Musicians and Soldiers
Tenebrism
1625
155.0 x 200.0 cm
The seventeenth-century scholar Robert Burton wrote, "Music is a sovereign remedy against despair and Melancholy." Two of the figures have been adapted from the allegorical Musical Party (on view nearby), but the composition is more open and dispersed: the figures appear to be absorbed in their own world. Rather than an allegory of the four ages of man, the picture suggests the inadequacy of wine and music to dispel a melancholic state. With what gravity the gypsy beats her tambourine!
Valentin de Boulogne (1591 – 1632)
Explore Valentin de Boulogne’s tenebrist paintings! French artist known for dramatic light & dark contrasts, Caravaggio influence, & scenes of fortune-telling.
About this artwork
- Title: Musicians and Soldiers
- Artist: Valentin de Boulogne
- Year: 1625
- Original dimensions: 155.0 x 200.0 cm
- Format: Landscape
- Copyright status: Public domain
- Movement: Tenebrism
- Corpus context: allegory of melancholy, transient human state
- Main color: Espresso
- Keywords: caravaggio influence, 1625 oil painting, renaissance painting
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