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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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    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

  • Art & Artists

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    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
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    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

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    3. Jean Béraud

    Jean Béraud

    French, 1849 - 1936

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    Dozens of pale-skinned men and women, mostly wearing black and charcoal gray, walk or ride in horse-drawn carriages through a busy street lined with buildings in this vertical painting. Most of the people are men, and most of them wear thigh- or knee-high coats and black top hats. A few wear navy blue, brown, or gray, but most are in black. The few women wear long skirts under tight, narrow-waisted bodices, gloves, and hats. The person closest to us, to our left of center, is a woman in a midnight-blue jacket, brown gloves, and a black hat. She holds two round hat boxes, one white and one black, in one hand with a closed umbrella tucked into that elbow. With her other hand she holds up her skirt to reveal a cascade of a white petticoat over a touch of sky-blue stocking within a black shoe. Pink flowers and green leaves, like a narrow corsage, is affixed to the front center of her jacket. Other people carry umbrellas, packages, boxes, or travel cases. The street surface is tan streaked with some touches of smoke gray. A streetlamp a short distance from us, to our left of center, has a central lantern above four more lanterns emanating from the central pole like the arms of a candelabra. The streetlamp sits on tall pedestal surrounded by a curb. The row of buildings lining the streets is closest to us to our right, and it extends into the distance as it angles to our left. Then, along the left edge of the painting, another row of buildings cuts across the street and encloses our view. On the street corner closest to us, posters in shades of butter yellow, white, topaz blue, brown, and red are plastered over a storefront that curves around a corner to our right. A long sign runs across the top of the storefront with white letters against a pale blue background. It reads, “GRANDS MAGASINS DU PRINTEMPS GRANDS ENTRÉE.” Above it a sign reads “Le” and “8 Boul” before being cut off by the right edge of the composition. Scaffolding above the signs is covered with cloths in pale laurel green and parchment brown. Buildings in oatmeal-brown stone with gray roofs extend into the distance to our left. The building facing us far down the street has arched openings along the ground level beneath two stories of windows. The sky in the upper left quadrant is painted with blended strokes of light, arctic blue and white. The artist signed the painting near the lower right corner, “Jean Beraud.”
    Jean Béraud, Paris, rue du Havre, c. 1882, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.2

    Paris, rue du Havre

    Paris, rue du Havre

    Jean Béraud · c. 1882 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.2

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