Musical Allegory

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Musical Allegory: Rembrandt

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Art Type: Oil Painting
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Rembrandt Oil Painting - Musical Allegory

Keywords: Musical, Allegory

Work Overview: Musical Allegory
Rembrandt
Date: 1626
Style: Baroque
Genre: allegorical painting
Media: oil, panel
Dimensions: 63.5 x 47.6 cm
Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This curious painting refuses to divulge its secrets. The image can be interpreted as an admonition to praise God with singing and music-making, but also as a risqué scene of seduction. The young woman’s gaudy garments and red shoes are in questionable taste, and the old woman looks suspiciously like a procuress. Perhaps the painting contains a warning against immoral conduct.

Led by a young woman, a group of people are playing music in a room. She is reading the music from the sheet, singing and beating time. The two men are accompanying her on their instruments - the young man on the harp and the older man on a viola da gamba. An older woman is reading over the girl's shoulder, listening attentively with her hand on her chin. In the foreground is a violin, a lute and a pile of books. This is an early work by Rembrandt from 1626. He made it when he was twenty years old and signed it with the monogram RH: Rembrandt Harmensz. The painting was only 'discovered' to be by Rembrandt in 1936. Two vertical halves make up this panel; the join can be clearly seen in the centre.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn is certainly the most famous of Holland's seventeenth-century painters. He was born in 1606 in Leiden, the fifth son of the miller Harmen Gerritsz. van Rijn. After attending Latin School he registered in 1620 at Leiden University, although he never actually graduated. Rembrandt studied under the Leiden painter Jacob van Swanenburch and under Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. It was through Lastman that he discovered the powerful contrast of light and dark of Caravaggio and his followers. Back in Leiden he set up together with Jan Lievens as an independent artist, with his own studio and his first pupil: Gerard Dou.

Allegorisch musicerend gezelschap. Links speelt een man is oosterse kleding en tulband op een viola da gamba. Naast hem staat een jonge man met een harp. Een jonge vrouw zit naast een tafeltje met een opengeslagen liedboek op schoot en zingt. Achter haar kijkt een oude vrouw met een doek over het hoofd toe. Op de voorgrond liggen muziekinstrumenten (luit, viool) en stapels boeken. Aan de muur een schilderij van de vlucht van Lot uit Sodom.

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Rembrandt

Work Overview