The Serenade

Judith Leyster (mentioned on object), 1629

Judith Leyster was the first woman to become a master painter in the Netherlands in the 17th century. She received this title in 1633 after being admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St Luke. This high status allowed Leyster to open her own studio in Haarlem and take on pupils. Her talent is on display in the effects of light and dark and her use of colour in this painting of a singing lute player. The bright red of his breeches forms a fine contrast with the greenish background.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-2326
  • Dimensionssupport: height 47 cm x width 34.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • The Serenade
    • A Lute Player, known as ‘The Serenade’
  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-2326

  • Description

    De serenade. Een jongen spelend op een luit. Op het hoofd een baret met pluimen.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature and date, with ligated monogram and star, upper right: ‘1629 / J*’

  • Part of catalogue


Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Judith Leyster (mentioned on object)

  • Dating

    1629

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    support: height 47 cm x width 34.5 cm


This work is about

  • Subject


Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1908

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    ? Probate inventory, Jan Miense Molenaer, Haarlem, 10 October 1668, in the vestibule (‘Een luijtslager van sijn huijsvrou’);{NHA, notary W. van Kittensteyn; A. Bredius, _Künstler-Inventare_, I, The Hague 1915, p. 3, no. 12; GPI, N-5314.}…; collection Pieter van Winter (1745-1807), Amsterdam, as Frans Hals;{Six Archives, Amsterdam, V-F-II V 2, _Tauxatie van het kabinet schilderyen nagelaten door wylen den weledlen heer P. van Winter Nsz._, 31 January 1815; see R. Priem, ‘The “Most Excellent Collection” of Lucretia Johanna van Winter: The Years 1809-22, with a Catalogue of the Works Purchased’, _Simiolus_ 25 (1997), pp. 103-235, esp. p. 219, no. 67.} his daughter, Lucretia Johanna van Winter (1785-1845), Amsterdam;{Six Archives, Amsterdam, VIII-F-3 I D, _Verdeeling schilderyen tusschen Lucr.a Joh.a v.Winter en haar zuster A L A. van Winter 20 Dec. 1815 getr. met Willem van Loon_, fl. 85; see R. Priem, ‘The “Most Excellent Collection” of Lucretia Johanna van Winter: The Years 1809-22, with a Catalogue of the Works Purchased’, _Simiolus_ 25 (1997), pp. 103-235, esp. p. 224, no. 89.} her husband, Jonkheer Hendrik Six (1790-1847), Lord of Hillegom, Amsterdam, as Frans Hals; his sons, Jonkheer Jan Pieter Six (1824-1899), Lord of Hillegom, and Jonkheer Pieter Hendrik Six (1827-1905), Lord of Vromade; from whose heirs, with 38 other paintings, fl. 751,400, to the museum, with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, 1908


Documentation

    • Jaarverslag Rijksmuseum (1908), p. 10.
    • R. Priem, 'The most excellent collection' of Lucretia Johanna van Witter', Simiolus 25 (1997) nr. 2/3, p. 190, 196, 219 nr. 67, 224.
    • A. von Schneider, 'Gerard Honthorst und Judith Leyster', Oud Holland (1922), p. 170, afb.
    • J. Harms, 'Judith Leyster', Oud Holland (1927), p. 115, afb. 2.

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