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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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    Only have an hour to spend?

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  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
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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.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Now on view

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    Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
    Admission is always free

    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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    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

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    Winding from our right to left, a procession of dozens of people, mostly men and many in black and gray armor on foot and horseback, weaves through rocky hills to the gates of a city in this long, horizontal painting. The people we can see have light skin, and they are small in scale against the landscape. Throughout the procession, dogs nip at the heels of horses that walk, rear, or buck. Many of the armored men carry tall spears. The men not wearing armor mostly wear crimson-red robes over black stockings or short black tunics over stockings with one white leg and one mauve-pink leg. To our right, a man wearing black armor and a black wreath around his blond hair rides a gold throne on a large, gold platform being pulled by two cream-white horses. A gold canopy hangs over his head. Facing our left in profile, he points a scepter down at a person sitting in front of him, lower down on the base. That person wears a simple, lilac-purple tunic and slouching, denim-blue boots as he turns and looks up at the crowned man, hands raised. Three men and one woman sit in alcoves on the side of the base facing us with their hands behind their backs. The men wear black armor while the woman wears a muted sea-green dress. The letters “SPQR” are written in gold across the chest of a rider to our right. The procession in front of the throne passes around a tall golden structure like a fountain. At the top of that structure, a woman surrounded by gold rays to create an ellipse. The soldiers at the front of the procession cross a short, arched bridge leading into the city, and one rider carries a gold banner with a stylized, splayed black bird. Towers and domes in shades of cream, coral, and pink peek above the crenelated city wall. To our right, the landscape beyond the procession is dotted with trees leading to rocky mountains in the deep distance. The horizon line comes four-fifths of the way up the composition. A few wispy white clouds float across a sky that deepens from white along the horizon to lapis blue across the top edge of the panel.
    Biagio d'Antonio, Italian 15th Century, The Triumph of Camillus, c. 1470/1475, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.153

    The Triumph of Camillus

    The Triumph of Camillus

    Biagio d'Antonio, Italian 15th Century · c. 1470/1475 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.153

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