Musician and Drinkers
by VALENTIN DE BOULOGNE, Oil on canvas, 95 x 133 cm
In the 1620s in Roman circles, a definite change came about in the subject matter of musical paintings. The representation of figures playing musical instruments in ‘cultivated’ domestic interiors (the direct descendants of Caravaggio’s Lute Player and Musicians) disappeared. Within the space of a very few years they were replaced by large numbers of representations of concerts in public places and ‘popular’ locations.
A large number of Valentin de Boulogne’s painting demonstrate the new trend very clearly, also displaying the thematic variations so characteristic of it. Valentin’s favourite subject was musicians and drinkers.