Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Vase of Flowers in a Window, 1618

Unicorn / Licorne

1572

Artist : Maarten de Vos (1522-1603)

David Rijckaert III - The Alchemist, 1649

Adriaen Coorte (Flemish, 1683–1707) • Still life with asparagus, a spray of gooseberries and a bowl of strawberries • 1698 • Dordrechts Museum, Dordrechts, Netherlands

Title: Man of Sorrows (detail) Artist: Simon Marmion Date: ca. 1480 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 43 cm × 29 cm

Anthony van Dyck (Flemish,1599 - 1641) • Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart • 1638

We want to be underwear models but Mother will not allow us to dial the Time Machine to the 21st century.

Cleopatra (Hygieia), ca. 1615

By Peter Paul Rubens

Gustave Léonard de Jonghe, (Flemish, 1829-1893) • Girl with a Rose • Unknown date

Photos by me, from my trip to the MFA Boston (28 October 2023)

Joseph Rodefer DeCamp, "The Blue Cup" (1909) // Edmund Tarbell, "Reverie (Katharine Finn)" (1913) // Joseph Jordaens, "Portrait of a Young Married Couple" (1621-22) // Ernest Lee Major, "Miss F." (c.1910)

Ferdinand van Kessel (attributed)

The Dance of the Rats

ca. 1690

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640) • The Disembarkation of Versailles, also known as The Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseille • Between 1622 and 1625

The Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles shows the Queen of France arriving by ship in Marseille on November 3, 1600. She is greeted by unknown characters that represent France, as they are seen with the French royalty symbol, the Fleur-de-lis. At the bottom of the painting, Neptune and the daughters of Nereus, the Sea God, are seen saluting the Queen. At the top of the painting, the character Fame is flying overhead, trumpeting the Queen’s arrival. Rubens uses these symbolic figures to transform a historical event into an allegory that reinforces Marie de' Medici's right to the throne. The various French symbols depicted greeting Marie upon her arrival are meant to establish good will and respect between her and the French people. - Wikipedia

The main reason why Marie de' Medici was never liked by the French population was because she was Italian, not French.

On a diplomatic visit to France (yes, he was a diplomat) Rubens encountered Marie de' Medici who commissioned a series of 21 paintings related to events that happened during her life, while 3 others are portraits of herself and her parents. They were intended to decorate Luxembourg Palace in Paris.

Detail of the mythological figures below the boat / Wiki Commons

The entire idea of the cycle was to glorify Marie de' Medici, and especially to try and convey to the people of France that she was a rightful ruler. Rubens therefore, according to art history speculation, depicted a warm welcome by members of the court of Henry IV. In reality, the welcome was rather lukewarm, if not chilly.

The Rubens cycle of paintings obviously didn't accomplish their intended purpose. Medici was forced out of her position as Regent of France in 1617 as the result of a coup and exiled, eventually residing in Cologne. In an interesting twist of fate, Marie de Medici died in the same house that Rubens grew up in.

Installation view of the cycle of paintings at the Louvre. They were moved there from Luxembourg Palace in 1793, when the Louvre first opened its doors.

Sources: Wikipedia, arthistoryreference.com, lelouvre.fr, artible.com, wga.hu

Jessica Biel

The Vision of Saint Jerome (Het visioen van de Heilige Hieronymus), 1715. Pieter Snyers (Flemish, 1681-1752).

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨 - 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲

𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 - 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬

𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐨 𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲

(𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬)

Jacob van Es (Flemish, 1596-1666) • Still Life with Fruit and Porcelain • 1630 • Unknown location

Title: St. Sebastian (detail) Artist: Augustin van den Berghe Date: ca. 1777 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 192 cm × 129 cm

Caterina de Hemessen Pincebat (Flemish, c. 1527/1528–after 1560) Portrait of a Woman with a Dog • 1551

The red velvet sleeves are sumptuous and they complement her tattooed neck and shoulders very nicely. 😉