Skip to main content
National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Art

Directions

  • Directions

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Must Sees

    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.”

    Upcoming Exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Opens May 18

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Must Sees

    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.”

    Upcoming Exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Opens May 18

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Must Sees

    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.”

    Upcoming Exhibition:

    Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World

    Opens May 18

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

Directions

  • Directions

Global Search

Autocomplete Suggestions
    No Results
    Keep typing to get suggestions
    Loading Results

    Top Searches:

    • Free images
    • Van Gogh
    • Landscape
    • National Gallery Nights
    • Matisse
    Advanced Artwork Search

    Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    3. Artworks
    4. Provenance
    5. Contessa Falier

    Contessa Falier

    Italian

    Explore Selected Works

    Artwork

    A light-skinned woman and winged boy face each other in a verdant landscape in this horizontal painting. The pair are in the center of the composition. To our left, the woman sits in profile on a moss-green stump, facing our right in profile. She wears a tall diadem over her hip-length blond hair, and her lips are parted. She wears a shell-pink, short-sleeved gown with soft pleats. Her far leg is bent with her foot on the ground, and her near leg is slightly extended. To our right, the boy steps toward and reaches for the woman. He is nude except for a white sash that wraps around his far shoulder, across his back, under his gold wing, and around his near thigh. The ends of the sash fly out behind him. Around them, an emerald-green field is strewn with yellow and red flowers. A dead tree trunk stands to the left of the woman, and two slender trees grow to our right. Beyond the woman and child, a hill with steep sides rises to top of the composition. It is carpeted with lime-green growth, and a zigzagging, sage-green path climbs to a flat area at the top. White paths wrap around the hill to either side, and are bordered by green grasses, trees, and fields. The paths lead back to buildings and misty blue mountains in the far distance. Tiny, pale strokes of color suggest people on the hill and strolling along the paths.
    Anonymous Artist, Venus and Cupid in a Landscape, c. 1505/1515, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.142

    Venus and Cupid in a Landscape

    Venus and Cupid in a Landscape

    Anonymous Artist · c. 1505/1515 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.142

    Site Footer

    Home National Gallery of Art

    Hours

    Admission is always free.

    Locations

    • West Building

      6th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, 20565 DC

    • East Building

      4th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, 20565 DC

    • Sculpture Garden

      7th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, 20565 DC

    Newsletter Sign Up Form

    Art news every week

    Subscribe

    * indicates required

    Follow us

    Social Media

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer Primary Menu

    • About
      • About Us
      • Press
      • Contact Us
    • Visit
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Calendar
      • Today's Tours
      • Accessibility
      • Exhibitions
    • Get Involved
      • Donate
      • Membership
      • Opportunities
    • Research
      • Free Images for Download
      • Artwork Search
      • The Center
      • Conservation
      • Library
      • Archives
      • Publications
    © 2025 National Gallery of Art

    Legal Links

    • Notices
    • Privacy Policy