Lute Player
Known in many versions
Theodor Rombouts, Flemish (active Antwerp and Italy), 1597? - 1637
Geography:
Made in Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europe
Date:
c. 1620Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
43 3/4 x 39 1/4 inches (111.1 x 99.7 cm) Frame: 49 3/4 x 45 x 3 inches (126.4 x 114.3 x 7.6 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
Cat. 679Credit Line:
John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
Made in Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europe
Date:
c. 1620Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
43 3/4 x 39 1/4 inches (111.1 x 99.7 cm) Frame: 49 3/4 x 45 x 3 inches (126.4 x 114.3 x 7.6 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
* Gallery 264, European Art 1500-1850, second floor
Accession Number:Cat. 679Credit Line:
John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
Social Tags [?]
baroque [x] caravaggesque [x] caravaggio [x] carpet [x] feathered hat [x] feathers [x] flemish artist [x] genre scene [x] harmony [x] harmony in love [x] hat [x] hidden meaning [x] instrument [x] intensity [x] love [x] lute [x] male subject [x] music [x] musician [x] oriental cloth [x] painting [x] pipe [x] score [x] senses [x] still-life [x] tankard [x] temperance [x]Lute 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.
Explore the Collections
* 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 display on the day of your visit.
