The Lute Player
by TERBORCH, Gerard, Oil on canvas, 53 x 39 cm
The young woman in this picture seems engrossed in her lute-playing; bending forward a little, she seems to be concentrating on the sheet music on the table as she plucks the strings of her instrument. The generously laid-out outline of the figure, overlapped by nothing, dominates the picture, giving it peace and harmony. The surrounding space, on the other hand, retreats into the darkness of the background, becoming both setting and foil, and establishing a relationship of tension with the central motif. On the wall, a map can just be made out.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):
Francesco da Milano: Tre fantasie for lute