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David M. Koetser Gallery

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Shown from the waist up, a pale-skinned man is angled slightly to our right with his hands together in prayer in this vertical portrait painting. The man’s slightly bulging blue eyes lift to look up and to the right. Wrinkles line his forehead and the corners of his eyes and lips. His cheeks are hollow, and the temple we see slightly sunken. He has a long nose, bags under his eyes, and his thin lips are pressed together in a line over a pointed chin. Straight brown hair parts to either side of his high forehead and falls to just beneath his ears. His raspberry-red shirt has a high black collar, and a dark, burgundy red scarf drapes over his far shoulder. All of his fingertips touch except for the pinkies, which pass each other to make an X shape. The man is evenly lit against a brown background.
Anonymous Artist, Portrait of a Donor, c. 1470/1475, oil on hardboard transferred from panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.66

Portrait of a Donor

Anonymous Artist · c. 1470/1475 · oil on hardboard transferred from panel ·  Accession ID  1961.9.66

Two nude young boys and a young woman holding a standing infant are tightly grouped around a table, almost filling this vertical painting. They all have pale skin tinged with pink. The woman is shown from the knees up, and she stands at the front, right corner of the table, which spans most of the composition. Facing our left in profile, her auburn-brown hair is pulled back and wrapped with a slate-blue ribbon, and is wound around the crown of her head. She looks down with dark eyes under thin brows. She has a long nose, and her full, dusty rose-pink lips are closed. Two thin cords hang like necklaces just above the neckline of her carnation-pink gown, which is unbuttoned to reveal one bare breast. The plump infant stands at the center of the group. The woman holds him close to her body, but he turns his face away to look at the young boy on our left. That child faces our right in profile and has wavy, copper-red hair. He is nude except for a blue sash, which is tied once tightly around his waist and then wrapped so a loose hoop hangs down over his belly. His right knee, closer to us, rests on an olive-green cloth crumpled on the table beneath him. He leans back slightly, with his belly pushed forward, and looks down at the infant while pointing to us with his closest hand. A third child, with unruly honey-blond hair, stands facing us from the back of the group, so is seen between the woman and the pointing child. The child at the back of the group touches the woman’s shoulder with one hand, looking straight at us with mouth slightly open. A burgundy-red sash is visible around the waist. Near the bottom edge of the painting, the tabletop is covered with a pumpkin-orange cloth striped with plum-purple and black. A book rests near the baby’s feet and is partially covered by the green cloth to our left. A peacock-blue cloth is bunched on the right half of the table and hangs off that side, obscuring the woman’s knees. The background is painted with broad strokes and swirls of brown and flint blue, with flickers of red and gold in the upper right.
Andrea del Sarto, Charity, before 1530, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1957.14.5

Charity

Andrea del Sarto · before 1530 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1957.14.5

We look slightly down at an ornate fountain in a dirt and stone courtyard surrounded by about two dozen people, many of whom look at or gesture toward the fountain in this vertical painting. Most of the people have pale, peachy skin but one man, near the lower center, has dark brown skin and short black hair. The fountain has a broad, shell-shaped base filled with glimmering, aquamarine-blue water. In the basin, and as if carved from gray stone, two muscular, nude men blow horns as they ride stylized dolphins, which spout water into the pool. Two more people wearing robes sit atop a tall, pedestal-shaped form that rises from the back of the shell base. The person to our left holds aloft a bowl and the other holds a vessel on her lap as she turns to look up and behind her at the pinnacle of the fountain. There, a person, also carved from stone, sits on a throne and points down with one hand while the other, closer to us, rests on a short column with three flame-like protrusions up each side. He leans back against a short, curving ship with an oar coming through a porthole to our right. A nude, chubby, baby-like cherub straddles the rudder like a horse to our right. The sun falls down the front of the fountain, especially highlighting the middle tier and bottom shell-shaped basin, and it illuminates the people gathered around and near its base. One man to our left kneels on the edge of the basin and dips one hand in, as several others stand around it and look up at or point toward it. Most of the people wear robes, cloaks, and tunics in mustard yellow, tomato red, peach, white, and royal or light blue. A few vignettes draw the eye, including two men wearing chains on their ankles, are sprawled in shadow in the lower left corner of the composition. In that same cluster, two men stand and gesture toward the fountain while another sits at their feet. Nearby, the man with brown skin sits in front of a light-skinned man wearing a turban, a striped tunic, and a short sword hanging from his belt. The turbaned man stands with his back to us and rests his right hand on the handle of a pointed axe, using it like a cane. To our right, a person wearing an armor breastplate under a ruby-red cloak stands next to a balding man who also points up at the fountain. A young man wearing a lemon-yellow suit sits on a fallen block in the lower right corner of the composition, holding a board on his lap and presumably sketching the fountain, as a man wearing sapphire blue looks on. More people walk toward the fountain down in front of a gate to our right of the fountain. Beyond, plants and vegetation grow among ruins with columns, a stone obelisk, and a tall narrow pyramid. Pale pink clouds float in the pastel blue sky above. The artists signed their names as if written on the face of a stone block near the lower left: “B.” and “M.” next to “RICCI Faciebant.”
Sebastiano Ricci, Marco Ricci, Memorial to Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell, 1725, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.58

Memorial to Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell

Sebastiano Ricci, Marco Ricci · 1725 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.9.58

A young woman sitting and holding a nude baby boy is surrounded by winged angels and four men in this vertical painting. They all have pale skin, and the people, not angels, have delicate gold rings as halos. The woman, Mary, sits on a white stone pedestal on a stone step, which spans the width of the painting. Her head tilts to our right as she looks down. Her brown hair is covered with a translucent white veil. She wears a raspberry-pink dress under a midnight-blue cloak lined with pine green. She cradles the chubby baby with both hands. He has round cheeks, a snub nose, and bow-shaped lips. He looks at Mary and reaches toward her face with one hand. Two men stand on the step to either side of her pedestal, and two more kneel at the base of the step. The man at the top left is cleanshaven and has wings striped with grass green, mauve pink, pearl white, and sky blue. He wears a gold helmet, a muscled breastplate, a knee-length, lavender-blue tunic, and gold, shin-high, toe-less shoes. He holds a sword up high with one hand and a scale with the other. A tiny man kneels and prays to Mary in the higher pan of the scale. In front of him, a man with darker, tanned skin, kneels on one leg with his body facing us as he turns his head to look up at Mary and the baby. His brows are furrowed and his lips parted. He has short, curly brown hair and a trimmed beard. He wears a bottle-green robe and a canary-yellow cloak. He holds a piece of paper on a pink book braced against his raised knee. To the upper right, the man standing next to Mary’s pedestal has a long white beard, and he looks down at an open book he holds with both hands. He wears a conical, split hat, a grass-green robe edged with a pattern of haloed, winged baby heads against maroon red. He wears gold rings over white gloves and a white garment underneath the cloak. In front of him, a balding man with a curly white beard and hair also kneels on one leg in front of the step. This man also looks down with lips parted. He holds a book with a moss-green cover with one hand and a pen in the other as he writes on a piece of paper on the book. He wears a cranberry-red cloak over a lapis-blue robe, and both kneeling men wear sandals on the feet we can see. Four winged angels, about half the size of the other people, hover in a line behind Mary, two to each side. They all have long, blond, curly hair. Their wings and robes are painted in shades of red, yellow, blue, and green. The angel to our left holds a spray of white flowers and one to our right holds a branch of white lilies. They all look at Mary or the baby. A sliver of blue, mountainous landscape is visible to our left of the pedestal. The horizon comes about halfway up the composition, so Mary, the angels, and the men standing to each side of the pedestal are mostly outlined against a pale blue sky.
Luca Signorelli, Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels, mid or late 1510s, oil on panel transferred to hardboard, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.87

Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels

Luca Signorelli · mid or late 1510s · oil on panel transferred to hardboard ·  Accession ID  1961.9.87

A mostly nude young woman with pale skin leans, half-sitting, back on one hand while she reaches for a silver vessel held by a second woman in this vertical painting. The woman who offers the vessel also has light skin, and both have auburn-brown hair bound up and interwoven with strands of pearls. The body of the woman at the center of the painting, Susanna, faces us and she turns her head to our left, to look at the vessel with shaded, dark eyes. She has a straight nose, and her ruby-red, full lips are closed. A glint on one earlobe suggests a jeweled earring behind curls that frame her face and brush her shoulders. She has small, firm breasts and wears a bronze-colored bracelet on each wrist. Crimson-red cloth hangs from the backs of her shoulders and drapes over her seat. Sheer white fabric covers her lap across her upper thighs. The toes of one foot rest on the ground while the other foot dips into the water of a pool. The other woman, holding the round vessel, faces away from us as she leans into the painting so only her head, shoulders, and arms are visible. Her dark pink sleeve wraps around the upper arm we can see, and she wears a gold-colored bracelet on that wrist. A swath of brick-red fabric hangs between the two women. A dark, shadowy bush dotted with deep pink roses fills the space behind Susanna and, in the distance to our left, two people stand under an arched trellis covered with vines. Wearing light-colored robes and hoods, the people in the distance are painted with silvery gray and cream white, and are translucent against the sky.
Domenico Tintoretto, Susanna, c. 1580s, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.231

Susanna

Domenico Tintoretto · c. 1580s · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1939.1.231

This painting features a landscape with a body of water stretching towards the horizon. The horizon includes dark windmills and sailboats silhouetted against the sky, with reflections on the still, yellow water. The sky is cloudy, and the setting sun at the center of the painting casts a pale-yellow glow across the center of the scene, while the edges are in shadow. Closest to us, there is grassy terrain with a wide dirt path and two rowboats near the water. The color palette is muted with browns, grays, and yellow tones.
Anthonie van Borssom, River Scene with Windmill and Boats, Evening, c. 1645, oil on panel, Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith , 2012.99.1

River Scene with Windmill and Boats, Evening

Anthonie van Borssom · c. 1645 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2012.99.1

Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts, A Hanging Wall Pouch, c. 1677, oil on panel, mirrored glass, Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith, 2022.181.81

A Hanging Wall Pouch

Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts · c. 1677 · oil on panel, mirrored glass ·  Accession ID  2022.181.81

In this painting, a man is shown seated, facing forward, with a red biretta on his head. He has pale, wrinkled skin, deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and a neatly trimmed grey beard and mustache. He wears a red garment over his shoulders and torso with a white collar and cuffs, and lace details on the sleeves, with a pleated white robe underneath. His forearms rest on the arms of the chair he sits in, and in one of his hands he holds a partially open book. The chair is ornately decorated, and the background shows dark purple drapery on the left and a dark wall on the right, with an illuminated triangle of lighter brown.
Guercino, Cardinal Francesco Cennini, 1625, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.20

Cardinal Francesco Cennini

Guercino · 1625 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.9.20

The painting depicts a wide country road seen from above. The horizon is halfway up the painting, showing the flat, green land meeting the blue sky. Far in the distance there are faint blue buildings, including a tall tower. The road curves toward us from this distant city, with small people in the distance walking along it. Closer to us, at the bottom of the painting, several groups of people travel down the path in either direction. People converse, herd cattle and brown pigs, or ride in horse-drawn carts as they move down the dirt path. Brushstrokes capture detailed foliage, people, and animals. The color palette includes rich greens, earthy browns, and bright clothing in shades of red, blue, yellow, and white.
Jan Brueghel the Elder, Wooded Landscape with Travelers, 1610, oil on panel, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2020.26.1

Wooded Landscape with Travelers

Jan Brueghel the Elder · 1610 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2020.26.1

A bundle of pale green, thick asparagus stalks bound by twine and a bunch of glistening ruby-red currants sit on the edge of a stone table or ledge against a deeply shadowed background in this vertical still life painting. The asparagus is situated with the jagged, broken edges facing our left and the pointed tips angled away from us to our right. The base of the stalks are nearly cream-white, and the tips are faint green and muted purple. To our right, one the two stems of the red currant berries and leaves dangles off the front edge of the table. Light spills onto the scene from our upper left giving the currants a glassy sheen. The stone ledge or table is cracked in a couple of places. The artist signed this work as if he had inscribed his name and the date on the front surface of the table: “A. Coorte. 1696.”
Adriaen Coorte, Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants, 1696, oil on canvas, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, 2002.122.1

Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants

Adriaen Coorte · 1696 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2002.122.1