The woman is looking at the viewer and according to art historian Walter Liedtke, "spills out of her dress".[1] Liedtke goes on to make this a case for considering it a genre work rather than a portrait, comparing it with other scantily clad lute players that may have influenced the painter, such as the earlier works of Gerrit van Honthorst and contemporary work such as by Ferdinand Bol:
Honthorst, 1624
Honthorst, 1624
Bol, 1654
Liedtke wonders if it could possibly a portrait of the artist's wife, as has sometimes been claimed for the female pendant of a shepherd by Van der Helst that has often been claimed to be a self-portrait:
Unknown woman as Granida, 1660
This work is the only surviving painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that was acquired before 1906 and after the initial purchase of 1871, and though it is officially recorded as entering the collection in 1873, Liedtke mentions that it was grouped as one of two paintings that came into the collection in 1872 after the initial 1871 purchase, but also via the same vice-president of the Board of Trustees William T. Blodgett and presumably therefore via his dealer Leon Gauchez.[1] The other painting (accession number 73.1) was a double portrait by Carel de Moor, but it was deaccessioned in 1988.[1][2]
The art historian J.J. de Gelder mentioned the lute shown in the painting is a theorbe and it rests on a viola de gamba. He found the landscape reminiscent of Jan Baptist Weenix. The Van der Helst scholar Judith van Gent dismisses both this painting and the Granida as a portrait of the artist's wife Anna du Pire based on the age of the painter and his wife at the time. She notes Liedtke's comparison to the other Dutch lute players in the MET collection, namely Vermeer's Woman with a Lute, where the woman is also tuning the lute, and Gerard ter Borch's A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier. She wonders whether the act of tuning a lute used to have a meaning that is now lost on us.
Ter Borch, 1658
Vermeer, 1662
The Vermeer was donated to the MET's collection in 1900, and the Ter Borch in 1914, both of which had been recently imported to the US, probably also based on the popularity at the time of this painting.
^ abcCat. no. 77 in Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Volume I, by Walter Liedtke, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007
^A Burgomaster of Leyden and His Wife, Oval, 46 x 36 3/8 inches, in the 1914 Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog, under "Karel van Moor", with a note that "the attribution has been questioned"
J.J. de Gelder, dissertation on Bartholomeus van der Helst with a monograph of his work, 1921, cat. nr. 17
Judith van Gent, Bartholomeus van der Helst (ca. 1613–1670). Een studie naar zijn leven en werk', Waanders, Zwolle, 2011, nr. 127
This article about a seventeenth-century painting is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
musician, bartholomeus, helst, painting, musician, 1662, canvas, painting, dutch, painter, bartholomeus, helst, example, dutch, golden, painting, part, collection, metropolitan, museum, musicianartistbartholomeus, helst, year1662mediumoil, paint, canvasdimensi. The Musician 1662 is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Bartholomeus van der Helst It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art The MusicianArtistBartholomeus van der Helst Year1662Mediumoil paint canvasDimensions138 4 cm 54 5 in 111 1 cm 43 7 in LocationMetropolitan Museum of ArtAccession No 73 2 IdentifiersThe Met object ID 436642 edit on Wikidata The woman is looking at the viewer and according to art historian Walter Liedtke spills out of her dress 1 Liedtke goes on to make this a case for considering it a genre work rather than a portrait comparing it with other scantily clad lute players that may have influenced the painter such as the earlier works of Gerrit van Honthorst and contemporary work such as by Ferdinand Bol Honthorst 1624 Honthorst 1624 Bol 1654Liedtke wonders if it could possibly a portrait of the artist s wife as has sometimes been claimed for the female pendant of a shepherd by Van der Helst that has often been claimed to be a self portrait Unknown woman as Granida 1660This work is the only surviving painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that was acquired before 1906 and after the initial purchase of 1871 and though it is officially recorded as entering the collection in 1873 Liedtke mentions that it was grouped as one of two paintings that came into the collection in 1872 after the initial 1871 purchase but also via the same vice president of the Board of Trustees William T Blodgett and presumably therefore via his dealer Leon Gauchez 1 The other painting accession number 73 1 was a double portrait by Carel de Moor but it was deaccessioned in 1988 1 2 The art historian J J de Gelder mentioned the lute shown in the painting is a theorbe and it rests on a viola de gamba He found the landscape reminiscent of Jan Baptist Weenix The Van der Helst scholar Judith van Gent dismisses both this painting and the Granida as a portrait of the artist s wife Anna du Pire based on the age of the painter and his wife at the time She notes Liedtke s comparison to the other Dutch lute players in the MET collection namely Vermeer s Woman with a Lute where the woman is also tuning the lute and Gerard ter Borch s A Woman Playing the Theorbo Lute and a Cavalier She wonders whether the act of tuning a lute used to have a meaning that is now lost on us Ter Borch 1658 Vermeer 1662The Vermeer was donated to the MET s collection in 1900 and the Ter Borch in 1914 both of which had been recently imported to the US probably also based on the popularity at the time of this painting See also editList of paintings by Bartholomeus van der HelstReferences edit a b c Cat no 77 in Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Volume I by Walter Liedtke Metropolitan Museum of Art 2007 A Burgomaster of Leyden and His Wife Oval 46 x 36 3 8 inches in the 1914 Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog under Karel van Moor with a note that the attribution has been questioned J J de Gelder dissertation on Bartholomeus van der Helst with a monograph of his work 1921 cat nr 17 Judith van Gent Bartholomeus van der Helst ca 1613 1670 Een studie naar zijn leven en werk Waanders Zwolle 2011 nr 127 nbsp This article about a seventeenth century painting is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Musician Bartholomeus van der Helst painting amp oldid 1160871741, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
