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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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    Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
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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

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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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    Shown from about the knees up, a woman, baby, and two angels crowd together in a narrow interior space pierced by three window openings. The people all have pale, peachy skin, blond hair, and translucent gold halos, and together they fill most of the space of this vertical painting. To our left, the woman perches on a pillow on a wooden chair as she holds the baby. The scrolling arm of the chair dips down to the seat in the lower left corner of the painting, and the black, scarlet-red, and gold pillow has a silver tassel dangling from the upper corner. The woman’s body is angled to our right, and she turns her head in profile to gaze down past the child with heavy-lidded eyes. Her forest-green cloak is lined with dark material where it turns back down the front. Short, cape-like drapery flutters across her shoulders and is decorated with gold bands along the hem. The cloak is held closed by a gold disk just below the neckline of the red gown underneath, which is belted with a thin gold band above the waist. Her hair is pulled back from her high forehead and is covered by a sheer white veil that frames her face and falls in folds to her shoulders. She steadies the plump baby so he is propped upright on her lap, facing her, with his feet resting on her belly. The baby reaches out to her with his right hand resting on her left shoulder, farther from us, while he turns to look up over his other shoulder, above us. A dove-gray cloth with rose-pink and white stripes is wrapped around his waist and drapes over his legs. To our right, the two angels stand with their bodies facing the child they help support. The angel closer to us turns back to look at or past us with brown eyes. That angel’s robe is rose red with a brighter, scarlet-red collar. The robe falls back to the elbow on the arm closer to us to reveal a cream-colored sleeve patterned with leaf-like strokes of pine green and earth brown. That hand is raised to delicately hold the hem of the baby’s wrap. The one wing we can see is brown and cranberry red, and is cut off by the right edge of the painting. The second angel stands at the back of the little group and looks up and off to our right with silver-gray eyes. That angel wears a pale lavender-gray robe and one hand supports the baby’s bottom. A small, scarlet-red disk is set into the angel’s hair over the forehead. A spray of white lilies angles from between the two angels along the right edge of the panel. The room the group occupies has light gray walls, some tinged with shell pink, and a sapphire-blue ceiling bordered with dark brown wood. A matching sapphire-blue, scalloped half-moon shape is set into the back wall. A garland of chestnut-brown leaves hangs from gold fittings to span the room near the ceiling. Portions of a stone building and watery blue sky are visible through the windows to either side and at the back of the room.
    Sandro Botticelli, Madonna and Child with Angels, 1465/1470, oil and tempera on poplar panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.47

    Madonna and Child with Angels

    Madonna and Child with Angels

    Sandro Botticelli · 1465/1470 · oil and tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1943.4.47

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