Lute Player is an early 17th-century painting by French artist Valentin de Boulogne. Done in oil on canvas, the painting depicts a young soldier playing a lute. The painting was originally in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin, and is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.[1]
| Lute Player | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Valentin de Boulogne |
| Year | 1625–26 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 128.3 cm × 99.1 cm (50.5 in × 39.0 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Accession | 2008.459 |
Description edit
Lute was rendered by Valentin de Boulogne between 1625 and 1626 in Rome. The work was then sold, and first appears in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin, a French political minister who owned nine other works by de Boulogne. The painting's title and central figure may be self-referential as de Boulogne's nickname in Rome was "Amador", which has been loosely translated from Spanish as "lover boy".[2]
The painting itself depicts a young man playing a lute. The figure is clad in rich clothing and a steel gorget, indicating he is a soldier - likely a Spanish mercenary. Like many of de Boulogne's paintings, Lute is heavily influenced by tenebrism, a style of art popularized by de Boulogne's contemporary Caravaggio.[2]
References edit
- ^ Annick Lemoine, Keith Christiansen, Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016, p. 162 ISBN 978-1-58839-602-0
- ^ a b "Lute Player". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-08-24.