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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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    Only have an hour to spend?

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  • 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

  • Art & Artists

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    • Artists
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    Closed today 
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    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    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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    • Artists
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    A pale-skinned, nearly nude man is forced back on a metal grate set over fiery coals in this vertical painting. About a dozen men gather around or near the fire, and they all have pale or tanned skin. The person on the grate, Saint Lawrence, leans back on one elbow, which is chained to the grate. Another chain wraps across his hips, over a white loincloth, and more chains bind his legs. He raises one arm, which is forced down by a cleanshaven man wearing armor. Saint Lawrence has dark brown hair and a mustache. His body is muscled and lit with an orange glow from the embers below. One man, closest to us and to our left, stokes the flames with a long fork. He is bare chested, and wears ochre-yellow, tightly fitting, calf-length pants. A nickel-gray cloth is wrapped around his waist, and he wears sandals on his feet. White and topaz blue fabric, presumably clothing, sits on a basket next to a forked, iron instrument in the lower right corner of the painting. A second man stoking the fire to our right, near Saint Lawrence’s head, has a gray beard and hair, and wears a scarlet-red tunic. Others in the shadowed background look on, wearing robes or pieces of metal armor. Saint Lawrence’s raised hand gestures toward a man sitting on a high plinth, near the upper left corner of the composition. That man wears a lapis-blue, form-fitting breastplate. A flint-blue cape is fastened across his shoulders and wraps over his legs. He leans away with one fist raised to his chest, and he holds a short staff in the other hand, by his side. A dusky rose-pink drapery hangs behind him, and a torch-like basket is affixed to the wall next to him. Two winged, baby-like angels hover over Saint Lawrence’s head. Both have curly blond hair and pudgy bodies. One holds a long palm frond and together they hold a crown of laurel leaves. Azure-blue drapery billows around one and spruce-blue drapery flutters around the other. A moonlit sky and landscape are visible in an opening beyond the crowd.
    Jean Baptiste de Champaigne, The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, c. 1660, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Fund, 1998.68.1

    The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

    The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

    Jean Baptiste de Champaigne · c. 1660 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1998.68.1

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