The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

A Musical Company

A Musical Company

c. 1668
(Dutch, 1634–1682)
Framed: 73 x 64.5 x 5.5 cm (28 3/4 x 25 3/8 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 58.5 x 48.9 cm (23 1/16 x 19 1/4 in.)

Description

Despite the calm demeanor and elegant disposition of the figures, this interior scene probably represents the interior of a brothel, signaled by the row of female portraits in the background, rarely found in other paintings of this period. The depiction of music provides another clue to the subject. The recorder and violin, played without scores, were perceived as cruder instrumentation and associated with prostitution, versus the elegant and complicated musicmaking seen in the work by Pieter de Hooch in the museum's collection.
  • 1991-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
    1990-1991
    (Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    After 1947 -1990
    Dr. Karl Josef Steger, Vienna, sold to Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas
    Probably early twentieth century - after 1945
    Baron Rudolf von Gutmann [1880-1966], sold to Dr. Karl Josef Steger
  • Otto Naumann, Ltd., invoice, March 29, 1991, in CMA curatorial file.
    Otto Naumann, email to Victoria Sears Goldman, May 28, 2013, in CMA curatorial file.
    Roman Herzig, email to Victoria Sears Goldman, Sept. 9, 2014, in CMA curatorial file.
    Roman Herzig, email to Victoria Sears Goldman, Sept. 9, 2014, in CMA curatorial file.
    Invoice, Otto Naumann, Ltd. to the Cleveland Museum of Art, March 29, 1991, in CMA curatorial file.
    Roman Herzig, email to Victoria Sears Goldman, Sept. 9, 2014, in CMA curatorial file.
    Chong, Alan. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 79 www.jstor.org
    Ho, Angela K. Creating Distinctions in Dutch Genre Painting: Repetition and Invention. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2017. Reproduced: P. 165, fig. 56; Mention: P. 163
    Bianchi, Pamela. The Origins of the Exhibition Space (1450-1750). Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2023. Reproduced: p. 88, fig. 7
  • Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
    Notable Acquisitions, The Cleveland Museum of Art, June 7 - Sep 15, 1991
  • {{cite web|title=A Musical Company|url=false|author=Jacob Ochtervelt|year=c. 1668|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.23