With thy sweet fingers: painting of a young lady playing a two-manual harpsichord

Hipkins, Edith J. (active from 1879-died ca. 1940)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

1883

Height:

34.0 cm  (13 3/8 in.)

Width:

42.5 cm  (16 3/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

This painting is titled after William Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 128. It shows a young lady wearing a dark green dress of rich fabric trimmed with rose-pink pleated silk and white lace, with a white lace mop-cap upon her head also trimmed with pink. She is depicted in profile playing a two-manual harpsichord. A cittern hangs from a strap on her chair, and a recorder, music books and music case lie on the floor. The harpsichord lid is raised and she looks intently at the music on its stand. Two further volumes lie on top of the instrument. The two large tapestry curtains are parted to reveal another room beyond, with a Netherlandish type of floor, and there is a round convex mirror on the wall in which, van Eyck-style, is the reflection of someone watching her, maybe her teacher looking at an open book or perhaps music. [Art UK website]

Iconclass

48C7523
one person playing keyboard instrument

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Harpsichord [2251]
English guitar [3107]
Recorder [4039]

Musical works

illegible music notation
music book on harpsichord

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1
image link 2

RIdIM record id

2353

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