This painting, done in thick brushstrokes, shows a group of women gathered on the grass in a wooded area. There are six figures, four seated and two standing, and they fill the foreground of the composition. They are grouped in a semi-circle, however, there is no communication or eye contact between the figures. The women are wearing traditional Breton costumes with brightly colored aprons, caps and sashes. They have bright white collars and caps with purple, burgundy and green ribbons.
Lady Eleanor Dundas is shown half length, seated in front of a brown background. She looks towards the light source to the right of the painting. She is dressed in a diaphanous black dress with an Empire cut and black veil. A sheer lace collar frames her throat. She has heavy lidded eyes and an alert or slightly mournful expression
'Les Gueux' or 'Les Mendiants'. Les Deux Pèlerins (The Two Pilgrims)
Artist
Jacques Callot
Physical Description
Two rough figures dominate the composition with a lightly etched landscape behind them. Both figures hold a staff and each is dressed in ragged clothes. In addition, the scallop shell, indicating that they are pilgrims to the shrine of St. James the Greater at Santiago de Compostela, is visible on the brims of their hats, and on the left shoulder of the man standing to the right.
Adam and Eve Lamenting over the Corpse of Abel, plate 6 from History of the First Parents of Man, set of six prints
Artist
Jan Saenredam
Physical Description
This engraving is a vertical format. Dominating the foreground are three figures on a slight hill with a large tree. In front of the tree is the corpse of Abel (a strong young man with flowing cloth around his waist) with his head in the shadows. Kneeling over him are Adam and Eve. Adam, a muscular older man with a white beard, clutches his hands together and leans toward his dead son. Eve, covered only from the waist down, throws her arms out in the air above her son and moves towards him on her knees. The tree behind them has a sturdy trunk that splits into three heavy branches and these limbs echo the placement of Eve's back and right arm. On the right is a road leading to a background scene.In the far background Cain and Abel are shown making offerings to God on altars, with Abel’s offering rising higher than Cain’s. In the middle ground along the road, Cain is shown raising a weapon to kill Abel. At the bottom of the work are four lines of text and a signature.
Artist Life Dates
1565 - 1607
Century
17th century
Object Creation Date
1604
Accession Number
1996/2.3
Medium and Support
engraving on thin, slightly textured dark cream laid paper
