Description
Despite the calm demeanor and elegant disposition of the figures, this interior scene probably represents the interior of a brothel, signaled by the row of female portraits in the background, rarely found in other paintings of this period. The depiction of music provides another clue to the subject. The recorder and violin, played without scores, were perceived as cruder instrumentation and associated with prostitution, versus the elegant and complicated musicmaking seen in the work by Pieter de Hooch in the museum's collection.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1991-); (Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1990-1991); Dr. Karl Josef Steger, Vienna, sold to Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas (After 1947 -1990); Baron Rudolf von Gutmann [1880-1966], sold to Dr. Karl Josef Steger (Probably early twentieth century - after 1945)
Accession Number
1991.23
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 73 x 64.5 x 5.5 cm (28 3/4 x 25 3/8 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 58.5 x 48.9 cm (23 1/16 x 19 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Canvas Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682) was a Dutch painter known for the precisely observed, elegantly composed genre paintings of upper-class domestic life that make him one of the most accomplished genre painters of the Dutch Golden Age. A Musical Company from c. 1668 depicts a musical company in the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner that distinguishes Ochtervelt's best work from the more general genre painting of his contemporaries. Ochtervelt was known for his precisely observed, elegantly composed depictions of upper-class domestic life—particularly musical companies and elegant conversations—and his work represents one of the most accomplished traditions in Dutch Golden Age genre painting.
Cultural Impact
A Musical Company is important in the history of Dutch genre painting because it demonstrates the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner that Ochtervelt brought to upper-class domestic subjects as one of the most accomplished genre painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Ochtervelt's precisely observed, elegantly composed depictions of upper-class domestic life—particularly musical companies and elegant conversations—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Dutch Golden Age genre painting, and the c. 1668 painting shows this tradition at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
A Musical Company is Ochtervelt's precisely observed Dutch genre painting: a musical company rendered in the elegantly composed manner of one of the most accomplished genre painters of the Dutch Golden Age. The c. 1668 painting shows the precise observation of upper-class domestic life that makes Ochtervelt distinctive.
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