Vermeer and Music

catalogue-vermeerThis summer a unique possibility is presented to explore the musical pastimes of the 17th-century Netherlands through an exhibition combining the art of Vermeer and his contemporaries with rare musical instruments, songbooks and live music.

For the first time ever the National Gallery’s two paintings by Vermeer, A Young Woman standing at a Virginal and A Young Woman seated at a Virginal are brought together with Vermeer’s Guitar Player. The latter painting is currently on exceptional loan from the Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood House. In addition to works by Vermeer, the exhibition will include paintings by Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu, Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch and Godfried Schalcken. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore the musical pastimes of the 17th-century Netherlands.

Music was one of the most popular themes in Dutch painting, and carried many diverse associations. In portraits, a musical instrument or songbook might suggest the education or social position of the sitter; in scenes of everyday life, it might also act as a metaphor for harmony, or a symbol of transience.

The exhibition displays 17th-century virginals (a type of harpsichord), guitars and lutes alongside the paintings. This offers unique insights into the painters’ choice of instruments, and the difference between the real instruments and the way in which the painters chose to represent them.

Three days a week  – Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – visitors can experience live performances in the exhibition space by the Academy of Ancient Music, bringing the paintings to life with music of the period.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue written by the curator of the exhibition, Majorie E. Wiseman.

Vermeer and Music. The Art of Love and Leisure
The National Gallery in London
26.06.2013 – 08.09.2013

READ MORE:

Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure
By Majorie E. Wieseman
National Gallery Company 2013

ABSTRACT:
Music was among the most popular motifs in paintings of the Dutch ‘Golden Age’. This attractive, accessible book presents a selection of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings with musical themes, juxtaposed with contemporary instruments and popular songbooks. By offering an overview of musical entertainment in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century, and outlining some of the diverse connotations of music in art, Vermeer and Music is a new insight into the significance of these popular images. The book is generously illustrated with details of paintings and musical instruments, showcasing the extraordinary craftsmanship of these works. Vermeer and Music also features details from a selection of seventeenth-century songbooks, charming volumes filled with love songs, poems, and illustrations of amorous duets. Vermeer and Music will appeal to anyone who loves music, or the art of Vermeer and his illustrious contemporaries.

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