Floor plan

Time and place17th-century Netherlands

17th-century Netherlands

Wheat Fields, by Jacob van Ruisdael, ca. 1670
Golden sunlight pours across a landscape with three people on horseback and two more people near a flock of sheep, a cow, and a mule in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The horizon is about a third of the way up the composition and is lined with towers on distant, hazy, pale yellow hills. Two of the horses are to the right of center, both facing us. The horse on the left is white, and the rider wears an azure-blue tunic and red brimless cap. The other horse is brown with a white blaze, and its rider wears a red tunic and black cap. That second rider points with a whip to the sitting and standing people near the sheep, to the right. Those two people wear brown jackets, and the standing man has a mustache. The seated person rests a long staff over one shoulder. About half of the nine sheep there lie on the ground, and the others stand. The cow dips her head down to the sheep, and the splay-footed donkey has baskets hung to each side. This grouping is in front of a copse of tall trees that nearly reach the top edge of the composition. The third rider is to our left and a short distance away. That dark brown horse gallops to our right. A short distance away, another herdsman along the left edge of the composition wears a red tunic and brown pants, and he rests a long staff on one shoulder. One cow stands and one lies down next to that herdsman. Sunlight rakes across twigs, leafy plants, scrubby growth, and rocks in the foreground, closest to us. Sailboats float on the waterways that stretch horizontally across the painting in the distance, and the land separating those bodies of water is dotted with spires, windmills, towers, and other structures. A dozen dark birds fly high in the sky, which takes up the top two-thirds of the picture. A bank of iridescent yellow and pearly white clouds trundle across the pale blue sky. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “A.cuijp.”
Rush Gatherers, by Nicolaes Berchem, 1657
A work made of oil on panel.
Brown-tone drawing of a nude woman seated on a small stool, looking downward.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

First room, north wall

  1. Wheat Fields, by Jacob van Ruisdael, ca. 1670
    Wheat FieldsJacob van Ruisdael, ca. 1670Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Golden sunlight pours across a landscape with three people on horseback and two more people near a flock of sheep, a cow, and a mule in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The horizon is about a third of the way up the composition and is lined with towers on distant, hazy, pale yellow hills. Two of the horses are to the right of center, both facing us. The horse on the left is white, and the rider wears an azure-blue tunic and red brimless cap. The other horse is brown with a white blaze, and its rider wears a red tunic and black cap. That second rider points with a whip to the sitting and standing people near the sheep, to the right. Those two people wear brown jackets, and the standing man has a mustache. The seated person rests a long staff over one shoulder. About half of the nine sheep there lie on the ground, and the others stand. The cow dips her head down to the sheep, and the splay-footed donkey has baskets hung to each side. This grouping is in front of a copse of tall trees that nearly reach the top edge of the composition. The third rider is to our left and a short distance away. That dark brown horse gallops to our right. A short distance away, another herdsman along the left edge of the composition wears a red tunic and brown pants, and he rests a long staff on one shoulder. One cow stands and one lies down next to that herdsman. Sunlight rakes across twigs, leafy plants, scrubby growth, and rocks in the foreground, closest to us. Sailboats float on the waterways that stretch horizontally across the painting in the distance, and the land separating those bodies of water is dotted with spires, windmills, towers, and other structures. A dozen dark birds fly high in the sky, which takes up the top two-thirds of the picture. A bank of iridescent yellow and pearly white clouds trundle across the pale blue sky. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “A.cuijp.”
    Horsemen and Herdsmen with CattleAelbert Cuyp, 1655/1660Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

First room, south wall

  1. Rush Gatherers, by Nicolaes Berchem, 1657
    Rush GatherersNicolaes Berchem, 1657Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on panel.
    Girl Standing before a MirrorCaspar Netscher, 1668Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Brown-tone drawing of a nude woman seated on a small stool, looking downward.
    Seated Female NudeRembrandt van Rijn, 1660/62Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, south wall

  1. English Warship Firing a Salute, 1690
    English Warship Firing a SaluteUnrecorded Dutch maker, 1690Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. The image shows a landscape with figures near a body of water. There are buildings made of logs, people gathered near a structure, and trees in the background. The style is detailed with precise linework, shading, and hatching. The color palette is monochrome, emphasizing light and shadow.
    Boat at a River Bank with Three GoatsAllart van Everdingen, probably c. 1645/1656Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A sage-green harbor teems with more than a dozen sailing ships and rowboats under a pale gray sky in this horizontal painting. The horizon comes about one-fifth of the way up the composition, and dark gray and white clouds tower above. Light filters onto the scene through the clouds from our left to fall across the ships while casting shadows on the water nearest us. Painted in tones of slate gray and warm brown, most of the ships closest to us have their sails furled so the masts and horizontal yard arms bristle against the sky. The larger ships have cannons poking out of square portholes. On our right, a war ship floats with its ornately carved and gilded stern facing us. A flag flying from the tallest of the three masts has red, white, and green stripes. The artist painted his name on that flag, “R. Zeeman.” The ship is tied to a buoy with a length of rope, and an empty rowboat is tethered to the right side of the ship. A similar ship but with the sails hanging loosely is tied to a buoy just beyond this one. A row of pickets, like a fence, extends into the water behind these two ships. To our left, a rowboat full of men has pulled up alongside a partially sunken ship, its masts tilting toward us. A few people stand on two more ships nearby. A black temporary dock floats next to the leftmost ship here. A person mixes something that smokes on the platform, and another person stands on a board lifted halfway up the ship’s side, presumably working on a repair. Two women in another rowboat next to the floating dock lean over the side, washing clothes. Another fence encloses the harbor to our left, and a hut in the middle of the harbor is surrounded by a similar structure. Two rowboats closer to us are filled with men wearing tall hats and black or brown coats, and women wearing black bonnets and white shawls. More sailing ships and rowboats move back or around beyond the harbor, out to sea. Visible cracks cover the surface of the painting.
    Amsterdam Harbor SceneReinier Nooms, called Zeeman, c. 1654/1655Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, by Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1662
    Young Woman with a Water PitcherJohannes Vermeer, ca. 1662Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Mocking of Ceres, by Hendrik Goudt, 1610
    The Mocking of CeresHendrik Goudt, 1610Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Portrait of a Woman, by Govaert Flinck, 1646
    Portrait of a WomanGovaert Flinck, 1646Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, with traces of black chalk and opaque white watercolor, on cream laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper.
    Seated Female NudeSamuel van Hoogstraten, 1647/78Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Third room, north wall

  1. Leisure Time in an Elegant Setting, by Pieter de Hooch, ca. 1663–65
    Leisure Time in an Elegant SettingPieter de Hooch, ca. 1663–65Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. This is a drawing of multiple sheep in various poses. The full-page illustration depicts several sheep lying down. The fur of the sheep is textured with detailed pencil strokes, and there are subtle hints of shadow beneath each animal. There is a combination of different angles and poses, showing the sheep from different perspectives. The drawing also contains some rough sketches and outlines, suggesting movement and presence without complete detail. The background is plain.
    SheepNicolaes BerchemCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The Dutch Whaling FleetAbraham Storck, c. 1695Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Portrait of a woman as a shepherdess, by Crispijn de Passe the Younger, 1635-40
    Portrait of a woman as a shepherdessCrispijn de Passe the Younger, 1635-40Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art