The organ grinder (the strolling musician)

Edmonds, Francis William (1806-1863)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1848

Height:

80.6 cm  (31 3/4 in.)

Width:

107.0 cm  (42 1/8 in.)

framed: 47 1/8 × 57 1/2 × 5 in. (119.7 × 146.1 × 12.7 cm)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

Commentary from museum website:
Transforming an outdoor street subject into a domestic interior, Francis William Edmonds depicts a strolling organ grinder and his monkey performing before a full household. Detailed and carefully rendered, the scene invites viewers to vicariously share the painting’s sounds, sights, and even tastes. Edmonds, a successful banker as well as an artist, specialized in themes of rural everyday life. Influenced by similar scenes in English and Dutch art, his often humorous works were seen as distinctly American and found a wide audience.

Iconclass

48C75
making music; musician with instrument
31D14
adult man
34A42
earning money with monkey
48C78
listening to music
48C762
street-organ, 'pierement'
48C75612
barrel-organ player

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Barrel organ [4485] (held and cranked by the player)

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Nemerov, Alexander. “The pleasure of conversation”, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2003) 45, fig. 4.

RIdIM record id

6085