Provenance

John William Spencer, 2nd earl Brownlow

Brownlow John William Spencer, 2nd Earl

British, 1842 - 1867

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A fleet of ships gathers in a river lined by trees and buildings in this horizontal painting. The horizon is low, less than a quarter of the way up the composition, and the immense pale blue sky above is filled with clouds with golden tops above dove-gray undersides. The river spans the width of the painting and is congested with boats and ships, many festooned with red, white, and blue flags and banners. The vessels are crowded with people, mostly men wearing hats and black or brown garments. A ship to our right is closest to us and is the largest in the composition. A rowboat has pulled up to the side of the ship, and is occupied by a seated man wearing crimson red and a standing man wearing black. Another man, wearing brown, pulls the rowboat closer to the ship. Amid the densely packed deck over the rowboat, a musician plays a drum while another drinks from a flagon. Ships with unfurled sails, rowboats, and ferries fill the river behind and around the large ship. Churches and buildings are clustered along the riverbank to the left and trees line the river to the right.
Aelbert Cuyp, The Maas at Dordrecht, c. 1650, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1940.2.1

The Maas at Dordrecht

Aelbert Cuyp · c. 1650 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1940.2.1

Shown from the chest up against a black background, a man with peachy skin wears a gold and rose-pink cloak in this vertical portrait painting. With his shoulders pulled back, the man’s body is angled to our left, and he looks in that direction with gray eyes under pointed, furrowed eyebrows. There are wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, and he has a five o-clock shadow along the jowls lining his jaw. He has a rounded nose, and the corners of his thin, pale pink lips turn downward. The hint of closely cropped, dark hair is seen around his ear under his tall, brimless, cobalt-blue cap. His cloak has a stylized floral pattern around pineapples in gold, against a dusky-rose pink background. The high neck of his cloak is lined with white.
Giovanni Bellini, Giovanni Emo, c. 1475/1480, oil on panel transferred to canvas mounted on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.224

Giovanni Emo

Giovanni Bellini · c. 1475/1480 · oil on panel transferred to canvas mounted on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.224