Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior

1675

Eglon van der Neer
(Amsterdam 1634/36 – 1703 Düsseldorf)

oil on panel
39.4 x 33.4 cm
EN-100Currently on view at: The National Museum ofChina, Beijing© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
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How To Cite
Wieseman, Marjorie E. "Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior." In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited by
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017.
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/.
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© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
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Eglon Van der Neer’s musician presents an elegant figure as she sits

Comparative Figures

before stately architecture touched with gilt and partly masked by a swagof heavy curtain. She rests her elbow on a velvet-draped table crammedwith costly objects, including a book of tablature, a flute, a rumpled satin
cloth, a silver ewer, a marble (?) statue of a putto, and an open jewel
casket. The woman herself is no less opulently packaged: she wears a furtrimmed crimson house jacket over a shimmering white satin skirt and abodice stiff with gold brocade. Emerging from the garments like Venus
rising from the surf, the iridescent flesh of her plump arms and inviting
décolletage is accentuated by the delicate frill of a white chemise. The
young musician’s downcast gaze as she quietly listens to the sounds ofher instrument help create the painting’s reflective mood and engaging
character.
The woman plays what appears to be a two-headed “French” lute. AnFig 1. Jan Lievens, Portrait ofJacques Gaultier, 1632–35,etching, engraving, and drypoint,
268 x 213 mm, Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston, Bequest ofWashington Irving Jenkins, inv.
M26837

identical instrument appears in other of Van der Neer’s paintings of female
musicians from the 1670s.[1] Both as a solo instrument and in ensemble
playing, the lute was highly regarded among elite players for its versatility
and diverse repertoire; moreover, the warm tone produced by the gut
strings was deemed ideal for vocal accompaniment. Although the lute’s
basic structure remained the same, it was modified continually throughout
the seventeenth century, at least partly in response to stylistic changes in
the music itself.[2] Much baroque music featured the basso continuo, in
which the bass line provided the melody around which other instruments orvoices improvised harmonies. Accordingly, the lower register of the lute
was extended by modifying or adapting the instrument to accommodate
additional (unstopped) bass strings. The archlute, chitarrone, theorbo, andtwo-headed “French” lute were among the more popular variants
produced in this way. As the modifications were often quite individual, theFig 2. Eglon van der Neer, A
Lady Tuning a Theorbo, 1678, oil
on panel, 42.5 x 36.7 cm, Alte
Pinakothek, Munich, inv.
204, bpk, Berlin / Alte Pinakothek/ Art Resource, NY

differences between the instruments, and the terminology used to describethem, are rather vague: indeed, when considering the design of thetheorbo, the seventeenth-century German composer and music theorist
Michael Praetorius remarked, “Since constant changes take place in thesevarious matters, nothing very definite may be stated about themhere.”[3] The two-headed lute is thought to have been invented by theFrench lutenist Jacques Gaultier (active 1617–52). An engraved portrait
by Jan Lievens (1607–74) shows Gaultier holding an instrument similar tothat depicted in Van der Neer’s painting (fig 1).[4]© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
Page 4 of 9Taking full advantage of his meticulous technique, Van der Neer has
carefully calculated every aspect of the painting to entice the senses oftouch, sight and sound, and in so doing, to emphasize the inherent
sensuality of the image itself. The deliberate juxtaposition of so many
luxurious surface textures prompts admiration of the artist’s skill, and theaccuracy of the illusion allows the viewer to dwell on the pleasurable
aesthetic and sensorial qualities of the actual objects.[5] Nowhere is thismore seductively presented than in Van der Neer’s rendering of thewoman’s soft flesh: in visually “touching” her flesh (as well as the otherobjects in the painting), we are led to consider the touch of her fingers
upon the strings of the lute. We imagine the sweet sounds produced by her
playing, which prompts us to summon pleasant recollections of our own
musical experiences. The reverse is also true, of course: seeing her
fingers dance across the lute strings prompts us to imagine our own
fingers testing surfaces and textures so meticulously and sensuallypresented.
In light of the unabashedly sensual pose of Van der Neer’s
model—positioned frontally, her knees spread wide, her jacket opened,
and her bodice artfully loosened—it is impossible not to connect withmusic’s more erotic associations. Musical motifs in paintings routinely
connoted harmony in both its familial and amorous aspects, and Dutch
paintings of love and courtship involved music more often than not. Morespecifically, a lute, or any of the instrument’s variant forms, could be a
powerfully erotic symbol and often figured as a metaphor for a woman’s
genitalia.[6] Given the pervasive sensuality of the painting, it seems likelythat Van der Neer had such erotic allusions in mind, albeit cloaked in an
aura of elegance and refinement.
Like many of his colleagues, Van der Neer frequently refined the depictionof a particular theme in a series of closely related paintings executed overa short span of time. In the 1670s, for example, he produced several
paintings of female lute players seated in sumptuous interiors: in addition
to the present work, there are examples in a private collection in Hamburg;in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Karlsruhe (dated 1677); in theGemäldegalerie, Berlin; and in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich (fig 2). Thelast, dated 1678, repeats the present composition with just a few
variations: the woman tunes the lute rather than playing it, and the music
book has been placed at shoulder height rather than by her elbow. This© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
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latter modification enabled Van der Neer to give a more elegant turn to themusician’s head. The architectural background in the Munich painting,while still classical in style, has been modified to suggest a larger, lighter
hall rather than a dark and intimate chamber. The woman’s costume andhairstyle have also been updated: the fur-trimmed house jacket ubiquitous
in Dutch genre scenes of the 1650s, 1660s, and early 1670s has been
discarded, revealing a sumptuous and vaguely historicizing mélange ofsilky garments more in keeping with fashions of the late 1670s. In bothpaintings, the emphasis on the classical architecture, the overt luxury of
the costumes and accessories, and above all the cool perfection of Vander Neer’s technique reflect the taste for “French” elegance andrefinement that spread throughout the Netherlands during the last quarterof the seventeenth century.

-Marjorie E. Wieseman© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
Page 6 of 9Endnotes
1. Eddy Schavemaker, Eglon van der Neer (1635/36–1703): His Life and His Work(Doornspijk, 2010), nos. 46, 57, 73.
2. On the complicated development of lute variants in the Renaissance and baroque periods,
see Robert Spencer, “Chitarrone, Theorbo, and Archlute,” Early Music 4 (October 1976):
408–22; and on their representation in the visual arts, Mariagrazia Carlone, “Lutes,Archlutes, Theorboes in Iconography,” Music in Art 30, nos. 1–2 (2005): 88–96.
3. Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum II: De Organographia (Wolfenbüttel, 1619; English
translation by David Z. Crookes, Oxford, 1991), 52. The two-headed lute is commonlydescribed as a theorbo; however, on the theorbo the bass strings are carried by a more
extended neck.
4. The print shows the instrument in reverse. For a recent discussion of the image, see
Stephanie Dickey, in Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., ed., Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master
Rediscovered (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art; Milwaukee, Milwaukee ArtMuseum; Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis) (New Haven, 2008), 207.
5. See, among other studies: Eric Jan Sluijter, “‘Een stuck waerin een jufr: Voor de spiegel van
Gerrit Douw,’” Antiek 23 (1988): 150–61.
6. Among the many publications on musical symbolism in seventeenth-century Dutch painting,see Roy Sonnema, “Representations of Music in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art” (Ph.D.
diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1990); and Edwin Buijsen, Louis Peter Grijp, et al.,The Hoogsteder Exhibition of Music and Painting in the Golden Age (Exh. cat. The Hague,
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder; Antwerp, Hessenhuis Museum) (The Hague, 1994). Specificallyon the lute as an erotic symbol, see Eddy de Jongh, “Realisme en schiknrealisme in deHollandse schilderkunst van de zeventiende eeuw,” in Rembrandt en zijn tijd (Exh. cat.
Brussels, Musée des Beaux Arts de Belgique) (Brussels, 1971), 178.
7. Eddy

Schavemaker, Eglon

vanderNeer(1635/36–1703):

HisLifeandHisWork (Doornspijk, 2010), nos. 57, 73, 46, and 83, respectively; for additional examples see
nos. 38, 39, and 61. Besides inventing new iterations of a theme, Van der Neer also madeadjustments to compositions as he worked: for example, he changed the position of themusician’s head in A Woman Playing the Lute (Berlin); see Eddy Schavemaker, in Jeroen
Giltaij et al., Senses and Sins: Dutch Painters of Daily Life in the Seventeenth Century (Exh.
cat. Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen; Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut undStädtische Galerie) (Hatje Cantz, 2004), 270.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
Page 7 of 9ProvenanceCount Eduard Aleksander Raczyński (1847–1926), Ragolin, Pozńan, Poland, by 1912.
(Possibly sale, Christie’s, London, 21 July 1933, no. 143 [to Lacy for 7 gns.]).
[Xaver Scheidwimmer, Munich, 1959].
Baroness Aida Nora von dem Bussche-Streithorst (her sale, Christie’s, New York, 6 April
2006, no. 46); [Johnny van Haeften Ltd., London, 2006].
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2006.

Exhibition HistoryRome, Scuderie del Quirinale, “Vermeer: Il secolo d’oro dell’arte olandese,” 27 September
2012–20 January 2013, no. 35 [lent by the present owner].
Dallas, Dallas Museum of Art, “Vermeer Suite: Music in 17th-Century Dutch Painting,” 17January 2016–21 August 2016 [lent by the present owner].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The
Leiden Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].

References
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent
Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith . 8 vols.
London, 1907–27, 5:493, no. 73. Translated from Beschreibendes und kritischesVerzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts .
10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28.
“Willkommen in München.” Die Weltkunst 29 (15 October 1959): 3.
Brochhagen, Ernst and Knüttel, Brigitte. Katalog der Alte Pinakothek, III: HolländischeMalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1967, 48, under no. 204.
Bernt, Walther. Die niederländischen Maler und Zeichner des 17. Jahrhunderts.

2 vols.

Munich, 1980, 2:54, no. 900.
Schavemaker, Eddy. “Dame, eine Theorbe stimmend.” In Vom Adel der Malerei: Hollandum 1700. Edited by Ekkehard Mai et al. Exh. cat. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum;
Dordrecht,DordrechtsMuseum;

Kassel,Gemäldegalerie

Alte

Meister,Schloss© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Playing a Lute in an Interior
Page 8 of 9Wilhelmshohe. Cologne, 2006, 232, under no. 63.
Schavemaker, Eddy. Eglon van der Neer (1635/36–1703): His Life and His Work .
Doornspijk, 2010, 477, no. 63.
Wieseman, Marjorie E. “Donna che suona la tiorba in un interno.” InVermeer: Il secolo d’oro
dell’arte olandese. Edited by Sandrina Bandera, Walter Liedtke, and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
Exh. cat. Rome, Scuderie del Quirinale. Milan, 2012, 178–81, no. 35.

Versions
Versions and Copies
Eglon van der Neer, Lady Tuning a Lute, 1678, oil on panel, 42.5 x 36.7 cm, Alte
Pinakothek, Munich, inv. 204.

Versions Notes

Technical Summary
The support, a rectangular-shaped composite panel comprising two planks of vertically grained
oak, has a horizontal panel join near the upper edge and a vertical wood shim along the leftedge.[1] The panel is unthinned and uncradled, and has bevels on all four sides. A light-colored,radio-opaque priming has been applied to the reverse, and a red wax seal and an ink inscription
have been applied over the priming. Two horizontal battens were removed sometime after thepriming was applied, and an additional light-colored priming was applied locally to the wood thatwas exposed when the battens were removed and to the narrow horizontal plank along the upperedge. Machine tool marks visible beneath the light-colored coating along the right edge appear tocontinue across the panel reverse. There is a red wax collection seal and four handwritten
inscriptions, but no import stamps, stencils, labels or panel maker’s marks are visible.
A light-colored ground has been thinly and evenly applied. The paint has been thinly andsmoothly applied with areas of low brushmarking and transparent glazing but no use of impasto,
although the contours of the forms are slightly raised.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 780–1000 nanometers.
Minor compositional changes are visible. The thumb of the figure’s proper right hand has been
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shifted closer to the index finger; the drapery originally hung along the background to the figure’s
right and was tied back behind her proper left shoulder; the sleeve along the figure’s proper leftshoulder and forearm has been shifted; and an ornamental element along the lower end of thepilaster to the right of the figure has been painted out in the final composition although a similarelement is present further up the pilaster.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2006. It is in excellent condition, with minimal abrasion
along the figure’s proper left shoulder and along the lower edge of her dress, and is in an
excellent state of preservation.

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. The characterization of the wood is based on visual examination only.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection