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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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    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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    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

  • Art & Artists

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    • Artists
    • Stories
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    3. Mlle Jeanne Fevre
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    Mlle Jeanne Fevre

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    A man and woman, both with pale, peachy skin, sit on opposite sides of a burgundy-red, low-backed sofa in a room wallpapered with a striped, floral pattern in this vertical painting. To our left, the woman sits with her body facing us, and she looks at us with dark eyes under dark, arched brows. She has an oval face, a straight nose, and her coral-pink lips are closed. The woman’s dark brown hair is parted down the middle, and smoothed and pulled back to the base of her head. Her pinkish-tan dress has a narrow white collar and a full, billowing skirt. A loosely painted, crimson-red shawl wraps around her torso and is pulled over white, puffy sleeves. Also loosely painted, a shell-shaped, tan object to our right could be a fan held in her left hand. To our right and on the far side of the piece of furniture, the man sits on the low back of the chaise-longue, his left knee bent so that thigh, closer to us, rests along the back of the sofa. He turns his face to look at us from the corners of his eyes. He has a rounded nose, and his full, pink lips are closed. He has an auburn-brown beard and his short hair is tousled. He wears a brown coat and charcoal-gray slacks. He rests the hand closer to us against his hip so his elbow juts toward us. To either side of the people and nearly spanning the width of the painting, the arms of the chaise curve upward to about the height of the woman’s shoulders. A loosely painted, ball-like form next to the left arm of the chaise could be a hat or other object on a side table. The wall behind the people extends from the left edge of the painting to just behind the man, and is patterned with evergreen-colored dots to create floral patterns along vertical beige-colored stripes, all against a moss-green background. A golden yellow, vertical line near the left edge of the painting may be the frame of a mirror or painting. Beyond the man, to our right, a doorway opens to another room with mustard-yellow walls with white molding along the ceiling. A ghostly outline in ash-gray suggests a woman wearing a full skirt, long sleeved jacket, and hat in the room beyond. The paint in some areas is thinly applied or scraped away, especially in the people’s clothing.
    Edgar Degas, Edmondo and Thérèse Morbilli, c. 1865, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.125

    Edmondo and Thérèse Morbilli

    Edmondo and Thérèse Morbilli

    Edgar Degas · c. 1865 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.125

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