Paintings Collected by the Later Stuarts (James, Mary, Anne)

attributed to Johann Rottenhammer
Mars, Venus, and Vulcan
1604-1605
oil on panel
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of James II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Anthony van Dyck
Virgin and Child
ca. 1630-32
oil on canvas
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of James II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Allart van Everdingen
Rocky Landscape with a River
1647
oil on panel
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of James II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Roelant Savery
Landscape with Birds
1615
oil on panel
(acquired from an unknown source by James II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

attributed to Gerrit Dou
Couple reading by Candlelight
ca. 1650-75
oil on panel
(acquired from an unknown source by James II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Godfrey Kneller
Portrait of Frances Whitmore, Lady Middleton
1690-91
oil on canvas
(commissioned by Mary II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Godfrey Kneller
Portrait of Margaret Cecil, Countess of Ranelagh
1690-91
oil on canvas
(commissioned by Mary II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Willem Wissing
Posthumous Portrait of James, Duke of Cambridge
(son of James II when Duke of York and brother of Mary II)
ca. 1676-87
oil on canvas
(commissioned by Mary II)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Daniel Seghers
Relief embellished with Garland of Roses
ca. 1640-49
oil on panel
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Portrait of a Woman
ca. 1590-1600
oil on canvas
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

attributed to Dirck Helmbreeker
Figures in a Classical Landscape with Ruins
ca. 1653-90
oil on canvas
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

attributed to Dirck Helmbreeker
Figures in a Classical Landscape with Ruins
ca. 1653-90
oil on canvas
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Maria van Oosterwyck
Still-life with Flowers and Butterflies
1686
oil on panel
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Maria van Oosterwyck
Still-life with Flowers, Insects and a Shell
1689
oil on panel
(first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Annibale Carracci
Allegory of Truth and Time
ca. 1584-85
oil on canvas
(possibly recorded at Hampton Court Palace in the reign of Queen Anne)
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Two (Recent) Centuries of Flower Paintings

Anonymous artist
Vase of Flowers
ca. 1830
tempera on paper
Brooklyn Museum

Severin Roesen
Still Life - Flowers in a Basket
ca. 1850-60
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Berthe Morisot
White Flowers in a Bowl
1885
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

from Haunted Landscape

Where the glacier leaves off and in the thundering of surf
And rock, something, some note or other, gets lost,
And we have this to look back on, not much, but a sign
Of the petty ordering of our days as it was created and led us

By the nose through itself, and now it has happened
And we have it to look at, and have to look at it
For the good it now possesses which has shrunk from the
Outline surrounding it to a little heap or handful near the center.

Others call this old age or stupidity, and we, living
In that commodity, know how only it can enchant the dear soul
Building up dreams through the night that are cast down
At the end with a graceful roar, like chimes swaying out over

The phantom village.  It is our best chance of passing
Unnoticed into the dream and all that the outside said about it,
Carrying all that back to the source of so much that was precious.
At one of the later performances you asked why they called it a "miracle,"

Since nothing ever happened.  That, of course, was the miracle  . . .

– John Ashbery, published in As We Know (Viking Press, 1979)

Gustave Courbet
Hollyhocks in a Copper Bowl
1872
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Charles Caryl Coleman
Still Life - Azaleas and Apple Blossoms
1878
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John La Farge
White Camellia in a Red and Black Lacquer Bowl
ca. 1880-90
watercolor
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Henri Fantin-Latour
Roses in a Glass Vase
1890
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Charles Sheeler
Three White Tulips
1912
oil on panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Marsden Hartley
Tinseled Flowers
1917
tempera, silver foil and gold foil on glass
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Eliot Hodgkin
Pink and White Roses
1952
tempera on board
Jerwood Collection, London

Constance Louisa Stallard
Black Lilies
before 1954
tempera on board
Southampton City Art Gallery

Manuel Neri
Untitled - Floral Study #4
1957
tempera on paper
Minneapolis Institute of Art

from Lover of Flowers

In our family everyone loves flowers.
That's why the graves are so odd:
no flowers, just padlocks of grass,
and in the center, plaques of granite,
the inscription terse, the shallow letters
sometimes filling with dirt.
To clean them out, you use your handkerchief.

With my sister, it's different,
it's an obsession.  Weekends, she sits on my mother's porch,
reading catalogues.  Every autumn, she plants bulbs by the brick stoop;
every spring, waits for flowers.
No one discusses cost.  It's understood
my mother pays; after all,
it's her garden, every flower
planted for my father.  They both see
the house as his true grave.

Not everything thrives on Long Island.
Sometimes the summer gets too hot;
sometimes a heavy rain beats down the flowers.
That's how the poppies died, after one day,
because they're very fragile.

– Louise Glück, published in Ararat (Ecco Press, 1990)

Anne Redpath
Lenten Roses
1960
watercolour on board
Tate Gallery

Norman Douglas Hutchinson
Lilies and Tulips
1989
tempera on paper
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery

Historic Gold and Jewels (Museum Pieces)

Classical Greece
Wreath with oak leaves and acorns
4th century BC
gold
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

"Two tubular branches (in semi-circular sections) are fastened to the front by a wire connecting the two looped ends.  The oak leaves and acorns, veiled with gold leaf, are connected to the branches by gold wire stems."

Hellenistic Greece
Necklace
late 2nd - 1st century BC
gold, amethysts, chalcedony, emeralds, rock crystal, pearl-colored glass
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"This necklace was found on the neck of the deceased.  The butterfly pendant, as a symbol of the soul, was appropriate for a burial gift."

Byzantium
Earrings
AD 600
gold, pearls, semi-precious stones
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"These dramatic earrings were most likely made in Constantinople, perhaps as an imperial gift to a Visigothic ruler of early medieval Spain, where the pair were found.  The Visigoths, a migratory group that ultimately settled in Spain, had by the 6th century established trade and diplomatic contacts with the Byzantine court, whose jewelry they much admired."

Anonymous European Jeweler
Aglet 
ca. 1550-1650
enameled gold, with shell-cameo
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"Dress ornaments, or aglets, designed to be sewn onto clothing, were a common form of jewelry during the Renaissance.  They were usually made of enameled gold and set with pearls, cameos, or precious stones.  Set in gold enameled openwork, the cameo of this piece depicts a faun playing a pipe in a garden setting."  

Anonymous Netherlandish Jeweler
Pendant - Dolphin
ca. 1600
enameled gold, emeralds, pearls
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"This flamboyant design is close to the model on the title page of the second part of Hans Collaert's series of pendant designs published in Antwerp in 1582, Virtuosic Designs for Golden Ornaments.  In the engraving, it is the god Apollo riding a sea monster, but the similarities remain strong."

Anonymous German or Flemish Jeweler
Pendant - Goddess Diana
16th century, with 19th-century restorations
enameled gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"This pendant features Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, accompanied by a dog and carrying her bow, quiver, and a horn.  Analysis of the enamels confirmed a 16-century date for the figural group.  However, the enameling on the mount proved to be of a later date.  It is possible that the later elements on the mount are restorations made due to damage to the original enamel, which chips easily."

attributed to Ioseph Rosell
Badge - Order of Santiago de Compostela
ca. 1670-79
enameled gold, emeralds, diamonds
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"The religious Order Of St James (Sant Iago) was a military order established in 1171 at the pilgrimage cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain to protect it from attacks by Muslims.  Pilgrims to the church frequently ate scallops and attached the empty shells to their hats.  Members of the order adopted the scallop as their badge."

Anonymous French Jeweler
Pendant - L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit
ca. 1780-90
gold, paste brilliants, rubies, emeralds, sapphires
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

"The Order of the Holy Spirit (L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit) was created in France by Henri III in 1578.  There were strict nobility requirements and membership was limited to 100.  Four cardinals and four other prelates were members and were called commandeurs, the other members were called chevaliers.  The King of France was the Sovereign and Grand Master and made all appointments to the order.  It was abolished in 1790 during the French Revolution." 

Anonymous Swiss Jeweler
Watch
ca. 1800-1825
enameled gold, silver gilt, pearls
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"For this peony-shaped watch, the gold case was first enameled in white.  Next, colored enamel was fused over the top to create a naturalistic effect of unfurling petals, outlined in pearls.  To represent green leaves at the base of the flower, another enameling technique called basse-taille was employed.  Here, the gold was engraved to imitate veins that show through the translucent green enamel."

Pierre-Benjamin Tavernier
Watch (montre à tact)
ca. 1805-1809
guilloché gold, basse-taille enamel, pearls, diamonds
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"This unusual watch has no numbers.  It belongs to a type called montres à tact or "discrete watches."  The design allows the time to be told by touch alone, feeling the four diamonds on the hour and the quarters, and the pearls that mark the remaining divisions of the twelve hours.  The raised arrow, also in diamonds, contrasts with the smooth surrounding enamel, taking the place of watch hands.  It was made for Maria Letizia Bonaparte, Napoleon's mother, who lost her sight as she aged.  The case employs a process called guilloché, whose subtle but kaleidoscopic effects are created through mechanical means.  Geometric shapes are carved into metal by engine turning.  The resulting patterns of fine lines are covered with transparent enamel.  When light hits them it creates oscillating optic effects."  

Fabergé
Parasol Handle
ca. 1900
enameled gold, diamonds
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"In this parasol handle the metal form was mechanically engraved with a ray pattern.  Several coats of translucent pink enamel were then fired at very high temperatures, allowing the engraved pattern to shimmer through.  . . .  Before the last coat of enamel was applied, a design in imitation of moss agate was painted on.  Diamonds alternate with red and white beads of enamel in imitation of pearls and uncut rubies."

René Lalique
La Source - Pendant and Necklace
ca. 1902
enameled gold, ivory, opals
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"As early as 1895 Lalique incorporated entire human figures into his designs.  A partially draped female figure holding a pitcher carved of ivory is surrounded by wisteria vines with the stalks enameled in deep blue, leaves green, and blossoms opalescent white.  Rounded pale orange Mexican opals are set in the vines above the figure's head on either side and below her feet.  The chain is composed of blue enameled elongated links and gold rings."

René Lalique
Orchid Comb
ca. 1903-1904
enameled gold, ivory, horn, diamonds
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

"Lalique revolutionized jewelry design in the final decade of the 19th century by combining materials in unexpected ways, developing new techniques, reviving old ones, and blending historical and cultural references to create new vocabularies and forms.  The Orchid Comb showcases these innovations.  Lalique's studio rendered the naturalistic orchid from a single piece of ivory.  Diamonds play a supporting role, picking out the veins along three slim leaves in plique-à-jour enamel.  The stem is attached by a gold hinge to a three-pronged horn comb.  This is the most flamboyant of the pieces purchased by museum founder Henry Walters at the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904.  Never intended to be worn, it entered the collection as a masterpiece of technical accomplishment."

John Paul Cooper
Brooch
1908
gold, abalone, tourmaline, moonstones,
pearls, amethysts, chrysopane, jade
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

"John Paul Cooper, a leading figure in the British Arts and Crafts movement, was an architect, designer, and metalsmith.  Born into an affluent Leicester family, Cooper prepared for a career as a writer but was discouraged from pursuing this endeavor by his industrialist father.  Instead, he apprenticed to London architect John D. Sedding, a strong proponent of the ideas of John Ruskin, and to Henry Wilson, an architect with interests in craft, especially metalwork and jewelry.  . . .  Cooper's interest in jewelry design and fabrication began shortly after his association with Wilson.  Like Wilson, he eventually employed others to fabricate his jewelry designs, although he sometimes did the chasing and repoussé work himself.  The jewelry was crafted primarily in 15 kt. gold, utilizing semi-precious cabochons (domed, unfaceted stones) and mother-of-pearl.  . . .  It took 273 hours to produce this brooch, and Lorenzo Colarosi, Cooper's chief craftsman, was the primary fabricator."

– texts based on curator's notes from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Nineteenth-Century Things of Beauty

Unknown Artist
Bell Jar with Wax Fruit and Dessert Arrangement
 ca. 1860-80
wax, paraffin, tempera, glass
Philadelphia Museum of Art

René Lalique
Necklace
ca. 1897-99
enameled-gold, opals, amethysts
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

John La Farge
Vase of Flowers
1864
oil on gilded panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John La Farge
Firescreen
1884
leaded opalescent glass and brass
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Gradus Ad Parnassum

Oh I know
If I'd practiced the piano
I'd never be so low
As I now am

Where's Sylvia Beerman?
Married, rich and cool
In New Rochelle
She was nobody's fool,

She didn't write in verse
She hardly wrote at all
She rose she didn't fall
She never gave a damn

But got up early
To practice Gradus
Ad Parnassum – she
Feels fine.  I know.

– Muriel Rukeyser, from Breaking Open (Random House, 1973)

John La Farge
Wild Roses in an Antique Chinese Bowl
1880
watercolor
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Martin Johnson Heade
Lotus Blossom
ca. 1885-1900
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Martin Johnson Heade
Magnolias
ca. 1883-1900
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Martin Johnson Heade
Hummingbird and Apple Blossoms
1875
oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John Frederick Peto
The Old Cremona
ca. 1887-90
oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

XIV

So I became very dark very large
a silent woman this time given to speech
a woman of the river    of that song
and on the beach of the world in storm given
in long lightning seeing the rhyming of those scenes
that make our lives.
Anne Sexton the poet saying
ten days ago to that receptive friend,
the friend of the hand-held camera:
"Muriel is serene."
Am I that in their sight?
Word comes today of Anne's
of Anne's long-approaching
of Anne's over-riding over-falling
suicide.    Speak for    sing for    pray for
everyone in solitary
every living life.

– Muriel Rukeyser, from The Gates (McGraw-Hill, 1976)

John Haberle
The Slate
ca. 1895
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John Haberle
A Bachelor's Drawer
ca. 1890-94
oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John Frederick Peto
Office Board
1885
oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John Frederick Peto
Student's Materials
ca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John Frederick Peto
The Poor Man's Store
1885
oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston