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The Lute Player
Orazio Gentileschi · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639)
- Date
- c. 1612–1620
- Dimensions
- 143.5 x 129 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States
The Lute Player shows a young woman in a shimmering golden-yellow dress, seen half from behind, tuning a lute as she leans towards a table covered with musical instruments and an open score.
A closer look
The girl turns her head towards a window, listening intently to the sound of the string she plucks, as if catching the exact note. Gentileschi paints the light falling across her shoulder and on the silk of her dress with exquisite delicacy, contrasting with the quiet shadows of the room. On the table lie a violin, a recorder, a cornetto and songbooks, waiting to be played in a concert. Rather than Caravaggio's dramatic violence, Orazio's version of his style is calm, refined and lyrical.