Provenance

Frank Partridge and Sons, Ltd.

active 20th century

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Set in a church, nine men and one woman gather around a throne, on which sits a young boy in this vertical painting. All the people have pale or olive-toned skin. The boy has long, wavy brown hair framing an oval face with delicate features. He looks down in front of him as he holds the tips of his two pointer fingers to touch. His gold-edged, ocean-blue robe falls loosely to the floor over one bare foot. The throne is carved from parchment-white stone and it sits on a low platform set on three shallow steps. Behind the boy, a crimson-red cloth patterned with gold and edged with a moss-green border is held up with four ropes tied into a four-point canopy. Five bearded and cleanshaven men stand and sit in a close group to our left, in front of the throne. They all wear hats, including a turban, hoods, and caps, and long robes in red, green, and white. Two hold open books and each man looks in a different direction, either toward the child or toward the group of four men and one woman clustered to our right. At the center of that second group, the woman wears a white cloth covering her head and a teal-blue robe, and she holds her hands together in prayer. Upon closer inspection, one finds that the woman and child’s heads are surrounded by lines radiating out to create haloes. The other four men in the group to our right also wear jewel-toned robes, and all wear caps except for one man, who is bareheaded. The man closest to us holds his hands with fingertips touching, like the child. The floor between the groups, leading up to the throne, is inlaid with square and X-patterns in sky blue, rose pink, golden yellow, and off white. To either side of the throne and behind the groups of men, six columns support statues carved from white stone. The polished columns are marbled with brick red, pine green, and fawn brown. Two taller columns along the left and right edges of the painting support a pale gray stone arch, which is cut off by the top edge. The apse beyond the throne is decorated on the second level with stained glass set within gray stone walls. An arched opening in the wall to our right, above the woman, leads to a view of buildings with stepped rooflines.
Master of the Catholic Kings, Christ among the Doctors, c. 1495/1497, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.43

Christ among the Doctors

Master of the Catholic Kings · c. 1495/1497 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.43

A profusion of flowers in shades of white, orange, blue, and deep pink, with earthy-green leaves, burst from the narrow opening of a glass vase in this vertical still life painting. Shown against a dark brown background, the vase sits on a caramel-brown ledge. The flowers in the center of the arrangement draw the eye. On our right two tulips are streaked with cream white and dark pink. A flower above it, perhaps an anemone, has white ruffled petals with flame-red tips around a denim-blue center. A small snail in a rust-orange shell rests on a curling green leaf nearby. On our left is a partly opened tulip with scarlet-red streaks next to an ivory-white hydrangea with clusters of tiny petals. Trumpet-shaped, sea-blue morning glories and an amber-orange bloom surround the white hydrangea. The top third of the arrangement has a tall, white peony with feathery petals at the center. Queen Anne’s lace nestles alongside small blooms in muted purples and blues, sage-green peapods, and a carrot-orange flower that resembles a daisy. A slender stalk of wheat extends off the right side while another bends to meet the ledge. The lower third of the arrangement is filled with pink roses, more green pea pods, two closed, plum-purple flowers, and another feathery peony, this one crimson red, which droops to meet the ledge near the bottom right corner of the painting. A few blackberries lie on the ledge nearby. Leaves in various sizes and shades of green fill in among the blooms. More insects and creatures are scattered throughout the composition. For example, a caterpillar clings to the underside of the white peony at the top while a brown and black butterfly flies toward it. A bee sits on the white and red anemone, and a snail, salamander, and spider gather on the ledge to the left of the vase. Stems and the water line are visible within the glass vase, which swells from a narrow opening into a wide base. Panes of a window off to our left reflects in the belly of the vase. The artist signed the front face of the ledge near the lower left: “J.D. De Heem f.”
Jan Davidsz de Heem, Vase of Flowers, c. 1660, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Fund, 1961.6.1

Vase of Flowers

Jan Davidsz de Heem · c. 1660 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.6.1

Three men and two women sit or stand along the far side of a long table, with more people looking on or gathered in other rooms behind them in this tall, vertical painting. All the people have pale skin. The long table stretches nearly the width of the painting. Near the left edge of the painting, a woman wearing a teal-blue robe over a white head scarf holds her hands together in front of her chest in prayer, and she looks down and to our right toward the tabletop. Next to her, a bearded man wearing a loose, eggplant-purple robe, Jesus, holds his right hand, to our left, up in front of his chest with his first two fingers raised, and the other hand rests on the table. His long, wavy brown hair hangs by his face, and he looks down toward the table with hooded eyes, his head tilted slightly to our left. Gold lines radiate out from the woman and Jesus’s heads. At his left shoulder, to our right, a man wearing a sky-blue cap and an emerald-green robe holds an oval-shaped bowl filled with a red liquid toward Jesus with one hand, and the other rests on the table. He looks to our left with light brown eyes under arched brows, and he has deep wrinkles across his forehead, at the corners of his eyes, along his chin line, and around his mouth. To our right and at the end of the table, a young, cleanshaven man sits next to a woman. Both have wavy blond hair, and they look down at the table. The man wears a crimson-red cap and a white fur-lined red cloak with a gold, jeweled clasp lined with teardrop pearls. His right hand, to our left, is lifted toward the woman sitting next to him. The woman wears a pearl-and-jewel headband around a white cloth that drapes down the back of her head. Her pine-green dress is patterned with shimmering gold, stylized leaf designs and has full, loose, white sleeves. She wears three gold rings on the hand resting on the table and two jeweled, gold bands on the other, which rests on her belly. Two younger people, both with brown, shoulder-length hair, stand on our side of the table, facing away from us as they look toward the woman to our right. The one to our left wears a brick-red tunic, and he holds a shallow, round bowl. The one to our right wears teal blue and holds a gold goblet on the table. With his other hand, he points down at six tall jugs on the geometrically patterned floor, and a brown dog stands at his feet. The table is covered with a white cloth, which is decorated with bands of stylized leaves and borders on the side facing us. Along the bottom of the cloth, above long fringe, a Latin inscription reads, “AVE GRACIA PLENA DOMINVS TECV BENEDICTATV INMVILEDIDVS ET BENEDICTVS.” Two gold plates, a few pieces of round, flat bread, and two knives are spaced along the tabletop. Behind the group at the table, one person stands to our left, another at the center, and a trio of men stand to our right. The far wall of the room is peirced with two tall, narrow arches of wood or dark stone to our left. At the top of the column separating the arches, there is white statue of a man holding up two round-topped tablets. The archway to our right opens onto a room with a bed covered with a ruby-red cover and a white pillow. Under the other arch, to our left, one woman and three men sit or stand around a round table in front of a tall fireplace mantle. One of the men holds a large, pewter-silver pitcher up to his lips, and the other three look on. The round table is covered with a white cloth and set with a few dishes. A door on the far wall of that room opens onto a street view lined with buildings.
Master of the Catholic Kings, The Marriage at Cana, c. 1495/1497, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.42

The Marriage at Cana

Master of the Catholic Kings · c. 1495/1497 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.42

A long-haired, small white dog with tawny-brown ears and spots sits on a garnet-red cushion in this loosely painted vertical portrait. The dog looks just to our left with large, round, black eyes under perked eyebrows. Long, floppy ears hang to either side of its short muzzle. A snub black nose glistens over its downward curving mouth. The long fur on the dog’s body is painted with visible strokes in white and silvery gray. Its thin front legs are braced near a black and white ball, which rests at the edge of the cushion near the lower right corner of the composition. The background is coffee brown, and the artist signed the lower right corner with black paint, “ed. Manet.”
Edouard Manet, A King Charles Spaniel, c. 1866, oil on linen, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.36

A King Charles Spaniel

Edouard Manet · c. 1866 · oil on linen ·  Accession ID  1970.17.36

Chinese Qing Dynasty, Square Vase, Kangxi period, 1662/1722, porcelain with famille noire enamels on the biscuit, Widener Collection, 1942.9.616

Square Vase

Chinese Qing Dynasty · Kangxi period, 1662/1722 · porcelain with famille noire enamels on the biscuit ·  Accession ID  1942.9.616

A pearlescent, gold-shaded, white dappled horse stands in front of a dark background in this horizontal painting. The horse faces our left in profile and lifts its head. Its four feet are evenly spaced, and the back of his hindquarters and his tail are largely swallowed in shadow. Light glistens off the horse’s muscles along its body and neck. Traces of a signature in light paint are illegible in the lower left corner.
Anonymous Artist, Gray Stallion, c. 1850 or later, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1984.29.2

Gray Stallion

Anonymous Artist · c. 1850 or later · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1984.29.2

The sculpture depicts a hexagonal vase with floral motifs. The vase is adorned with blossoms in pink, white and green colors set against a yellow backdrop. It is made of glazed ceramic material with a white rim on top featuring a red crisscross pattern. The floral patterns are evenly spaced around the surface, creating a harmonious and balanced look.
Chinese Qing Dynasty, Hexagonal Trumpet Beaker Vase, Kangxi period, 1662/1722, porcelain with famille jaune enamels on the biscuit, Widener Collection, 1942.9.584

Hexagonal Trumpet Beaker Vase

Chinese Qing Dynasty · Kangxi period, 1662/1722 · porcelain with famille jaune enamels on the biscuit ·  Accession ID  1942.9.584

Chinese Qing Dynasty, Young Woman, Kangxi period, 1662/1722, porcelain with famille verte enamels on the biscuit, Widener Collection, 1942.9.594

Young Woman

Chinese Qing Dynasty · Kangxi period, 1662/1722 · porcelain with famille verte enamels on the biscuit ·  Accession ID  1942.9.594

The sculpture is a decorative vase featuring intricate designs of flowers and plants. It is predominantly painted in soft yellow and adorned with green and white accents, which highlight the floral patterns. Made from ceramic material, it consists of a multi-tiered structure with multiple panels, each decorated with depictions of blossoms and foliage. The top edge of the vase displays a pattern in a deeper color, adding contrast to the lighter hues.
Chinese Qing Dynasty, Hexagonal Trumpet Beaker Vase, Kangxi period, 1662/1722, porcelain with famille jaune enamels on the biscuit, Widener Collection, 1942.9.585

Hexagonal Trumpet Beaker Vase

Chinese Qing Dynasty · Kangxi period, 1662/1722 · porcelain with famille jaune enamels on the biscuit ·  Accession ID  1942.9.585

Chinese Qing Dynasty, Female Attendant, Kangxi period, 1662/1722, porcelain with famille verte enamels on the biscuit, Widener Collection, 1942.9.601

Female Attendant

Chinese Qing Dynasty · Kangxi period, 1662/1722 · porcelain with famille verte enamels on the biscuit ·  Accession ID  1942.9.601