File:Gerrit van Honthorst cat02.jpg

(b. 1590, Utrecht, d. 1656, Utrecht)

The Concert 1626-30 Oil on canvas, 168 x 202 cm Galleria Borghese, Rome

This representation of a concert of music by the Flemish artist who was known in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti, has a moralizing message. Music, in fact, is a high and virtuous art, but also a fleeting one, leading to its association with vanity, symbolized by the old woman who, indicating her now toothless mouth, admonishes the young couple, singing to the accompaniment of a bass viol. There are further nuances to the significance of the image, if the work is to be identified with the painting entitled The Theft of the Amulet, owned by the painter's family and then sold by auction in Amsterdam in 1770 before entering the Borghese collection. In this case the subject should be recognized as a deception of the young man who, intent on his singing, does not realize that the girl is stealing his earring with the complicity of the old woman, ready to slip it into her bag, and of the musician in the foreground. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 10 minutes):<BR><A HREF="#" onClick="w=window.open ('/music1/17_cent/monteverdi_madrigal.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350');w.opener=this;w.focus();return true"><B>Claudio Monteverdi: Charming Angioletta, madrigal</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE>

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Author: HONTHORST, Gerrit van Title: The Concert Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Dutch Form: painting