The vanity of human life

Brueghel, Jan, the elder (1568-1625)

Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

before 1625

Height:

64.0 cm  (25 3/16 in.)

Width:

106.0 cm  (41 3/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

mixed technique on board

Place of creation:

Flanders

School:

Flemish

Description

The painting, similar to another work by the same artists (The Five Senses) now in the Museo del Prado (Madrid), represents a room with an open gallery full of things which make reference to the baroque topic of "Vanitas": jewels, artistic objects, armories, treasures, games, birds, flowers, musical instruments, and so on. In the background is a banquet scene.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Theorbo [3473]
Frame drum [2598]
Viola da gamba [3604] (Three violas da gamba)
Kit [3571]

RIdIM images

Bibliographic references

Santarelli, Cristina. Iconografia musicale nei musei torinesi (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana (LIM), 2003) 52-53. ISBN 887096373X. RILM 2003-08617.

RIdIM record id

3141