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| attributed to Albert van Ouwater Portrait of a Donor ca. 1460 oil on panel (altarpiece fragment) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Anonymous Netherlandish Artist Portrait of Evert Zoudenbalch ca. 1491 oil on panel Centraal Museum, Utrecht |
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| Pieter Aertsen The Cook 1559 oil on panel Palazzo Bianco, Genoa |
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| Isaac Claesz Swanenburg Self Portrait 1568 oil on panel Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden |
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| Anonymous Netherlandish Artist Portrait of a Woman ca. 1590-1610 oil on panel Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio |
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| Cornelis van Haarlem Monk making improper advances to Nun 1591 oil on canvas Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem |
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| Gerrit van Honthorst Wedding Banquet (detail) ca. 1613-14 oil on canvas Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence |
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| Gerrit van Honthorst Wedding Banquet (detail) ca. 1613-14 oil on canvas Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence |
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| Gerrit van Honthorst Musical Banquet (detail) ca. 1619-20 oil on canvas Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence |
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| Gerrit van Honthorst Musical Banquet (detail) ca. 1619-20 oil on canvas Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence |
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| Paulus Moreelse Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher ca. 1630 oil on canvas Mauritshuis, The Hague |
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| Michiel van Miereveld Roman Emperor Vespasian before 1641 oil on canvas Schloss Caputh, Potsdam |
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| Willem van der Vliet The Money Counter before 1642 oil on panel Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels |
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| Caspar Netscher A Young Turk ca. 1670 oil on panel National Trust, Knightshayes Court, Tiverton, Devon |
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| Karel Dujardin Half-Length Figure Study before 1678 oil on canvas Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille |
from Paradise Lost (book 10)
Up into Heaven from Paradise in haste
Th' Angelic guards ascended, mute and sad
For Man; for of his state by this they knew,
Much wondering how the subtle Fiend had stol'n
Th' Angelic guards ascended, mute and sad
For Man; for of his state by this they knew,
Much wondering how the subtle Fiend had stol'n
Entrance unseen. Soon as th' unwelcome news
From Earth arrived at Heaven-gate, displeased
All were who heard; dim sadness did not spare
That time celestial visages, yet, mixed
With pity, violated not their bliss.
About the new-arrived, in multitudes,
Th' ethereal people ran, to hear and know
How all befell. They towards the throne supreme,
Accountable, made haste, to make appear,
With righteous plea, their utmost vigilance,
And easily approved; when the Most High
Eternal Father, from his secret cloud
Amidst, in thunder uttered thus his voice: –
From Earth arrived at Heaven-gate, displeased
All were who heard; dim sadness did not spare
That time celestial visages, yet, mixed
With pity, violated not their bliss.
About the new-arrived, in multitudes,
Th' ethereal people ran, to hear and know
How all befell. They towards the throne supreme,
Accountable, made haste, to make appear,
With righteous plea, their utmost vigilance,
And easily approved; when the Most High
Eternal Father, from his secret cloud
Amidst, in thunder uttered thus his voice: –
"Assembled Angels, and ye Powers returned
From unsuccessful charge, be not dismayed
Nor troubled at these tiding from the Earth
Which your sincerest care could not prevent . . . "
From unsuccessful charge, be not dismayed
Nor troubled at these tiding from the Earth
Which your sincerest care could not prevent . . . "
– John Milton (1674)