Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier
by TERBORCH, Gerard, Oil on wood, 37 x 32 cm
By the late 1650s, Terborch had been arranging three-quarter-length figures around tables, in compositions of similar format, for about ten years. The present painting belongs to this group. The figure of the theorbo player recalls the young woman in blue who plays alone at a table in The Suitor’s Visit of about 1658.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 14 minutes):
George Frideric Handel: Concerto for harp, lute and theorbo in B flat major