The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2023

Violin Player with a Wine Glass

1623

Dirck van Baburen

(Dutch, c. 1595–1624)

Netherlands

Oil on canvas

80.4 x 67.1 cm (31 5/8 x 26 7/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2018.25

Location

213 Dutch Painting

Fun Fact

Other paintings by Utrecht artists feature the same model, whose extravagant mustache and broken tooth make him instantly recognizable.

Description

Baburen, a native of Utrecht, was among the first to introduce Caravaggio’s revolutionary style to the Netherlands. Half-length figures positioned close to the picture plane project a lively spontaneity. This musician’s loose, colorful dress marks him as a figure at the edges of society, unbound by behavioral norms—associations enhanced by his bold gaze, unshaven face, and cheeky grin complete with broken tooth.

Provenance
-1936
Swiss Private Collector
1936-2017
By inheritance to Swiss Private Collector
22 September 2017
Sale: Zurich (Köller Auktionen), 22 September 2017
-2018
Salomon Lilian, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2018-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Wieseman, Marjorie E. “Acquisitions 2018: European Paintings and Sculpture 1500-1800.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 13-15. Reproduced: P. 13; Mentioned: P. 14.
Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Burlington Magazine 163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 95, no. 3; mentioned: P. 93
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.25