Musical Company

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1626

The subject of this painting is a mystery: is it an exhortation to praise God through singing and string music, or a scene of seduction with the old woman as a procuress? In any case, in this early work Rembrandt used elements from his own surroundings: his mother modelled for the old woman, and Rembrandt’s own features can be recognized in the young man.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4674
  • Dimensionsheight 63.5 cm x width 48 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Musical Company
    • Musical Allegory (former title)

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4674

  • Description

    Allegorisch musicerend gezelschap. Links speelt een man is oosterse kleding en tulband op een viola da gamba. Naast hem staat een jonge man met een harp. Een jonge vrouw zit naast een tafeltje met een opengeslagen liedboek op schoot en zingt. Achter haar kijkt een oude vrouw met een doek over het hoofd toe. Op de voorgrond liggen muziekinstrumenten (luit, viool) en stapels boeken. Aan de muur een schilderij van de vlucht van Lot uit Sodom.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature and date: ‘RH 1626’

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Rembrandt van Rijn

  • Dating

    1626

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    height 63.5 cm x width 48 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt and the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1976

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ...; ? sale, William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley (1788-1857, Wanstead House, Essex), 4th Earl of Mornington, London (John Robins), 10 (20) June 1822 sqq., no. 205 ('A Musical Party, painted with his usual powerful effect of chiaro scuro'.), £ 9.9, to Chatfield; ...; ? private collection, Edinburgh, c. 1823-25;{According to a label on the reverse of the panel, the painting was cleaned by Chalmers & son Picture Cleaner, located at nos. 118 and 153 High Street in Edinburgh. Chalmers & son had these addresses from 1823-25; see http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/scottish-book-trade-index/carson-clark.} ...; sale, Frank Cripps et al. [anonymous section], London (Christie's), 16 November 1936, no. 155, 2,205 gns, to the dealer Edward Speelman; ...; dealers Benjamin and Nathan Katz, Dieren, 1937, 1938;{Dealer cat. Katz 1937, p. 21, no. 70; Dealer cat. Katz 1938, p. 22, no. 86.} dealer The Schaeffer Galleries (Benjamin and Nathan Katz's American agent), New York, 1937, 1938;{Dealer cat. The Schaeffer Galleries 1937, unpag., no. 1; according to a printed invitation for the opening preserved at the GRI (Schaeffer Galleries records, 1925-1985, acc. no. 910148), the painting was exhibited by The Schaeffer Galleries, New York, at the Los Angeles Museum from 5 April to 1 May 1938. Also exhibited at the Tulsa Art Association, Tulsa Oklahoma, 1938; FLNY Photo Archive, acc. no. Rembrandt 320-23a.} purchased from the dealers Benjamin and Nathan Katz by the dealer Alois Miedl, 2 August 1940;{Muller/Schretlin 2002, p. 73.} from whom, fl. 85,000, to Maria Almas-Dietrich for Adolf Hitler’s Führermuseum, Linz (inv. no. 1042);{Schwarz 2004, p. 102, no. II/37.} war recuperation, SNK, 4 December 1945;{Schwarz 2004, p. 102, no. II/37. The Munich Central Collecting Point number 1405 is recorded in black ink on the reverse of the panel.} unjustly returned to the dealers Benjamin and Nathan Katz, 1947;{Muller/Schretlin 2002, p. 73.} sale, Nathan Katz (Basel), Paris (Charpentier), 1 April 1951, no. 59, frs. 7,800,000, to Marcelle Bousaci; ...; from Art Gallery A.G., Zug, Switzerland, fl. 648,000, to the museum, as a gift from the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Prins Bernhard Fonds and the Commissie voor Fotoverkoop, 1976

Documentation

    • Ernst van de Wetering, De jonge Rembrandt aan het werk: Materiaalgebruik en schildertechniek van Rembrandt in het begin van zijn Leidse periode, uit: Oud Holland, 91, 1977, 1/2, pagina pp. 27-65 - afb. 7, 8(zie: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42710957)
    • The Rembrandt Database, Object information, Rembrandt, Musical company, dated 1626, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-4674, http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt/painting/2938/musical-company, accessed 2016 February 01
    • H.L.M. Defour, Rembrandt van Rijn, De Doop van de Kamerling, uit: Oud Holland, 91, 1977, 1/2, pagina pp. 2-26 - p. 8(zie: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42710956)

Related objects

  • Related

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!