Floor plan

Time and placeFlanders

Flanders

Three pale-skinned people gather around a wooden table in a dimly lit tavern as a fourth person urinates against a wall in a back room in this horizontal painting. The table is a square board resting on a broken barrel. All three men at the table have prominent, reddened noses set in wide faces, and they wear clothing and hats in tones of spruce blue, olive green, muted purple, gray, or brown. One man sits on the left side of the table, holding a glass of beer with both hands. He wears what might be a furry cap. His face is turned slightly toward us but he looks down and to our right. The other seated man is across from us. He grins widely as he hunches over one forearm and holds the neck of a lidded ceramic jug with his other hand. He has a long, chunky chin and stares out at us from under a prominent brow ridge. The third man here stands behind, holding up a white clay pipe. His mouth is open, his eyes slitted, possibly crossed, and he hunches down. One foot rests on a low wooden box, a foot warmer. Another white clay pipe and the broken bowl of a pipe sit on the table, and another pipe lies by the first man’s feet. Also across the floor are two pots and a stubby broom, the long handle of which lies against a table holding a brass candlestick. A wisp of smoke rises from the wick in the candle stub. A shelf hung on the wall near the upper left corner of the painting holds a glass vessel and perhaps a plate. Two wooden beams line the left edge of the composition, and a cloth is draped over a nail there. The floor and wall are nearly uniform taupe gray. A rectangular doorway opens into the next room, in the top right corner of the painting. There a man stands facing the wall with both hands down in front of his torso. A window is set high in the wall there and the timbered ceiling is visible. The artist signed the lower left corner the painting, “D Teniers f.” The first two digits of the date read “16.”
A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
Portrait of King Louis XIII of France, by Frans Pourbus, 1611
A work made of pen and brown ink, with traces of black chalk, on cream laid paper.
A work made of engraving on paper.
A work made of red chalk on ivory laid paper.
A work made of engraving on paper.
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.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in Flanders, from every century in the collection.

First room, north wall

  1. Three pale-skinned people gather around a wooden table in a dimly lit tavern as a fourth person urinates against a wall in a back room in this horizontal painting. The table is a square board resting on a broken barrel. All three men at the table have prominent, reddened noses set in wide faces, and they wear clothing and hats in tones of spruce blue, olive green, muted purple, gray, or brown. One man sits on the left side of the table, holding a glass of beer with both hands. He wears what might be a furry cap. His face is turned slightly toward us but he looks down and to our right. The other seated man is across from us. He grins widely as he hunches over one forearm and holds the neck of a lidded ceramic jug with his other hand. He has a long, chunky chin and stares out at us from under a prominent brow ridge. The third man here stands behind, holding up a white clay pipe. His mouth is open, his eyes slitted, possibly crossed, and he hunches down. One foot rests on a low wooden box, a foot warmer. Another white clay pipe and the broken bowl of a pipe sit on the table, and another pipe lies by the first man’s feet. Also across the floor are two pots and a stubby broom, the long handle of which lies against a table holding a brass candlestick. A wisp of smoke rises from the wick in the candle stub. A shelf hung on the wall near the upper left corner of the painting holds a glass vessel and perhaps a plate. Two wooden beams line the left edge of the composition, and a cloth is draped over a nail there. The floor and wall are nearly uniform taupe gray. A rectangular doorway opens into the next room, in the top right corner of the painting. There a man stands facing the wall with both hands down in front of his torso. A window is set high in the wall there and the timbered ceiling is visible. The artist signed the lower left corner the painting, “D Teniers f.” The first two digits of the date read “16.”
    Peasants in a TavernDavid Teniers the Younger, c. 1633Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
    St. John the EvangelistBartholomaeus Spranger, c. 1590Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Portrait of King Louis XIII of France, by Frans Pourbus, 1611
    Portrait of King Louis XIII of FranceFrans Pourbus, 1611Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. 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

First room, south wall

  1. A work made of engraving on paper.
    Title page, from The Seven VicesHieronymous Wierix, c. 1598Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of red chalk on ivory laid paper.
    Sketches of a Lute Player and LuteJan Anton Garemyn, 1756Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of engraving on paper.
    Johann Georg von Gödelmann, Law Professor, DiplomatAegidius Sadeler, II, c. 1601Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. 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

Second room, south wall

  1. A Bouquet of Flowers, by Clara Peeters, ca. 1612
    A Bouquet of FlowersClara Peeters, ca. 1612Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of engraving on ivory laid paper.
    Fides, plate 1 from The Seven VirtuesHieronymous Wierix, c. 1598Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. This horizontal painting shows a tapestry being unfurled and held up by winged, baby-like putti against a structure with gray and gold columns, seen at the edges of the composition. Taking up most of the composition, the tapestry shows two ranks of men, women, and children gathered behind two central men, who meet at the center. All the people have light or tanned skin, and the bodies we can see are muscular. In the central pair of men, the one to our left, Abraham, faces our right in profile as he holds two loaves of bread. He has a brown beard and short, wavy hair, and dark brows over a prominent nose. He looks at the other man with dark eyes and leans toward him, to our right. Abraham wears an armored breastplate over silver chainmail edged with gold, which falls to mid-thigh. A crimson-red cape wraps around his shoulders and swirls around his back. A sword hangs by his hip, and tan sandals cover his heels and shins. Behind him are seven men and one brown horse, who gnaws at its foreleg. Most of the men are bearded and five wear armored helmets. A cleanshaven man wearing a lavender-purple tunic stands with his arm slung over the horse’s neck, holding the rein between thumb and forefinger. The man to our right, Melchizedek has a long white beard and short white hair. His red cap is encircled with a wreath of dark green leaves. He wears a long-sleeved, waist-length, aquamarine-blue garment over a white skirt. A heavy, golden-yellow cape with a broad, white fur collar and lining drapes over his shoulders, and is supported by at least one attendant. Behind and around Melchizedek are eight men, women, and children, standing near stone, gray ruins. Behind Melchizedek, one portly person wearing a dark pink mantle reaches into a basket of bread held across the shoulders of a blond, bearded, bare-chested man. Closer to us, in the lower right corner of the tapestry, one man wearing a green toga and another wearing blue kneel and sit, holding oversized silver and gold urns, the size of their torsos. The man in blue, to our right, turns to look at us over his shoulder. A third large urn sits near the other man. A view into the landscape with a low, green hill and a pale blue sky is glimpsed between the groups. The tapestry showing this scene curls over at the edges where the pudgy angels lift the top edge. The top right corner of the tapestry wraps around the edge of an unseen feature of the building, next to a gray column that rises the height of the painting up along the right edge. The border of the tapestry is rose pink with stylized gold designs. One putto with brown hair holds up the left corner, and one with light gray hair holds up the middle one arm slung over the front of the tapestry. The third putto, with blond hair, hooks an arm over a leafy garland with fruit that hangs from the cornice near the top center of the composition.
    The Meeting of Abraham and MelchizedekPeter Paul Rubens, c. 1626Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Dead Birds and Shot BagsPieter Boel, c. 1660Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, north wall

  1. The Cathedral, by James Ensor, 1886
    The CathedralJames Ensor, 1886Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of engraving on laid paper.
    The Holy FamilyPieter de Jode, I, c. 1585-1595Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The image shows a wide aerial view of a public gathering. Buildings line the horizon overlooking the scene below. The detailed illustration features various individuals and animals in motion, including groups of people, horse riders, and carts. The monochromatic color palette contributes to a classic aesthetic.
    Piazza Presso alla Porta al PratoEdouard Eckman, 1621Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Clothing the Naked, by Michiel Sweerts, ca. 1661
    Clothing the NakedMichiel Sweerts, ca. 1661Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art