Cognoscenti in a Room hung with Pictures

Artist: Belgian 17th Century Artist (Belgian, not listed)

Original Dimensions: 37 3/4" x 48 5/8"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (About 1620) "Eleven finely dressed men inspect and discuss the contents of a large room packed with works of art, astronomical instruments and antiques. Their distinctive features suggest that these might be portraits of known artists, connoisseurs, collectors and art dealers – the ‘cognoscenti’ of the painting’s title – though none have been securely identified. The paintings, sculptures and prints are apparently meticulous miniature copies of real examples by sixteenth- and seventeenth-century artists, mostly local to Antwerp, but the collection of them together in an exaggeratedly large room is the fancy of the artist. It’s most likely that the function of this picture was to showcase a range of the best in the city as a kind of aspirational ‘wish list’ for art lovers. But the presence of a monkey – a traditional symbol of the foolishness of man’s endeavours – on the windowsill is perhaps a reminder of the ultimate futility of the hoarding of beautiful, expensive objects." - (National Gallery of Art, London)