 |
| Lorenzo Costa A Concert ca. 1485 oil on panel National Gallery, London |
 |
| Pieter Codde A Company Making Music 1631 oil on panel Bristol Museum and Art Gallery |
 |
| Willem Cornelisz Duyster Musical Party ca. 1634 oil on panel Wellington Collection, Apsley House, London |
 |
| attributed to Jacob van Reesbroeck Portrait of a Man with a Lute ca. 1655-60 oil on canvas Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow |
from Arcadia
Just as there were reeds along the riverbank,
Just as there were clouds
Above my head, my lute was lying beside me on the grass.
I placed the little finger of my right hand on the soundboard,
Just below the strings.
Not the tip of the finger, the side.
I curled the palm of my right hand towards me,
Covering the strings, so that I played
The bass note with the thumb,
The next with the index,
And the top note with the third.
The sun retreated, the night turned cold.
Rain began to fall, softly at first,
Though surely rain had fallen here before, as rain falls everywhere.
With my left hand, I positioned my thumb and index finger
Opposite each other, bearing no weight,
As if the neck of the lute were not there.
– James Longenbach (2015)
 |
| Jan Steen The Harpsichord Lesson ca. 1660-70 oil on panel Wallace Collection, London |
 |
| Jacob Ochtervelt Young Man singing to a Violin 1666 oil on panel Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow |
 |
| Caspar Netscher Young Lady playing the Guitar 1669 oil on panel Wallace Collection, London |
 |
| Joshua Reynolds Mrs James Paine with Charlotte and Mary Paine 1766 oil on canvas Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool |
 |
| Thomas Gainsborough Portrait of Louisa, Lady Clarges ca. 1780-85 oil on canvas Victoria Art Gallery, Bath |
 |
| François Bonvin Woman at a Spinet 1862 oil on canvas Burrell Collection, Glasgow |
 |
| Albert Joseph Moore A Musician ca. 1867 oil on canvas Yale Center for British Art |
 |
| Frederic Leighton The Music Lesson 1877 oil on canvas Guildhall Art Gallery, London |
 |
| John Melhuish Strudwick St Cecilia ca. 1896 oil on panel Sudley House, Liverpool |
 |
| Edwin Austin Abbey Lute Player 1899 oil on canvas Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| John Copley Chamber Music ca. 1938 oil on canvas Manchester Art Gallery |