Laurent de La Hyre (French, 1606–1656)
Oil on canvas, ca. 1410, Size 41 5/8 x 56 3/4 in. (105.7 x 144.1 cm)
Accession # 50.189
Charles B. Curtis Fund, 1950
From Gallery Label:
Signed, dated, and inscribed: (lower left) DE LA HIRE, / P. 1649 ·; (on music, apparently with words from a song) C'est a ce coup . . . (It is with this drink . . . )
"The allegorical figure tunes a theorbo. At her shoulder is a songbird, symbol of natural music, whereas by contrast she may be musica artificialis, modern music theory and practice. To the right are various contemporary instruments and scores: a lute, a violin, two recorders, a vocal exercise, and a song in two parts. This canvas, originally flanked by two music-making putti (Musée Magnin, Dijon), belonged to a series of the seven Liberal Arts commissioned by Gédéon Tallemant (1613–1668) for his house in the Marais quarter of Paris."
Sheet music detail...
