Floor plan

The RotundaThe Rotunda

The Rotunda

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)
Screens (six-panel)
Large painting of woman, in gold and pink dress, placing severed head on platter.
In this painting, there are two women standing near a body of water, surrounded by tall green grass and white flowers. One woman wears a bright pink dress, while the other wears a brown dress with a white apron. The woman in pink holds a long, thin rod outwards, its other end connected to a thin string and a small red lure floating on the water. The other woman stands behind her and holds a baby wearing white clothes and a white bonnet. Behind both women, on the right, is a brown shape like a small dog running towards them. The reflection of the women is visible against the still, blue water. The sky is light blue at the top, transitioning to a warm pink by the horizon, crossed by purple clouds and a flock of small birds. In the bottom right corner, across the water from the women, is a patch of more tall blue-and-green grass. The brushstrokes of the painting are light and feathery.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

The entrance hall. Its bays hold the works that show each museum at its fullest: large paintings first, a few from each collection, rehung every day.

Bay 1

  1. Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)
    A horse and riderLi Gonglin, 16th century?Courtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution
  2. Screens (six-panel)
    Monkeys and trees on a river bankSesson Shūkei, 1568-1615Courtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution

Bay 2

  1. Large painting of woman, in gold and pink dress, placing severed head on platter.
    Salome with the Head of Saint John the BaptistGuido Reni, c. 1639–42Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. In this painting, there are two women standing near a body of water, surrounded by tall green grass and white flowers. One woman wears a bright pink dress, while the other wears a brown dress with a white apron. The woman in pink holds a long, thin rod outwards, its other end connected to a thin string and a small red lure floating on the water. The other woman stands behind her and holds a baby wearing white clothes and a white bonnet. Behind both women, on the right, is a brown shape like a small dog running towards them. The reflection of the women is visible against the still, blue water. The sky is light blue at the top, transitioning to a warm pink by the horizon, crossed by purple clouds and a flock of small birds. In the bottom right corner, across the water from the women, is a patch of more tall blue-and-green grass. The brushstrokes of the painting are light and feathery.
    The Artist's Wife FishingJean Louis Forain, 1896Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Bay 3

  1. A work made of oil on panel.
    The Shadow of DeathWilliam Holman Hunt, 1873-74Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael, by Benjamin West, c. 1770
    Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, RaphaelBenjamin West, c. 1770Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Bay 4

  1. Painting
    Ancestral group of Mughal rulersGovardhan, 18th centuryCourtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution
  2. Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees. Most of the people face us, and the men, women, and child have pale skin. The two satyrs have men’s torsos and furry goat’s legs, and they have darker, olive complexions. Most of the men wear voluminous, knee-length togas wrapped in short robes in shades of white, topaz blue, grass green, coral orange, or rose pink. Most of the women wear long, dress-like garments in tones of shell pink, apricot orange, or lapis blue over white sleeves. For all but one woman, their garments have fallen off one shoulder to reveal a round, firm breast. Several objects are strewn on the rocky, dirt ground in front of the group, including a wide, wooden bucket with a piece of paper affixed to its front to our right, a glass goblet, a pitchfork, a large blue and white ceramic dish filled with grapes and small yellow fruits, and an overturned cup near the center. Cliff-like, craggy rocks rise steeply behind the group to our left, filling much of the sky opposite a tall grove of leafy, dark green trees to our right. A few puffy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky. The slip of paper on the barrel has been inscribed, “joannes bellinus venetus p MDXIIII.”
    The Feast of the GodsGiovanni Bellini, 1514/1529Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington