Existing comment:
Follower of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
A Musical Group, ca 1620s
This enigmatic group consists of a young man singing from a sheet of music, an old man tuning a theorbo (a bass form of the lute often used in accompaniment), and a female figure who, with her laurel wreath, may represent a muse. The group might symbolize harmony, though the artist seems to have delighted in showing the struggle for this ideal rather than its attainment.
The realism and immediate drama of the scene are based on the revolutionary art of Caravaggio, who attracted numerous followers both in Italy (Rome and Naples) and in Northern Europe. Acquired as a painting by Valentin de Boulogne, a French follower of Caravaggio's, this work has since been attributed to a number of other artists without any resolution. However, we can still appreciate its achievement in both style and subject. |