Trompe l’Oeil with Violin, Music Book, and Recorder
Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts Flemish
Not on view
With its bow pointing to a recorder, a violin presides over a deceptively casual array of sheet music, a newspaper, a booklet, and implements for writing (uncut feathers, a pen case, an ink bottle, a penknife, and quill pens). Composing and making music—a creative art form akin to painting—was Gijsbrechts’s theme in this trompe l’oeil tour de force. A letter draped over the leather strap anchors the rhythmic composition on the right; it not only advertises the artist’s position as court painter to Christian V, king of Denmark, but also serves as the artist’s signature. The violin turns respectfully toward this precious document.
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