New Pamono Follower of Gabriel Metsu, Lute Player, 1720, Oil on Canvas, Framed

The Lute Player

First half of the 18th century

Oil on canvas (61 x 47 cm. – Framed 76 x 61 cm.)

This fine painting embraces a genre highly prized by collectors of Flemish Golden Age painting, which focuses on the intimate family life that flourished within the wealthy homes of the bourgeoisie of the time, with settings overflowing with ornamental detail.

The brilliance and success of these images lies in the ability to capture, through a sort of photographic freeze-frame, a particular domestic situation; all achieved through a skillful pictorial rendering that leverages great attention to detail and the play of light.

The paintings thus become snapshots that capture moments of everyday domestic life of those times, placing us in the living rooms of the period.

In our case, we are in front of an important residence, richly furnished with furniture, paintings, and valuable objects, from the stone fireplace with pilasters in the shape of fantastic figures, surmounted by porcelain tableware, to the sideboard with gilded statues, to the paintings hanging on the walls, to the damask tablecloth on which a silver jug ​​and fruit rest.

The protagonists of the canvas are a married couple immortalized in an everyday moment: the husband is seated playing a lute, one of the most popular pastimes for the wealthy bourgeoisie of the time, while his wife, sumptuously dressed in a light satin dress and a feathered headdress, sits beside him and entertains their dog, passing him a biscuit in exchange for its obedience.

There’s a story in every painting, because the works of 17th-century Dutch artists have the ability to create a surprising atmosphere, instantly transporting us back in time to the Golden Age of the Netherlands.

The work, highly refined in its details, is attributed to an artist active between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It draws on the compositions conceived by Gabriel Metsu (Leiden, 1629 – Amsterdam, 1667), who was active primarily in Amsterdam, where he became a successful and fashionable painter. He created genre works with an abundance of detail, especially conversation pieces depicting bourgeois life, revealing the influence of Johannes Vermeer, the great Delft master.

A similar painting is present in the RKD collection, as a follower (Dorotheum Alte Meister, 2011-06-16, lot 363).

Among his students was Michiel van Musscher (Rotterdam, 1645 – Amsterdam, 1705), who often revisited his compositional ideas, displaying the same attention to detail. One detail that stands out at first glance is the care lavished on the rendering of the dress; the sheen of the silk satin is a masterly touch. As is the theatrical treatment of light, which highlights the main figures.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold complete with a gilded wooden frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic .