Otto Mündler

German, 1811 - 1870

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Two women, four men, and a satyr, which is a creature with a man’s body and hairy goat’s legs, gather in a wooded landscape in this horizontal painting. All the people have pale, peachy skin. At the center of the group, to our left of center, a young, cleanshaven man balances on the ball of one foot as he strides toward us. He turns his head to his left so he faces our right in profile, and he looks off in that direction. He wears a ring of laurel leaves in his blond curls and his lips are parted. He holds a jeweled, golden stringed instrument, a lyre, in the crook of his right arm, on our left. He lifts his other hand to gesture toward the men to our right. He is nude except for a coral-red cloak fastened with a gold clasp at his neck. The cloak billows around his muscular body, and one bottom corner curls across his hip to cover his groin. To our left, two women sit on a rocky outcropping. The woman to our left holds a sapphire-blue robe to her chest. Her golden brown hair is pulled back, and she looks at the young man. The second woman sits with her body facing away from us, her arms resting on the rock in front of her. Her nude back faces us and she has a soft, rounded belly. She sits against a white cloth, and a light sage-green cloak pools around her hips and lies across one thigh. To our right, behind the young man holding a lyre, two bearded men sit on a rock with their bodies angled toward each other. The man to our left wears a leafy crown and holds a wooden staff. The second man wears a topaz-blue hood and robe, and turns to speak to his neighbor as he points in the opposite direction. Closer to us, near the right edge of the painting, the satyr plays a set of pan pipes. The man sitting next to him has tall, pointed, ass’s ears and a pointed, red beard. He wears a shimmering butter-yellow cloak over a brick-red tunic, and he rests one hand on the satyr’s shoulder. The entire group is enclosed by tall, tawny-brown rocks and leafy, sage-green trees. In the upper left corner, lilac-purple clouds float across a pale blue sky. The scene is painted with swirling brushstrokes that are especially visible in the clothing and background.
Jan van den Hoecke, The Judgment of Midas, c. 1640, oil on panel, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.143.18

The Judgment of Midas

Jan van den Hoecke · c. 1640 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2015.143.18

Shown from about the knees up, a man with peachy skin, wearing a voluminous black cloak and a tall, brimmed hat, looks directly at us in this vertical portrait painting. His body is angled to our left and he turns his face to look at us with brown eyes. He has a wispy, brown mustache over his pale pink lips, which are closed. He has a slight double chin and his reddish-brown hair falls to his shoulders. His wide, brimmed hat has a tall crown, which tapers a bit near the top. His black cloak falls over his arms and body, and has a wide, flat, white collar. Two white tassels hang below the split down the front of the collar. His left hand, to our right, is braced against the arm of a chair, and he rests his hand around the wooden end of the chair's arm. The wall behind him is brick-red with a coffee-brown rectangle to our left. Two vertical, fawn-brown stripes run down the red wall to our right, behind the man. Brushstrokes are visible in some areas, as in the man’s face, and a network of cracks runs across the surface of the canvas.
Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Man in a Tall Hat, c. 1663, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.69

Portrait of a Man in a Tall Hat

Rembrandt van Rijn · c. 1663 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.69

North Italian 15th Century, Profile Portrait of a Boy, c. 1460/1470, tempera and oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.263

Profile Portrait of a Boy

North Italian 15th Century · c. 1460/1470 · tempera and oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.263

Shown from about the knees up, an older, bearded, pale-skinned man sits at a desk with his head in one hand in a shadowy room in this vertical painting. His body is angled to our right, and he sits in a heavy wooden armchair next to a desk. His left elbow, farther from us, rests on the chair’s arm, and he holds that hand to his forehead. He holds a quill with his other hand, which brushes his knee. He has ash-brown hair covered at the back by a cap and a long shaggy beard. He looks off to our right with dark, shaded eyes. His voluminous brown robe is brushed loosely with golden brown highlights. The rust-red garment under the robe is visible at the sleeves, neckline, and one knee. The desk, to our right, has a stack of papers or parchment. The oversized hilt of a long sword leans against the wall behind the desk. The background is painted with areas of earth and chestnut brown. Some areas of the scene are loosely painted so brushstrokes are visible, especially the brightest white highlights on his collar, the quill, the edges of the parchment, and glints on the sword. The artist signed the painting on the face of the desktop, near the lower right corner: “Rembrandt f.”
Rembrandt van Rijn, Anonymous Artist, The Apostle Paul, c. 1657, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.59

The Apostle Paul

Rembrandt van Rijn, Anonymous Artist · c. 1657 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.59