Musical Instruments

ca. 1665–77

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Silence reigns in this somber painting, in which all the instruments strewn over the massive table have broken strings and are unplayable. Decaying apples reinforce the vanitas message of the transience of life. Yet Baschenis incites the urge to touch by rendering everything with palpable veracity; the open drawer, crumpled scores, and silky ribbons appear to project outward, as if within one’s grasp. Baschenis had been all but forgotten outside his native Bergamo when his signature was deciphered on the table leg of this painting. Published in 1908, the discovery prompted great interest in his work, just as the Cubists embarked on their dialogue with trompe l’oeil painting.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Musical Instruments
Artist: Evaristo Baschenis (Italian, Bergamo 1617–1677 Bergamo)
Date: ca. 1665–77
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 38 3⁄4 × 57 7⁄8 in. (98.5 × 147 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels (3893)
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art