Provenance

William Andrews Clark

Clark, William A.
Clark, William Andrews Senator

American, 1839 - 1925

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The image depicts a ceramic pharmacy jar with a detailed portrayal of a man with a dark beard and a white turban, appearing to read a script. The sculpture is made from ceramics and features vivid colors such as yellows, blues, and greens. The upper and lower bands of the jar have alternating horizontal stripes of yellow and blue, while the central band showcases ornate designs including leafy wreaths and stylized floral motifs. The jar gives the impression of an elaborately decorated, traditional apothecary vessel, finely painted with intricate patterns and an illustration for historical context.
Faenza 16th Century, Albarello with black-bearded physician and trophies of arms, c. 1550/1575, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.4027

Albarello with black-bearded physician and trophies of arms

Faenza 16th Century · c. 1550/1575 · tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4027

A woman to our right kneels with her hands in prayer as she looks to our left at a vision in a landscape in this horizontal painting. The vision is of a person wearing gold armor, who is flanked by two more people, all encased an oval-shaped full-body halo. The people all have smooth, pale skin, and the women have ash-blond hair. The armored person, Saint Michael, has copper-colored hair and he hovers, feet hanging loose, low over the ground. His body is angled sharply to our right. Both of his arms are outstretched in front of him at shoulder height, and he holds up a gold sword with his right hand. The end of the long sword disappears into the leafy canopy above. Pale pink and blue wings spread from his shoulders. The people to either side of him both wear white dresses patterned with gold designs, and each stands on a shell-pink cloud. The woman closer to us has a halo and holds a silver helmet. The woman farther from us holds out a long, slender, silver sword with both hands. The encompassing halo is ringed with narrow flames. This trio and the halo take up the leftmost third of the composition. They are backed and surrounded by olive-green and golden brown trees. A thick tree trunk immediately to their right has two gouges taken from near the roots. The kneeling woman wears a black scarf and pink jacket-like garment over a long beige dress. She faces our left in profile, looking up at Saint Michael with her lips parted and her eyebrows lifted. Six cream-white sheep stand and lie on the ground behind her, to our right. A basket near her feet has tipped over, spilling its white contents. Grassy hills dotted with pale green trees extends into the deep distance. Puffy peach clouds line the horizon, which comes just over halfway up the composition. The artist signed the lower left corner, “M.Boutet de Monvel.”
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Vision and Inspiration (Joan of Arc series: I), c. 1907-early 1909, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.34

The Vision and Inspiration (Joan of Arc series: I)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · c. 1907-early 1909 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.34

A dimly lit ballet studio is filled with about two dozen young dancers tying on their shoes, stretching, or practicing en pointe in this horizontal painting. The girls all wear dance costumes with knee length tutus, tight bodices, and belts in canary yellow, rose pink, or royal blue. The girls all have brown or dark blond hair. The room seems to be mostly lit from windows on the wall opposite us so some of the girls’ faces are in shadow, but all appear to have light skin. Starting from the left, two dancers are visible from the waist down as they descend a spiral staircase that rises along the left edge of the canvas and off the top. To our left of center is a knot of several dancers, two of whom stand on their toes en pointe, with arms raised. Further right and closest to us, four dancers cluster around a mahogany-brown bench. Rose-pink ballet slippers are piled next to a seated dancer wearing a scarlet-red jacket over her costume. Her head is turned to our right, looking at the girl standing next to her. On the other side of the bench, another dancer bends over to reach her feet, presumably tying on her slippers. The fourth stands on the far right with her back to us, her head turned to our left to look back at the central group. More dancers practice in a room beyond, seen through a wide, squared opening in the upper right of the composition. The room we seem to be in has dark olive-green walls and the room beyond has brighter, parchment-yellow walls. The faces and some details of the costume are loosely painted so their features are indistinct. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Degas.”
Edgar Degas, The Dance Class, c. 1873, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2014.79.710

The Dance Class

Edgar Degas · c. 1873 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.79.710

The sculpture is an intricate, circular relief with a detailed pattern resembling a Gothic rose window. The design includes several human faces or busts symmetrically placed around the piece, each nested within a clover-shaped border. Made from glazed ceramic, the sculpture features a rich color palette of deep blues, pastel greens, creamy whites, and golden yellows. The ornate piece has various floral and geometric motifs creating a complex interplay of shapes and patterns. The relief elements stand out against the flat base of the sculpture.
Round Openwork Dish with Masks in Trefoils, late 16th/early 17th century, lead-glazed earthenware, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.4084

Round Openwork Dish with Masks in Trefoils

· late 16th/early 17th century · lead-glazed earthenware ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4084

Faenza 15th Century, Faenza 16th Century, Inkstand with Saint George and the Dragon, late 15th/early 16th century, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2014.136.335

Inkstand with Saint George and the Dragon

Faenza 15th Century, Faenza 16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) ·  Accession ID  2014.136.335

This is a photograph of a decorative ceramic plate with intricate designs. The plate features a central emblem with a shield design, displaying five red roundels on a golden field, topped by a papal tiara and crossed keys. Surrounding the emblem is an ornate pattern with a blue background and white swirling motifs. The outer border of the plate is adorned with alternating green and yellow geometric designs. The craftsmanship suggests a detailed and meticulous approach to decoration, likely intended for ornamental use.
Tuscan 16th Century, Cafaggiolo 16th Century, Footed dish with the arms of the Medici, reverse decorated "alla porcellana", c. 1513/1521, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2014.136.302

Footed dish with the arms of the Medici, reverse decorated "alla porcellana"

Tuscan 16th Century, Cafaggiolo 16th Century · c. 1513/1521 · tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) ·  Accession ID  2014.136.302

This is a painting of a classical mythological scene rendered in relief on a circular object. The artwork shows multiple figures engaged in various activities within a lush, natural setting. The circular composition features a central river or waterway, in which a sea creature seems to be swimming, with figures around it. The scene is surrounded by greenery, with trees and foliage framed by the rim of the object. Various figures, wearing classical attire, are engaged in animated poses, suggesting a narrative or mythological event. The style is similar to Renaissance art, reminiscent of artists like Luca della Robbia.
Fontainebleau Pottery, French 16th/17th Century, Round Plate with Perseus and Andromeda, late 16th/early 17th century, lead-glazed earthenware, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.4066

Round Plate with Perseus and Andromeda

Fontainebleau Pottery, French 16th/17th Century · late 16th/early 17th century · lead-glazed earthenware ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4066

This is a painting of a decorative ceramic plate featuring a mythological scene. The plate is decorated with classical figures in an outdoor setting. The central figure is a person in classical attire with a blue and orange outfit, holding a spear or staff. To the left are older, bearded figures seated under a large tree. On the right, another figure sits under a tree, possibly reading from a scroll. The background shows a landscape with a walled city, turrets, and a river winding through greenery. The upper part of the plate features a heraldic shield with a yellow border. The style reflects the Italian Renaissance era.
Urbino 16th Century, Plate with Pan and Apollo, c. 1535/1540, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.4019

Plate with Pan and Apollo

Urbino 16th Century · c. 1535/1540 · tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4019

A woman playing a lute sits next to a table, on which a man perches and leans toward her in this vertical painting. Two people look on from the background. All the people have pale skin. The table is covered by cloth patterned in brick red, fawn brown, and black, and it extends off the right edge of the painting. The woman sits along the narrow end of the table to our left of center. Her body faces us as she holds the lute in her lap, one foot resting on a small wooden box. Her left elbow, to our right, is propped on the table to hold the neck of the lute. Her curly, blond hair is pulled back under a string of pearls and a fuzzy salmon-pink cap, or a feather, covers the back of her head. The bodice and puffy, elbow-length sleeves of her gown have cream-white and peach-colored stripes, and the ivory-white satin skirt falls to her feet. She wears a thin gold necklace and pearl earrings. With lips parted, she turns her face up to look at the cleanshaven man sitting on the table next to her. The man’s brown curls fall loosely over his shoulders. A long, wide white collar hangs down the front of his mustard-brown jacket. The voluminous white shirt he wears underneath shows where the jacket is unbuttoned near his waist and at his cuffs. He wears thigh-length, red pantaloons and close-fitting tan leggings. Baggy white socks hang around his ankles, and his brown shoes are tied with laces. A wooden flute sticks out of the pocket farther from the woman, and he holds a tall black hat in his lap, cradled in his left hand, to our right. With his other hand, he reaches to pluck a string near the peg board of the lute. One foot dangles off the edge of the table, and the other is propped on a bench, next to an open book. A glass with a tall stem and rounded bowl sits on the table next to him. Farther back in the shadows of the room, an older woman looks toward the couple, perhaps at the man’s hand on the lute, with her mouth slightly open. A white bonnet frames the woman’s face, and she wears a black hood and cloak over her dark dress. A bed under a box-like canopy sits along the back wall, and is cut off by the left edge of the painting. Dark curtains hanging from the canopy are pulled back to show two white pillows laid one atop the other. Also at the back of the room, to our right, a man peers in through a half-opened, arched door. He wears a conical, black, brimless hat and has a white collar over a dark coat. He looks toward the older woman with one index finger held to the corner of his grinning mouth. The wall is covered with gold-embossed, brown leather squares. The artist signed and dated the painting as if he had written in the open book on the bench: “J Steen 1667,” with the letters J and S entwined.
Jan Steen, Ascagnes and Lucelle (The Music Lesson), 1667, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2014.136.45

Ascagnes and Lucelle (The Music Lesson)

Jan Steen · 1667 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.136.45

This is a painting of an outdoor scene with mythological figures. The artwork depicts a group of nude, winged figures relaxing in a lush landscape, with a distant view of a classical city beneath a sky tinged with sunset hues. In the foreground, trees and rock formations frame the mythological figures, who are adorned with rich colors and intricate details. The central sitting figure plays a pipe. The artist uses vivid colors like blues, greens, and earth tones. This is in the style of Giorgio Andreoli, known for his work with majolica ceramics featuring mythological and idyllic themes.
Sforza di Marcantonio, Plate with Hercules and Omphale, 1551, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926), 2015.19.4015

Plate with Hercules and Omphale

Sforza di Marcantonio · 1551 · tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4015