Floor plan

Time and placeThe 17th century

The 17th century

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.
View of Amsterdam from the Northwest, by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1640
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.
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.”
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.
Landscape in the style of Huang Gongwang, by Wang Shimin, 1666
Drawing of god, radiating light, reaching down from clouds, touching male figure.
Battle between monkeys and demons, from the “Shangri” Ramayana, c. 1700

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in the 17th century, anywhere in the world.

Section 1, north wall

  1. 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
  2. View of Amsterdam from the Northwest, by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1640
    View of Amsterdam from the NorthwestRembrandt van Rijn, c. 1640Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. 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
  4. 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

Section 1, south wall

  1. 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
  2. Landscape in the style of Huang Gongwang, by Wang Shimin, 1666
    Landscape in the style of Huang GongwangWang Shimin, 1666Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Drawing of god, radiating light, reaching down from clouds, touching male figure.
    The Creation of AdamGiovanni Benedetto Castiglione, c. 1645/50Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Battle between monkeys and demons, from the “Shangri” Ramayana, c. 1700
    Battle between monkeys and demons, from the “Shangri” RamayanaUnrecorded Indian maker, c. 1700Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Papers with Japanese text hang from a tree bearing red and gold leaves.
    Flowering Cherry and Autumn Maples with Poem SlipsTosa Mitsuoki, 1654/81Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. ONE OF A SET OF PROJECTS FOR A TITLE PAGE AND THE DECORATION OF A HORIZONTAL PANEL
    One of a set of projects for a title page and the decoration of a horizontal panelFrancesco Bedeschini, Italian, 1675-1699Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. Album of Seasonal Landscapes, Leaf C (previous leaf 6), by Xiao Yuncong, 1668
    Album of Seasonal Landscapes, Leaf C (previous leaf 6)Xiao Yuncong, 1668Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. Madonna Nursing the Christ Child, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1670–72
    Madonna Nursing the Christ ChildBartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1670–72Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth, by Francisco de Zurbarán, c. 1640
    Christ and the Virgin in the House at NazarethFrancisco de Zurbarán, c. 1640Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Album of Landscapes: Leaf 5, by Wang Gai, 1677
    Album of Landscapes: Leaf 5Wang Gai, 1677Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. 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
  2. Rush Gatherers, by Nicolaes Berchem, 1657
    Rush GatherersNicolaes Berchem, 1657Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art