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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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    • 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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    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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    • Artists
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    A woman and child sit on a throne against a shiny gold background in this vertical panel painting. Two winged angels in the upper corners and two men in the lower corners are about half the size of the woman and child. They all have pale skin with pink cheeks and gold halos. The woman’s head tilts to our right, and she looks off over our right shoulder with hazel eyes. She has a narrow nose, and her lips are set in a line. Her brows angle downward and her chin pulls back, creating a slightly distorted triangular face. A marine-blue mantle covers her head and wraps around a blush-pink robe. The child sits upright with his body facing us and his head turned to look to our left. He has short, light brown hair with light brown eyes, and he wears a scarlet-red robe with a dusty rose-pink mantle draped over one shoulder and across his lap. He points to our left with one hand and holds a white scroll lined with black in the other. They sit on a wide, rust-red seat with a tomato-red cushion. The angels in the upper corners hold up a cloth patterned with garnet-red flowers and black and gold pinwheels behind the pair. The angel on the left wears a muted pink cloak over a sage-green robe, and the other angel wears a bone-white cloak over pink. The two men standing in the lower corners look up at the woman and child. The man on the left has long brown hair and beard and wears a muted pink robe over a long, furry garment. He holds a long scroll in his right hand, on our left. The abbreviated writing on the scroll reads, “ECE AGNU DEI: UI.” The man in the lower right is balding and has a gray beard. He wears an orange cloak wrapped around a dark blue robe. Two gold keys hang on red thread in his left hand, on our right. The panel has a wide, cranberry-red border decorated with black and gold stylized flowers and vines.
    Tuscan 13th Century, Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels, c. 1290, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.60

    Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels

    Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels

    Tuscan 13th Century · c. 1290 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.60

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