European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Allegory of
Sight (Venus and Cupid in a Picture Gallery)Made in Southern
Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europe Jan Brueghel the Younger,
Flemish (active Antwerp), 1601 - 1678 Oil on copper Cat. 656John
G. Johnson Collection, 1917 LabelJan Brueghel the Younger, the
oldest son of Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), worked in a
similar painting style to his father and followed his father’s
practice, which included depicting art galleries of both
existing and imaginary collections. This allegory of sight,
likely one in a series of the five senses, shows how art
collections were assembled to reflect both the wealth and the
learning of their owners. Venus examines herself in a mirror,
surrounded by a lavish array of the man-made and natural objects
that filled princely studios. * Works in the collection are
moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery
locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no
guarantee that this object will be on disp