Floor plan

Time and place17th-century Flanders

17th-century Flanders

Self-Portrait, from "The Iconography", by Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1640
Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a Landscape, by Abraham Brueghel
Queen Henrietta Maria, by Anthony van Dyck, 1636
The image shows a formal garden or park with a symmetrical view. It is taken from a slightly elevated position, revealing the vast space beyond a foreground of foliage and low-growing plants. The horizon line is positioned near the midpoint, where a tree-lined pathway extends into the distance. Flanking the pathway are two statues on pedestals under leafy trees. The scene is detailed with intricate line work emphasizing textures and forms. The color palette is monochromatic in various shades of brown, creating a classic appearance. Paved steps and a bridge over a small body of water add to the ordered elegance of the garden.
A nearly nude, muscular man with pale, peachy skin sits in an underground cave among seven male and two female lions in this horizontal painting. The man sits to our right of center with his legs crossed, elbows close to his body with hands clasped by his chest. His head tips back to look up through a small opening above. He has long, wavy, chestnut-brown hair and dark eyes. A white cloth wraps across his hips, and he sits on a scarlet-red swath of fabric draped up over a rock next to him. The nine lions stalk, sit, or lie down around the man. One male lion next to the man, to our left, opens his mouth with his head thrown back, curling tongue extended beyond long fangs. A human skull and other bones are strewn on the dirt ground close to us. The rocky cave curves up around the animals and man to a narrow, round opening showing blue sky above.
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.”
Lucas van Uffel (died 1637), by Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1622

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in Flanders in the 17th century.

Section 1, north wall

  1. Self-Portrait, from "The Iconography", by Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1640
    Self-Portrait, from "The Iconography"Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1640Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a Landscape, by Abraham Brueghel
    Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a LandscapeAbraham BrueghelCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Queen Henrietta Maria, by Anthony van Dyck, 1636
    Queen Henrietta MariaAnthony van Dyck, 1636Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. The image shows a formal garden or park with a symmetrical view. It is taken from a slightly elevated position, revealing the vast space beyond a foreground of foliage and low-growing plants. The horizon line is positioned near the midpoint, where a tree-lined pathway extends into the distance. Flanking the pathway are two statues on pedestals under leafy trees. The scene is detailed with intricate line work emphasizing textures and forms. The color palette is monochromatic in various shades of brown, creating a classic appearance. Paved steps and a bridge over a small body of water add to the ordered elegance of the garden.
    The Two StatuesAbraham Genoels IICourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 1, south wall

  1. A nearly nude, muscular man with pale, peachy skin sits in an underground cave among seven male and two female lions in this horizontal painting. The man sits to our right of center with his legs crossed, elbows close to his body with hands clasped by his chest. His head tips back to look up through a small opening above. He has long, wavy, chestnut-brown hair and dark eyes. A white cloth wraps across his hips, and he sits on a scarlet-red swath of fabric draped up over a rock next to him. The nine lions stalk, sit, or lie down around the man. One male lion next to the man, to our left, opens his mouth with his head thrown back, curling tongue extended beyond long fangs. A human skull and other bones are strewn on the dirt ground close to us. The rocky cave curves up around the animals and man to a narrow, round opening showing blue sky above.
    Daniel in the Lions' DenPeter Paul Rubens, c. 1614/1616Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. 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.”
    Insects and a Sprig of RosemaryJan van Kessel the Elder, 1653Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Lucas van Uffel (died 1637), by Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1622
    Lucas van Uffel (died 1637)Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1622Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. The image features a detailed black and white illustration with multiple human and animal figures in a symbolic arrangement. In the foreground, two full-body figures are depicted in long robes and sandals, positioned on either side of a large draped banner with text. One figure holds an open book. Above the banner are celestial figures in dynamic poses. To the left is a winged bull-like creature and a seated male figure with a beard, next to a female figure in classical attire. They are all surrounded by flowing fabric and a lion-like animal. In the lower center foreground, there is an emblem resembling a coat of arms with an eagle and a crowned shield. The background is textured, with no natural landscape or architecture present, allowing the figures to stand out. The illustration is framed by the margins of an open book.
    Title Page for Balthasar Cordier, Catena Sexaginta Qvinqve Graecorvm Patrvm in S. Lvcam...Cornelis Galle I, 1628Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Still Life with Meat, Fish, Vegetables, and Fruit, by Jacob van Hulsdonck, c. 1615–20
    Still Life with Meat, Fish, Vegetables, and FruitJacob van Hulsdonck, c. 1615–20Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A Genoese Lady with Her Child, by Anthony van Dyck, c. 1623–25
    A Genoese Lady with Her ChildAnthony van Dyck, c. 1623–25Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. Guardroom with the Deliverance of Saint Peter, by David Teniers the Younger, ca. 1645–47
    Guardroom with the Deliverance of Saint PeterDavid Teniers the Younger, ca. 1645–47Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of pen and brown ink, with traces of black chalk, on cream laid paper.
    Head of MedusaGodfried Maes, 1680Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Clothing the Naked, by Michiel Sweerts, ca. 1661
    Clothing the NakedMichiel Sweerts, ca. 1661Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. An older man at left in red raises his hat toward a central table chaotically overflowing with dead game, fruits, and vegetables. The wings of dead birds and limbs of animals are splayed out at dramatic angles; a deer at center is suspended by his back legs. Live birds and a cat animate the scene.
    Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a MarketFrans Snyders, 1614Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Portrait of Nicolas Trigault in Chinese Costume, by Peter Paul Rubens, 1617
    Portrait of Nicolas Trigault in Chinese CostumePeter Paul Rubens, 1617Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of oil on panel.
    Aeneas Rescuing Anchises from Burning TroyHendrick van Steenwijck, the Younger, c. 1610Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago