Musical Instruments in Art
Lutes in Dutch interiors, biwa in Japanese prints, and the instruments themselves — painted, engraved, and crafted as objects of beauty.
1,315 public-domain artworks from six world museums · free to view and download
Genius of Mirth
Thomas Crawford, 1842; carved 1843
작자미상 범천왕을 중심으로 한 신중도 조선|作者未詳 神衆圖 朝鮮|Brahma with Attendants and Musicians
Unidentified artist, late 16th century
The Love Song
Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1868–77
A Lady Playing the Tanpura
Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Shaiva Saint
Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque)
Georges Seurat, 1887–88
"The Eavesdropper", Folio 47r from a Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits) of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
Maulana Azhar|Nizami|Unknown, ca. 1430
The Coronation of the Virgin
Niccolò di Buonaccorso, ca. 1380
The Genius of Castiglione
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)|Matthys van de Merwede, Lord of Clootwyck|Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi, ca. 1645–47 (published 1648)
Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio
Giuliano da Maiano|Francesco di Giorgio Martini|Francesco di Giorgio Martini|Benedetto da Maiano, ca. 1478–82
Armorial Plate (tondino): The story of King Midas
Nicola da Urbino, ca. 1520–25
Arched Harp (shoulder harp)
Menat necklace from Malqata
Seated Chief (Mwanangana) Playing Sanza
Chokwe artist, 19th century (before 1869)
Pair of Clappers
Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto), 1645–50
Terracotta amphora (jar)
Berlin Painter, ca. 490 BCE
Lucas van Uffel (died 1637)
Anthony van Dyck, ca. 1622
The Dancing Lesson
Thomas Eakins, 1878
The Bryant Vase
James Horton Whitehouse|Tiffany & Co.|Eugene J. Soligny|Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1876
The Coronation of the Virgin
Annibale Carracci, after 1595
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
"Akbar With Lion and Calf", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Govardhan|Mir 'Ali Haravi, verso: ca. 1630; recto: ca. 1530–50
"The Story of the Princess of the Blue Pavillion: The Youth of Rum Is Entertained in a Garden by a Fairy and her Maidens", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi
Manohar|Muhammad Husain Kashmiri|Amir Khusrau Dihlavi, 1597–98
Julius Caesar (from the Heroes Tapestries)
Textile sample
J. Claude Frères & Co.|Unknown Designer, ca. 1900
Design for Square Pianoforte, Louis Quatorze Style
Robert William Hume, 1835–1900
Rattle, Whistle, and Bells
「楽器其三」|Biwa with Brocade Cover, from the series Musical Instruments
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, probably 1808
Case (Inrō) with Design of Bugaku Hat (obverseI; Shō Flute and Cymbals (reverse)
Instruments and Stand for Music
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, 19th century
Bell
François Delapierre, 1769–70
Busk
Two tritons embracing, one playing a panpipe, the second holding a conch shell set within a recessed space
Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia)|Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi), 1579
Necklace with bells and two figures
Miniature Panpipe
隋 陶持琵琶女楽伎俑|Female musician with a lute
Hammered Gold Band with Bells
Ocarina
Whistle
Partially Restored Oblique Lyre
Clapper
Bow harp
Scene 5, from Jack and the Giant Killer, Scenes for a Toy Theater
Benjamin Pollock, 1870–90
Four Musical Putti (in Sketch Book With Drawings on Twenty-six Leaves)
Frederic, Lord Leighton, ca. 1849
Design for a Title Page Sheet Music
Anonymous, German, 19th century, 19th century
Woman Putting on Finger Plectrums to Play the Koto
Utagawa Toyohiro, early 19th century
Three Beauties Playing Musical Instruments
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 19th century