The Flute Lesson
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View on museum website →Medium
Mezzotint; reverse copy
Dimensions
plate: 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 in. (27 x 21 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.6734
Art Historical Context
"The Flute Lesson," a captivating mezzotint print created between 1640 and 1677, is attributed to Wallerant Vaillant in collaboration with Gerard van Zij. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, 10 5/8 x 8 1/4-inch plate depicts an intimate domestic scene, likelyoking the refined musical pursuits of 17th-century Dutch life during the Golden Age. Va, a pioneering Dutch engraver (1623–1677), is celebrated for inventing the mezzotint technique around the 1650s—a "black manner" process that revolutionized printmaking. ...
About the Artist
Wallerant Vaillant|Gerard van Zijl · 1623–1677
Wallerant Vaillant (1623-1677) was a French-born Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker who pioneered the mezzotint technique in printmaking. Born in Lille on May 30, 1623, he died in Amsterdam on August 28, 1677, leaving behind a significant legacy as both a portraitist and innovator in graphic arts. Vaillant holds a distinguished place in art history as one of the first professional artists to...