The Lute Player and the Harpist, ca. 1490

From the 'Scenes from Everyday Life' series

Blatt: 165 x 109 mm
Darstellung: 158 x 108 mm

Physical Description: Engraving

Inventory Number: 33848

Object Number: 33848 D

Acquisition: Acquired in 1858 as a gift from Johann David Passavant

Status: Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

The exact meaning of this house concert remains unclear. The palatial room as well as the woman's headdress could indicate chivalric ‘courtly love’, while the music-making could imply ‘harmony’. Yet, the man’s direct gaze and the sword dangling sloppily between his legs could also indicate sexual desire. Contemporary audiences could also have understood the locked cassette and the open lute case on the floor as sexual innuendos.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: The Lute Player and the Harpist
From the 'Scenes from Everyday Life' series

Engraver

Israhel van Meckenem the Younger

Period Produced

15th century

Object Type

art print

Physical Description: Engraving

Material

Vergé paper

Technique

copperplate engraving

Geographic Reference

German

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Monogrammiert in der Platte unterhalb der Einfassungslinie mittig: ° I ° M °

Captions Added Later: Bezeichnet links und rechts des Monogramms (mit der Feder in Braun): [...] // a a[?] b
Verso bezeichnet unten links (mit Bleistift): B. 174 / B 174 [114?]; unten rechts (mit Bleistift): 112 // Laut [?]
Verso unten links Stempel des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356), mit zugehöriger Inventarnummer

Watermark