A woman playing a lute to two men

Borch, Gerard ter, the younger (1617-1681)


Item type:
painting
Date of creation:
ca. 1667
Height:
67.6 cm  (26 5/8 in.)
Width:
57.8 cm  (22 3/4 in.)
Technique / Medium:
oil on canvas

    Item location

  • National Gallery (London)
    [Museum inv. no.: NG864]

Description

A young women plays a two-headed lute. The instrument is quite fine: the fingerboard is ornamented with an elaborate scrollwork design, and glistening highlights suggest an inlay of mother-of-pearl. On the table before the player is a book of lute tablature. Seated is a man holding a similar book.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Lute [3394] (two-headed lute)

Musical works

illegible music notation

RIdIM images


Photo © The National Gallery, London

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Wieseman, Marjorie E. Vermeer and music: The art of love and leisure (London: National Gallery Company, 2013) 34, cat. no. 1. RILM 2013-5919.

RIdIM record id

3550