The Musicians
(Two Men and a Woman)
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Rectangular oil painting on panel depicting an interior with three people, two men and a woman, making music in front of a fireplace. On the right, the seated woman sings from sheet music. Behind her stands a man tuning a violin. To the left, sits an older man singing. He holds a jug and a small pipe. The figures are dressed in peasant clothes. In the background, there is a fireplace with a simple mantelpiece supporting a pipe. Pinned to the chimney breast there is a drawing of a standing burly man, possibly fighting a fire. To the left, there is a shelf supporting an object, a square window, and a doorway.
Ferdinand de Rothschild learnt to 'distinguish a Teniers from an Ostade' by his mother as a child. This was one of the pictures he probably practised on. Although Ferdinand purchased other Dutch paintings from famous collections, he inherited this panel from his father in 1874.
Adriaen Van Ostade was a prolific painter and etcher of peasants like these music makers. In the 17th century, these scenes were popular with wealthy merchants. Such depictions were entertaining but also helped to justify a sense of elitism and uphold rules of polite behaviour amongst the middling classes. The civilized singing contrasts with Ostade's earlier work that emphasised more bawdy behaviour. Ostade's work remained popular into the 19th century.
There are similarities between the woman depicted in this work and that featured in van Ostade's 'Buying Fish', Wallace Collection, London, (P202), dated to 166[9?]. The composition is similar to 'Interior of a Peasant's Cottage: A Child About to be Fed', (Royal Collection, London) of 1651, however the painterly style and subdued colours indicate a slightly later date for the Waddesdon painting. On Ferdinand's childhood see: Michael Hall; Waddesdon Manor: The Heritage of a Rothschild House; New York; 2002, p. 73.
Phillippa Plock, 2011
Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)
220 x 281
Signature & date
not signed or dated
Labels
109
Label
small circular label with blue border on verso
Provenance
- Collection of Baron Anselm de Rothschild (b.1803, d.1874); by descent to his son Ferdinand de Rothschild (b.1839, d.1898); inherited by his sister Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922); inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by The Treasury Solicitor in lieu of taxes on the Estate of Mr James de Rothschild in 1965; bequeathed to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1990.
Exhibition history
- Vienna, 1874, no. 136 lent by Anselm de Rothschild
- Royal Academy Exhibition, London, 1877, no. 80, lent by Ferdinand de Rothschild.
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990
Bibliography
- Cornelis Hofstede de Groot; A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. Vols 1-4 [1907-1927]; Bishops Stortford; Chadwick Healey; 1976; vol. 3, p. 251 no. 369, see also vol. 3, pp. 248-9, no. 358 which is not this painting but has some provenance details relating to the Waddesdon canvas
- Ellis Waterhouse, Anthony Blunt; Paintings: The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre, The National Trust; 1967; p. 160, cat. no. 67; as from Baron Anselm, by descent to Ferdinand in 1874, as 'The Musicians (Two Men and a Woman)'
Related files
- http://www.rothschildarchive.org/research/?doc=/research/articles/mhvanloon3.xml&headline=Research+Forum%3AThe+Van+Loon+Collection [accessed 12 July 2011, Research Forum article on Van Loon collection by Michael Hall. see no. 60 in the analysis section for details on the painting. Log in required]
- http://www.rothschildarchive.org/research/?doc=/research/articles/mhvanloon3.xml&headline=Research+Forum%3AThe+Van+Loon+Collection [accessed 12 July 2011, Research Forum article on Van Loon collection by Michael Hall. see no. 60 in the analysis section for details on the painting. Log in required]
Subjects
- Architecture/Buildings/Domestic
- Interiors/Domestic
- Figures/Female
- Figures/Group
- Figures/Male
- Everyday Life/Entertainment/Music Making
- Objects/Visual Arts/Prints
- Objects/Clothing & Personal Effects/Smoking Pipe
- Objects/Furnishings/Mirror
- Objects/Vessels & Containers/Jug or Ewer
- Objects/Reading, Writing & Printed Matter/Musical Score
- Objects/Musical Instruments/Violin
- Work & Occupations/Social Rank/Lower Classes
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Fire