Floor plan

Time and placeFlanders

Flanders

We look slightly down onto a scene with people gathering in small groups in a cobblestone town square lined with rows of brick, wood, and stone buildings, many with stepped rooflines, in this horizontal painting. Singly or in pairs or trios, men, women, and children walk across the square, move goods around, or talk to merchants. All the people have light skin. Many of the men have mustaches and wear hats, and some carry swords. In tones of black, olive green, brick red, and plum purple, they wear hip-length cloaks over jackets, with white collars or ruffs and brass buttons, and knee-length breeches over yellow or black stockings. The women all wear long dresses in salmon pink, coral red, or golden yellow, with white collars or ruffs, and many wear black, ankle-length cloaks, some with hoods. Closest to us, a sumptuously dressed man and woman walk toward us while another similarly elegant couple walks away. Also facing away from us, to our left, a man wearing a large drum strapped around his waist raises one drumstick as he looks over his left shoulder. Nearby, a woman peers up out of a cellar door that opens on an angle to the street. More couples gather around a well across the square, and two women and a child talk to a third woman selling wares at a wooden table to our right. A pair of hooded priests or monks walk near a man blowing on a trumpet on horseback. The buildings are mostly shades of brick red and brown, and most have three or four stories with steeply pitched roofs. More people walk along side streets leading off the main square. One gap in the buildings across from us leads to a nickel-gray stone church with a pointed spire and square tower. A grassy, green hill rises steeply beyond the buildings to our right, leading down to a waterway that extends up and away into the distance. A few boats float in the water, which reflects the leaden-gray sky. Beyond the town square, a brown stone structure like a fortress with turret towers and crenellated walls looms along the ridge of the hill to our right. Tiny in scale, people on horseback and tending sheep dot the hillside below. The date “1590” is painted on the front of one of the buildings across from us while another date, “1597,” is painted on the end of a short wall near the lower left corner.
A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and black and green washes, over black chalk, on cream laid paper.
A work made of photogravure in dark brown retouched with soft varnish (vernis mou), roulette and blue handcoloring on thick cream wove paper.
A work made of oil on panel.
The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist, by Juan de Flandes, 1496–99
Guardroom with the Deliverance of Saint Peter, by David Teniers the Younger, ca. 1645–47

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. We look slightly down onto a scene with people gathering in small groups in a cobblestone town square lined with rows of brick, wood, and stone buildings, many with stepped rooflines, in this horizontal painting. Singly or in pairs or trios, men, women, and children walk across the square, move goods around, or talk to merchants. All the people have light skin. Many of the men have mustaches and wear hats, and some carry swords. In tones of black, olive green, brick red, and plum purple, they wear hip-length cloaks over jackets, with white collars or ruffs and brass buttons, and knee-length breeches over yellow or black stockings. The women all wear long dresses in salmon pink, coral red, or golden yellow, with white collars or ruffs, and many wear black, ankle-length cloaks, some with hoods. Closest to us, a sumptuously dressed man and woman walk toward us while another similarly elegant couple walks away. Also facing away from us, to our left, a man wearing a large drum strapped around his waist raises one drumstick as he looks over his left shoulder. Nearby, a woman peers up out of a cellar door that opens on an angle to the street. More couples gather around a well across the square, and two women and a child talk to a third woman selling wares at a wooden table to our right. A pair of hooded priests or monks walk near a man blowing on a trumpet on horseback. The buildings are mostly shades of brick red and brown, and most have three or four stories with steeply pitched roofs. More people walk along side streets leading off the main square. One gap in the buildings across from us leads to a nickel-gray stone church with a pointed spire and square tower. A grassy, green hill rises steeply beyond the buildings to our right, leading down to a waterway that extends up and away into the distance. A few boats float in the water, which reflects the leaden-gray sky. Beyond the town square, a brown stone structure like a fortress with turret towers and crenellated walls looms along the ridge of the hill to our right. Tiny in scale, people on horseback and tending sheep dot the hillside below. The date “1590” is painted on the front of one of the buildings across from us while another date, “1597,” is painted on the end of a short wall near the lower left corner.
    The Marketplace in Bergen op ZoomAbel Grimmer, probably 1590 and 1597Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and black and green washes, over black chalk, on cream laid paper.
    Interior View of the ColiseumLodewijk Toeput, c. 1580Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of photogravure in dark brown retouched with soft varnish (vernis mou), roulette and blue handcoloring on thick cream wove paper.
    Modern MasksFélicien Rops, 1889Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. A work made of oil on panel.
    The Flight into EgyptAbraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck, c. 1650Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist, by Juan de Flandes, 1496–99
    The Birth and Naming of John the BaptistJuan de Flandes, 1496–99Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. 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

Second room, 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. DEER HUNT WITH NETS
    Deer Hunt with NetsJan van der Straet, called Stradanus, ca. 1590 – 1599Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. A Bouquet of Flowers, by Clara Peeters, ca. 1612
    A Bouquet of FlowersClara Peeters, ca. 1612Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. The Rabbit Hunt, by Pieter Bruegel, 1560
    The Rabbit HuntPieter Bruegel, 1560Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Painted dark colored portrait of man, hands in prayer.
    Portrait of Jean Gros (recto); Coat of Arms of Jean Gros (verso)Rogier van der Weyden, 1460–64Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. A work made of engraving on paper.
    Title page, from The Seven VicesHieronymous Wierix, c. 1598Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Third room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. The Seed Received among the Thorns, from the Parable of the Sower, by Gerard P. van Groningen, c. 1573
    The Seed Received among the Thorns, from the Parable of the SowerGerard P. van Groningen, c. 1573Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A Mill with a Fortified Bridge, a Rowing Boat in the Foreground, by Roelandt Savery, 1596–1639
    A Mill with a Fortified Bridge, a Rowing Boat in the ForegroundRoelandt Savery, 1596–1639Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art