European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Lute Player Known in many versions Made in Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europec. 1620 Theodor Rombouts, Flemish (active Antwerp and Italy), 1597? - 1637 Oil on canvas Currently not on view Cat. 679 John G. Johnson Collection, 1917 |
LabelLute players were often ridiculed for the inordinate amount of time they devoted to tuning their instruments. The intense look of this street musician seems to underscore the difficulty of the task and suggest that perhaps more than musical harmony is at stake. Showing a musical instrument being tuned was a veiled reference to striving for harmony in love. Stringed instruments could also symbolize temperance, especially when shown in the company of a tankard and a pipe, as here.Social Tags [?]baroque [x] caravaggesque [x] caravaggio [x] carpet [x] feathers [x] genre scene [x] hat [x] instrument [x] music [x] score [x] senses [x] still-life [x] [Add Your Own Tags] |
