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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 
    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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    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

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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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    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

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    5. Count Silvio Piccolomini Clementini della Triana
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    Count Silvio Piccolomini Clementini della Triana

    Italian, 1878 - 1962

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    Shown from the waist up, a woman and the baby she holds are surrounded by two gray-haired men and four blond angels in this vertical painting. They all have pale skin, gold halos, and brown or gray eyes. At the center of the painting, the woman, Mary, has almond-shaped eyes under thin, arched brows, a long nose, a small, coral-pink mouth, and a narrow chin. Her hair is covered by a long, off-white veil and a cobalt-blue mantle that drapes over her head and around her body. The neckline and cuffs of her rust-orange and gold robe peek out from under the mantle, which is bordered with a delicate gold pattern with a gold star on her left shoulder. The child, Jesus sits upright on Mary’s right arm, on our left, and that hand supports his bottom. Her other hand lies over his bare feet. Jesus’s body is turned toward Mary, but his head is turned back to look to our left. He wears a long, gold and dusty-rose robe over a garment with bronze-colored sleeves. A petal-pink mantle is draped across his back and tucked under his bottom. Jesus touches Mary’s mantle near the neckline with one hand and holds a bird in the other hand. The bird is a little larger than his hand and has a strawberry-red face, light gray body, and brown, gold, and black wings. The people on either side of Mary and Jesus are stacked vertically and turn inward to gaze at the central pair. In the lower left, a balding man with a long gray beard holds his hands in prayer while clutching a rosary made with black beads. In the lower right, a cleanshaven man with his gray hair cut in a tonsure also stands with hands in prayer. Two blond angels lean into the painting from each side. They all have blond hair, small, dark pink mouths, and they wear wreaths of pink roses or green leaves. They are all set against a gold background. Tiny, round holes across the surface pierce through at least the top layer.
    Sano di Pietro, Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome, Saint Bernardino, and Angels, c. 1460/1470, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.274

    Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome, Saint Bernardino, and Angels

    Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome, Saint Bernardino, and Angels

    Sano di Pietro · c. 1460/1470 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.274

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