A Quartet of Singers, Lute players, and Bell Ringers Playing in a Tavern by Candlelight
mid to late 17th century
Medium
Brush drawing in gray ink, heightened with white bodycolor. Framing line in brush and gray ink with white bodycolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 1/4 × 11 13/16 in. (21 × 30 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Kenneth Grebinar, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2019
Accession Number
2019.276.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the dimly lit ambiance of a 17th-century Dutch tavern Leonaert Bramer a lively quartet of singers, lute players, and bell ring immersed in music by flickering candlelight. Created in the mid- to late 1600s during the Dutch Golden Age this brush drawing exemplifies Bramer's mastery of intimate genre scenes. A Utrecht-born artist influenced by Caravaggio's dramatic tenebrism, Bramer often depicted nocturnal gatherings with a poetic flair, blending everyday revelry with theatrical shadow play. Rendered in fluid gray ink with white bodycolor for luminous highlights, the work showcases Bramer's...