ginger-brown and black striped veil that hangs to her shoulders. Three iron-gray keys hang from a rail running across the wall next to her at head height. The wall is sage green and mustard yellow in the light, and the corners and left edge are swallowed in shadow. The artist signed the painting in capital letters on the right, just above the rail, “N. Maes.”
Nicolaes Maes, An Old Woman Dozing over a Book, c. 1655, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.63

An Old Woman Dozing over a Book

Nicolaes Maes · c. 1655 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.63

A young girl stands next to and holds the hand of an elegantly dressed woman sitting in a wooden armchair near stone columns, in front of a crimson-red curtain pulled up to reveal a distant landscape view in this vertical portrait painting. The child and woman have smooth, light skin, and the fabric of their dresses has a silken sheen. To our right, the woman sits with her knees angled slightly to our left, and she looks at us with dark blue eyes under faint brows. Her brown hair is pulled back from her high forehead under a hair covering set with pearls. Her pointed chin is slightly pulled back, and her pale pink lips are closed. A teardrop-shaped pearl hangs from the ear we can see, and she wears two strands of pearls like a choker, above a thick, pleated lace ruff. The fabric of the long-sleeved bodice has a gold-on-gold pattern, and is lined with a row of buttons down the front. Filmy lace cuffs extend back over her forearms from her wrists. Her full, floor-length skirt is scarlet red with a gold, brocade-like pattern, and has silvery-gray stripes down the front and around the lower hem. The cloak she wears over the dress has a black-on-black floral pattern. Three thick gold chains hang across her bodice, and she wears a square-cut, gray stone set in a gold ring on the third finger of her left hand. To our left, the young girl stands next to the wooden arm of the chair and holds the woman’s hands with both of hers. The child looks at us with gray eyes, and her pale pink lips are parted in a slight smile. Her light brown hair is pulled back under a gray band, perhaps of fur, around her head, over an apricot-colored head covering that matches her dress. The tight-fitting, long-sleeved bodice is striped with bands of alternating gold and pink geometric designs against the apricot-peach background. A lace-edged collar lies across her shoulders. A red, oval pendant hangs from her three-standed pearl necklace, and she wears three pearl bracelets on one wrist. A thick gold chain falls across her chest and around one hip. The floor-length, full skirt has buttercup-yellow and shell-pink highlights on the coral-colored background. Behind the pair, the red curtain has been pulled up so it seems to flutter behind the woman’s head, in front of stone columns that frame a distant landscape view with trees. A blocky structure, presumably a building, sits on the far distant, hazy horizon. Light pours down in streaks from steel-gray clouds against a pale blue sky.
Sir Anthony van Dyck, Susanna Fourment and Her Daughter, 1621, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.48

Susanna Fourment and Her Daughter

Sir Anthony van Dyck · 1621 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.48

We look up at two women, two young boys, and a man, all with pale skin, sitting together on a wide landing, with stairs leading up to stone buildings behind the group and a patch of vivid blue sky in the upper right corner of this horizontal painting. At the center, a woman, Mary, sits holding a nearly nude child propped on one knee. Her body is angled to our right but she turns her head to look off into the distance to our left with large, dark eyes under faint brows. Her strawberry-blond hair is pulled back under a white veil that falls down the back of her neck and across her chest. Her smooth cheeks are lightly flushed in her round face. She has a straight nose and her pink, bow lips are closed. She wears a coral-red dress under a long, azure-blue robe that wraps around her waist and covers her legs. The sandaled toes of one foot peek from under the hems, and her other foot rests up on a gold-colored, rounded urn. Mary holds one child on her lap, and the second child sits by her right side, to our left. Both toddlers have blond, curly hair, dark eyes, rounded faces, and slightly pudgy bodies. Swaths of pale gray drapery mostly cover the genitals of both. The child on her lap half-sits, half-stands on the knee propped up on the urn. She supports his belly with one hand, the other wraps around his bottom. He leans forward, toward the second child, who faces him and holds up a yellow and blush-red fruit. Behind him, to our left, an older woman sits leaning forward and facing Mary in profile. Her wrinkled face is mostly lost in shadow, and she has a hooked nose and her forehead is lined, as if her eyebrows are raised. A white veil is wrapped around her head and drapes over the shoulders of her long, canary-yellow dress. One foot is crossed behind the other ankle, and the toes of both peep out from under her dress. To our right of Mary, a bearded man, Joseph, wears an eggplant-purple robe and sits almost entirely in shadow, facing our right in profile. The leg closer to us is extended and his foot stretches out of the shadow. He has short, curly brown hair and a long gray beard. He holds a carpenter’s compass to a panel in front of him. Closest to us, a step down runs along the bottom edge of the painting. On that step, a basket with leaves and yellow and peach-colored fruit sits in front of the standing child. Near Mary’s feet is a bronze-colored urn and a shiny gold box on raised feet. Behind the older woman to our left, water trickles from a round-bellied fountain on a pedestal in front of an orange tree. One building with round columns rises behind the tree. Behind Joseph, a long stick rests against the post of a short flight of four steps, which leads to another landing. The portico of a second temple-like building with squared columns and leafy capitals rises over Mary, presumably from the upper landing. A bright, topaz-blue sky with cream-white and steel-gray clouds fills the upper right corner of the composition.
Anonymous Artist, The Holy Family on the Steps, 1648, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.49

The Holy Family on the Steps

Anonymous Artist · 1648 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1952.5.49

A mostly nude young woman carved from cream-white marble sits on a rock formation in this free-standing sculpture. In this photograph, her body faces us, but her head turns to our left. She has a long nose and small mouth. Her wavy, upswept hair is wrapped across the top with a braid that hangs down the back of her neck, over her shoulder, and it falls between her breasts. With her left hand, to our right, up near her shoulder, she holds one end of a cloth that wraps around her back and across her hips. Her other hand rests down by her side and holds a shell with shallow grooves. Her left foot extends slightly forward of the right, making the knees uneven. At her feet lie two stylized sea creatures with round heads, deep-set eyes, and large lips that emerge from choppy waves. The sculpture sits on a veined, pink marble base carved with the word “GALATEE.” The background is fog gray, and the sculpture casts a shadow to our right.
Robert Le Lorrain, Galatea, 1701, marble, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.105

Galatea

Robert Le Lorrain · 1701 · marble ·  Accession ID  1952.5.105

A young girl with pale skin, rosy cheeks, and blond hair stands facing us in front of a landscape with forests and mountains in this vertical portrait painting. The girl looks at us with wide, gray eyes under delicately arched eyebrows. She has a short, rounded nose, and her full, pink lips are parted. Her smooth, rounded cheeks are flushed. She wears a lace-trimmed, sky-blue, scoop-necked bodice that comes to a V at her waist, a full, ankle-length black skirt, and a white bonnet with a royal-blue ribbon, which has a pink rose at the bow. Her long, white, lacy veil, called a mantilla, drapes over the hat, over her shoulders, and to her waist. One end of the mantilla drapes over her left wrist, to our right. The other end is pinned under the back of her other hand, which rests against that hip. One cobalt-blue, pointed shoe with a silver buckle peeks out under her skirt. A small, shaggy, white-haired dog sits at her feet to our right. A low, gray stone wall behind the girl and dog angles away from us to the left. Some plants with dark green leaves grow in front of the wall to our left. Beyond the wall, pine-green, treed foothills rise to meet rocky, nickel-gray mountains under a ice-blue sky with pale, petal-pink clouds kicking up over the mountains. An inscription in all capital letters is painted in black in the lower left corner: “LA S.D. MARIA TERESA HIXA DEL SER. INFANTE D. LUIS DE EDAD DE DOS ANOS Y NUEVE MESES.” A crimson-red letter “B.” is painted to the left nearby. In the lower right corner, the number “15.” is painted in white and the number “5.” is painted in red.
Francisco Goya, María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga, later Condesa de Chinchón, 1783, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.123

María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga, later Condesa de Chinchón

Francisco Goya · 1783 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.123

A winged angel strides toward a young woman who kneels at the foot of a bed, while an older, bearded man, surrounded by several winged babies and a dove, hover overhead in this vertical painting. All the people have pale skin. To our left, the blond angel steps forward on his right, sandaled foot. He holds a long stem with a white lily in his left hand, farther from us, and raises his other hand to the sky. His charcoal-gray wings are partly extended, and he wears long, flowing, goldenrod-yellow and sage-green garments with a green and blue striped sash wrapped around his chest. His lips are parted, and he looks toward the woman to our right. The woman, Mary, kneels at a wooden lectern that holds an open book near the foot of the bed. Pillows and a moss-green bed curtain are visible behind her. A cobalt-blue mantle drapes across her shoulders and wraps around her rust-red gown and caramel-brown shawl. Mary’s brown hair is partially covered by a golden brown cloth, and her dark eyes are lowered, looking down to our left. Her body is angled to our right, hands crossed over her chest, but her shoulders and head have begun to turn to look back at the angel. Almost lost in shadow, a translucent glass vase with a single stem of rose-red buds sits on the ground next to her. The floor is covered with geometric patterns in tones of brown, gray, and black. A balustrade under arched openings encloses the room beyond the bed. At the foot of one column, a striped cat laps from a saucer. Floating above the pair the bearded man looks down toward Mary, his hands and arms extended in front of him. He also wears a cobalt-blue robe over rose-pink sleeves. Two winged, nude babies cling to his outstretched arms, and also look down at Mary. A trio of three blond baby heads float around the white dove, which flies in a starburst of light. Midnight-blue wings frame each baby’s head. The entire group is surrounded by puffy, golden clouds. The landscape beyond the balustrade has lush green trees under a sapphire-blue sky sprinkled with clouds.
Veronese, Italian 16th Century, The Annunciation, c. 1583/1584, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1959.9.6

The Annunciation

Veronese, Italian 16th Century · c. 1583/1584 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1959.9.6

Two women, a man, and three small children gather around a baby sleeping in a wicker cradle near an open window in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale skin with rosy cheeks. The cradle is just to left of center of the composition. It has a half canopy to shade the baby, and it sits on rockers. The baby sleeps with chubby arms over the covers tucked around the body. A woman sits on a low chest next to and on our side of the crib, near the lower left corner of the canvas. She has a prominent nose and jutting chin. She wears an oatmeal-brown bonnet and apron, and a muted red dress. She holds a staff with fabric or a spindle at the top tucked in one elbow, and the other hand rests on the canopy. A white cat lies like a loaf next to her feet. On the far side of the crib, a clean-shaven man kneels on a low platform covered by a pillow at the foot of the cradle and leans into the arms of a standing young woman. The man has a pointed nose and rounded chin, and he looks with heavy-lidded eyes at the baby. His long gray hair is tied at the nape of his neck, and he wears an ice-blue and tan long-tailed coat, breeches, and stockings. He rests one cheek against the arm of the woman who stands at his far shoulder. Her body faces the man, and she rests her other hand on his shoulder as she turns to look at the baby. A round, broad-brimmed hat casts a shadow over her delicate nose and round cheeks, and she wears a white dress with elbow-length sleeves and a full skirt. Three children stand behind the man’s feet and along the right edge of the canvas. The child closest to us has carrot-orange hair tied in a bun with a blue ribbon. She wears a white, puffy-sleeved shirt, and a parchment-white apron bunched over a pale pink skirt. She faces our left in profile, looking at the man, and holds one end of a ball of yarn that has rolled away from her. The boy behind her stands with his body facing us as he looks up and to our left. He wears a yellow jacket and a broad-brimmed hat pushed back on his head. Only the forehead and eyes of an even smaller child standing behind this pair are visible. Voluminous curtains part to either side of a window at the head of the cradle, near the upper left corner of the composition. An unlit lantern sits on the sill, and the sky beyond is dusk-blue. Bright light shines into the room, especially onto the man and woman and three children. A piece of furniture, perhaps a wardrobe, is on the far wall behind the woman, and the door to the room is open behind the children.
Jean Honoré Fragonard, The Visit to the Nursery, c. 1775, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1946.7.7

The Visit to the Nursery

Jean Honoré Fragonard · c. 1775 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1946.7.7

This painting depicts a sandy beach under a vast, light blue sky. The horizon is in the center of the painting where the blue sky blends into the blue water. In the center of the painting, a group of women are on the beach, some standing and some seated. The women have light skin and wear clothing in shades of brown, dark blue, and red. They all wear headscarves covering their hair, mostly white except for one that is dark blue. Some of the women carry baskets, while others set them on the sandy ground. In the background, there are faint shapes near the shoreline created by small daubs of paint that suggest other people. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible, especially those that create the shapes of the women. Small details are suggested with dashes and dots of paint instead of being shown clearly.
Eugène Boudin, Women on the Beach at Berck, 1881, oil on wood, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.15

Women on the Beach at Berck

Eugène Boudin · 1881 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  1970.17.15

A woman stands drinking from a tall glass as two men sit at a table in a courtyard enclosed by wood paneling and brick buildings in this vertical painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The men, table, and woman take up the lower left quadrant of the composition. Both men wear broad-brimmed, black hats. The man closer to us, on our side of the table, faces our right in profile and holds a long white, clay pipe to his lips. He wears an ink-black jacket and tan leggings. A white stocking hangs down in a wide cuff from his knee on the leg we can see. A dove-gray cape is draped across his lap and a brown coat with gold-colored buttons is slung over a railing behind his back. Across the table, a bearded man wears a shining armor breastplate over a brown shirt. He looks up at the woman and smiles, holding a blue and white tankard with the lid flipped open in one hand. Another pipe and piece of paper sit on the narrow table between the men. The woman stands to one side of the table, facing our left in profile and the toe of her shoe touching or nearly brushing the black shoe of the man closer to us. Her brown hair is covered by a white cap, and she wears a tan-colored jacket, a long, crimson-red skirt, and an ultramarine-blue apron. Across the courtyard, in the lower right corner of the painting, a young girl also wears a white cap and blue apron but with a slate-gray shirt and laurel-green skirt. She approaches the table. A glowing ember is visible inside the ceramic brown dish she holds in both hands. The slightly uneven floor is paved with long, pale yellow bricks. A building rises to our right, a red shutter opening out from a window on the ground level. The other, closed shutter is painted with triangles of black, white, and gray. A half-wall of red brick across from us surrounds an open door, through which are stairs and a tree trunk. More trees rise above the top of that wall. Horizontal paneling encloses the courtyard to our left, behind the men. A church steeple in the distance is silhouetted against the sky over the paneling. A few wispy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky above.
Pieter de Hooch, A Dutch Courtyard, 1658/1660, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.56

A Dutch Courtyard

Pieter de Hooch · 1658/1660 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.56