Rehearsal of an opera

Ricci, Marco (1676-1730)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1709

Height:

48.3 cm  (19 in.)

Width:

55.9 cm  (22 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

An interior scene with large maritime painting in the background. In the foreground are thirteen individuals, including seven actively involved in music making--three playing violin, one playing cello, one playing harpsichord (Nicola Haym), one male conducting and singing (Nicola Grimaldi, known as 'Nicolino' or 'Nicolini'), and one female singing (Catherine (Katherine) Tofts); an additional cello and violin case (on the floor) can be seen. The woman with red muff is rival singer Margherita de L'Epine, who faces her future husband Pepusch at the far right.

People as subjects

Tofts, Catherine (ca. 1682-1756) (Musician)
De l'Épine, Francesca Margherita (ca. 1680-1746) (Musician)
Haym, Nicola Francesco (1678-1729) (Musician)
Grimaldi, Nicolò (1673-1732) (Musician)
Pepusch, John Christopher (1667-1752) (Musician)

Iconclass

48A711(+383)
rehearsal ~ work of art ( + opera)
48C755
vocal music, singing

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Violin [3573]
Violoncello [3582]
Harpsichord [2251]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Chen, Ching-Jung. The early Georgian conversation piece (Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University, UMI Dissertation Services, 2001) 79, 130, 593-99, cat. 145.


Canaletto & Venezia, Museum Musei, Milano. 65, cat. 11.07.



Goldfarb, Hilliard. Art and music in Venice: from the Renaissance to the Baroque, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2013. 222, cat. no. 105.



Loisel, Catherine. Eblouissante Venise: Venise, les Arts et l'Europe au XVIIIe Siècle, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris. 130-131, cat. 87.



Wilcox, Scott. Among the whores and thieves: William Hogarth and The beggar's opera (New Haven, CT: Yale Center for British Art, 1997) 44, 46, 102, 103, no. 27, fig. 38.

Kuhlman, Erika A. A to Z of women in world history (New York: Facts On File, 2002) 157-159.

Dean, Winton. "L’Epine, (Francesca) Margherita [Françoise Marguérite] de", Grove Music Online.

Notes

This is one of two Ricci paintings with the same date and title at the Yale Center for British Art. See also RIdIM item 6217.

RIdIM record id

6216