A merry company
Duck, Jacob (ca. 1600-1667)
Codde, Pieter Jacobs (1599-1678) (formerly attributed to)
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
[Museum inv. no.: 1997.304]
Item location
Description
This scene of three persons standing near a dining table includes a viola da gamba leaning against a chair.Description from museum website:
This work by Duck, an artist best known for his images of guardrooms and brothels, is a "merry company" painting showing young people amusing themselves in fancy dress. The sensuous life-reflected in indications of music making, eating, and drinking as well as in the cloak, sword, and spurs of the soldier-is the ostensible subject of many "merry company" paintings. A document of 1636 refers to Duck's paintings as "moderne beeldekens" (modern paintings with contemporary figures). The elegance of the figures and the quiet mood emphasize ideas about respectability and upper-bourgeois manners. Typical of Duck's work is the recycling of individuals, groups of figures, accessories, and still -life details, suggesting that he kept a stock of props in his studio and also worked from a repertoire of drawings.
Iconclass
43A2private festivities, merry company
48C731
string instruments (bowed)
Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)
Viola da gamba [3604] (with bow)RIdIM images
