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Galeries Fischer

Galeries Fischer

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This is a painting of various colorful birds and a monkey framed by two tall trees. The birds are of different varieties and have striking plumage, including a bird of paradise with yellow and red feathers, a peacock with long, colorful tail feathers, and several smaller birds with vividly colored wings. At the center of the image, a brown hawk faces us. Two of the birds are depicted perched on branches, while two stand on the ground and the other three are in mid-air with their wings extended. In the lower right corner, a small gray monkey is shown sitting on the ground next to the tree. At the bottom of the image are a few short ferns and patches of grass, but most of the background is blank paper.
Anonymous Artist, Study of Birds and Monkey, 1660/1670, oil on copper, Gift of John Dimick, 1983.19.1

Study of Birds and Monkey

Anonymous Artist · 1660/1670 · oil on copper ·  Accession ID  1983.19.1

Twelve men and a woman kneel on the ground to either side of a moss-green rock and gesture or gaze up at a man floating on a black cloud, flanked by eight men, four to each side, in this vertical painting. The scene has an arched top with a shiny gold background within the curve. All the people have pale skin. The man at the top center, Jesus, sits enveloped in a red robe over a bare chest and feet. He looks down and to our left with light brown eyes under furrowed brows, and his brown hair falls to his shoulders. He has a long, straight nose, a curly beard, and his lips are closed. He holds up his right hand, on our left, with the first two fingers raised. In his other hand, he holds a thin, cross-topped staff with a fluttering red pennant marked with a cross. Red wounds pierce the palms of both hands and blood seeps from a gash over his right ribs. Bands of black clouds, one on each side, are occupied by four bearded men seen from the waist up in a vertical row, looking toward Jesus. Each man holds an object or two, including a palm frond, a book and miniature unicorn, two stone tablets, a harp, or sword, or they hold their hands up in prayer. In the upper corners, above where the gold background arches down, winged angels are painted in translucent white against a navy-blue background. Below Jesus and his cloud, a group of six men to our right and six men and a woman to our left create loose parentheses to either side of a smooth, rounded, green rock. The rock appears broken along the bottom and two footprints are impressed into the top. Closest to us to our left, a woman with pale skin and blond hair, wearing a deep, cobalt-blue mantle over her shoulders, looks up with light eyes and a slight smile on small lips. She holds her hands together in prayer and has a wide, flat, gold halo surrounding her head. Next to her, a cleanshaven young man with blond, curly hair, wearing a green cloak, wraps one arm around her and holds his other up in front of his chest. The other men all have trimmed or long beards. Some are balding with gray or white hair, and some have thick, chestnut or cinnamon-brown hair. They wear robes in crimson red, emerald green, lapis blue, or apricot orange. Most look up to the sky with furrowed brows, but one man, to our right, looks down at his neighbor. A row of leafy plants sprouts along the bottom edge of the painting, under the rock. Rays of light, created by lines incised into the gold background, radiate down from Jesus and upward from the heads of the people below.
Johann Koerbecke, The Ascension, 1456/1457, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1959.9.5

The Ascension

Johann Koerbecke · 1456/1457 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1959.9.5

About twenty colorfully dressed people fill a long room behind an old man and young woman standing before a bishop in this horizontal painting. All the people have pale or ash-white skin, and their clothing is in shades of golden yellow, raspberry pink, pumpkin orange, teal, sea blue, or pea green. The men wear tunics and leggings or robes, and some have turbans or feathered hats. The women wear gowns and white or sheer head scarves. The man at the center of the composition, the bishop, wears a pearl-white robe and conical mitre hat. His white hair falls past his shoulders, and he has a long, curly beard. A balding, bearded man and young woman with honey-blond hair stand in front of him. Each has traces of gold halos around their heads. They face each other, and each reaches out one hand, which the bishop in turn holds. The groups of men to our left and women to our right look in all directions, though few look at the couple at the center. An older woman at the rightmost edge of the group stands out. Her gray-toned face is lined, and she wears a black robe. Her eyes are screwed shut, her mouth downturned, and she holds up one hand, palm out. One man in the group to our left plays a lute and others break sticks. More broken sticks are strewn on the ground around the men. The walls of the room are pale lavender or plum purple.
Luca Signorelli, The Marriage of the Virgin, c. 1490/1491, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.39

The Marriage of the Virgin

Luca Signorelli · c. 1490/1491 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1961.9.39

Two monkeys and five birds are painted in meticulous detail against a mostly pearl-white background on this horizontal composition. A spindly tree trunk grows up each side of the painting, and a few tufts of grass are tucked near the trees and at the bottom center of the composition. A red-furred monkey crouches holding a piece of fruit at the center of the painting, and a second piece of fruit lies nearby. Another, lemur-like monkey clings to a tree growing up the right edge, peering at us. A teal-blue parrot perches on a branch above that second monkey, and a hefty, yellow and green bird perches on another branch over the first. Two long-legged, long-necked birds stand to either side of the seated red monkey, with a dove-gray bird to the left and a tawny brown one with pale green legs to the right. A smaller blue, white, and orange bird stands on the ground near the seated monkey and another, this one blue and red, flies above.
Anonymous Artist, Study of Birds and Monkeys, 1660/1670, oil on copper, Gift of John Dimick, 1983.19.2

Study of Birds and Monkeys

Anonymous Artist · 1660/1670 · oil on copper ·  Accession ID  1983.19.2

The image depicts a pastoral scene viewed from a slightly elevated perspective. A group of children and goats are clustered close to us on a grassy slope. One child is playfully seated on a tree branch that extends across the scene. The horizon is set low in the painting, marked by a distant glimpse of rolling hills under a light blue sky scattered with clouds. The artist uses delicate and precise brushstrokes, lending the scene a soft, illustrative quality. The color palette is dominated by earthy tones of green and brown with highlights of blue and grey in the background, capturing a serene and natural environment. Elements such as a wooden fence and large, gnarled trees frame the composition.
Ludwig Richter, Children and Goats Resting by a Felled Tree, 1868, pen and brown and some gray ink with watercolor and gouache, a few touches of varnish (gum arabic?) on wove paper, Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2007.111.28

Children and Goats Resting by a Felled Tree

Ludwig Richter · 1868 · pen and brown and some gray ink with watercolor and gouache, a few touches of varnish (gum arabic?) on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2007.111.28

This painting shows six people standing closely together, facing the left, mostly seen from the waist up. The scene is heavily shadowed, and the facial features of the people are mostly made of dark lines. Most of them have downturned mouths, and they all have pale skin. The individuals appear to be a mix of men and women of a variety of ages. In the center appears to be an old, balding man with a bare torso. Behind him and to the right is a person with a white cap on their head and a blue cloak or jacket. In the back of the group, on the right, is a short person, perhaps a child, who also appears to have a bare torso. In the front of the group, on the left, there are three people who appear to have dark hair and simple clothing. The background is dark and shadowed, with some vertical lines and angles suggesting the gray walls of buildings. The scene is illuminated by a yellowish light.”
Honoré Daumier, The Beggars, c. 1843, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.12

The Beggars

Honoré Daumier · c. 1843 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.12

The drawing features an elevated viewpoint showing a wide landscape with distant mountains, fine continuous line work, a monochromatic color palette, a figure with a cart being pulled by animals traveling along a path, rock formations, vegetation, a detailed tree, more trees, a building, and a valley with low-lying structures and pathways.
Joseph Anton Koch, The Roman Campagna with an Ancient Fountain, 1795-1805, pen and brown ink over graphite on laid paper, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2001.63.1

The Roman Campagna with an Ancient Fountain

Joseph Anton Koch · 1795-1805 · pen and brown ink over graphite on laid paper ·  Accession ID  2001.63.1