1 of 7

HERMANNUS COLLENIUS - A Portrait of an Elegant Couple Making Music

Name: HERMANNUS COLLENIUS - A Portrait of an Elegant Couple Making Music
Brand: Hermannus Collenius

$95,537.26List Price

About the Item

HERMANNUS COLLENIUS (Kollum 1650 - 1723 Groningen) In a spacious interior, an elegant young couple is making music. She is fashionably dressed and sits on a stool by a virginal: with one hand she strikes a note on the keyboard, while in the other she holds an open songbook. He wears A thick, red gown and brown curly wig and plays a tune on a viola da gamba. A little brown and white King Charles spaniel plays on a mat at their feet. A small guitar leans up against a side table, on which rest books of music and a violin. Sumptuous draperies, paintings in gilded frames and other costly furnishings decorate the room. On the left, a parrot, freed from its cage, perches on top of an open window casement, through which a view of the garden can be seen. In front of the window, on a table covered with an oriental carpet, a still life of bread and fruit, with fine glass and china vessels completes the luxurious scene. Inscribed on the lid of the virginal: JUSTICUM INTELLIGENTI This painting of an unidentified couple is a fine example of the early work of Hermannus Collenius, from his period in Amsterdam in the 1670s . At this stage in his career, the young artist from Friesland painted mostly portraits of the city’s social elite. As we see here, his youthful style reflects the Flemish and French influences which were shaping the fashionable portraiture of his contempories, such as Nicolaes Maes and Caspar Netscher. The informal poses of our sitters and the prominence given to their fine apparel, the musical instruments and elegant surroundings is closely allied to the high- life genre scenes of the period. Light streams in from the window on the left, enveloping the interior in a clear, golden aura. Highlights are reflected in the gilt birdcage, the auricular mouldings of the picture fames, in the glass and metalware and in the smoothly polished wooden surface of the large stringed instrument. The dark green curtain, swept up in a theatrical manner on the right, serves as a repoussoir, creating a sense of depth, enhanced by the view through to an adjoining room. The broad, painterly handling is characteristic of the artist’s style, as is the palette of warm, reddish tones. The theme of music-making in art has long been associated with love. In earlier times, it was often treated in a mythological form, as in Titian’s Venus and a Lute Player, but in seventeenth-century Dutch painting it often appears in the context of contemporary life. The power of music to touch the emotions is also acknowledged in poetry of the day, for example in the words of Jacob Westerbaen, “Learn to play the lute, the clavichord. The strings have the power to caress the heart” . The metaphor of love as a harmonious duet was particularly popular and, in this case, alludes to concord between the husband and wife. The little dog clearly symbolises marital fidelity but the gilded birdcage is more difficult to interpret: in this situation it may well stand for the “sweet slavery” of love, or simply signify domesticity . Whatever the case, our young couple are happy in their good fortune, as they pursue their tuneful activity amidst comfortable surroundings: an atmosphere of civility and gentility pervades the scene.

Creator:
Hermannus Collenius (Painter)
Dimensions:
Height: 39.45 in (100.2 cm)Width: 52.6 in (133.6 cm)Depth: 3.94 in (10 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Canvas
Place of Origin:
Netherlands
Period:
18th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
1670 s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Hilversum, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU98551035754

Antique Early 19th Century American American Colonial Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

A Pair of Antique American Portraits of an Aristocratic Couple

$6,000 / set

H 35 in W 31 in D 3 in

Portrait of an Elegant French Lady. 19th Century.

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A beautifully rendered oil on canvas portrait depicting an elegant French lady of refinement and stature, executed in the Romantic tradition of mid-19th-century portraiture. The sitt...

Category

Antique 19th Century French Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Portrait of an Elegant French Lady. 19th Century.

$28,000

H 71 in W 56 in D 6 in

Pair of French Empire Portraits of an Aristocratic Couple by Antoine Borel

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia

A pair of original oil paintings on canvas depicting a handsome young aristocratic couple of the Directoire, early Empire period. They are each pictured from the waist up, she holdin...

Category

Early 20th Century French Empire Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Pair of French Empire Portraits of an Aristocratic Couple by Antoine Borel

$17,000 / set

H 27 in W 26 in D 2 in

Jean-Gabriel DOMERGUE - Portrait of an Elegant Woman, her first name "Guite"

By Jean-Gabriel Domergue

Located in Beaune, FR

Portrait of an elegant woman named Guite on a beige background. Oil on hardboard signed lower left and named on the back. Painting in very good condition. Dimensions With frame - H ...

Category

Antique 19th Century French Paintings

Materials

Wood

Jean-Gabriel DOMERGUE - Portrait of an Elegant Woman, her first name "Guite"

$5,612

H 14.97 in W 13 in D 3.94 in

Elegant 19th-Century Portrait of an Aristocratic Lady Magnificent Carved gilt

Located in Berlin, DE

This exquisite 19th-century portrait presents an elegant lady of noble bearing, painted with great sensitivity and refined technique. Although it has been associated with Frederike v...

Category

20th Century German Baroque Paintings

Materials

Wood

Elegant 19th-Century Portrait of an Aristocratic Lady Magnificent Carved gilt

$2,985

H 42.52 in W 36.62 in D 4.73 in

19th Century Oil Portrait of an Elegant Young Woman Arranging Flowers

Located in San Francisco, CA

Oil portrait of an elegant young woman arranging flowers 19th century, initialed "J.M." Wonderful oil painting housed in a gilded frame. The painting shows a young woman arr...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century English Paintings

Materials

Canvas

19th Century Oil Portrait of an Elegant Young Woman Arranging Flowers

$1,250

H 21.5 in W 18 in D 3 in

Large Art Deco Period Portrait Painting of an Elegant Young Woman, 1937

Located in San Francisco, CA

A very large Art Deco style full length portrait of an elegantly dressed beautiful young woman. The woman in this painting is Millie Stokes. Oil on canvas in original silver gilt wood frame. Signed Frederic Tellander...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Art Deco Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Large Art Deco Period Portrait Painting of an Elegant Young Woman, 1937

$3,985

H 51 in W 45 in D 1.5 in

Copy of a Portrait of an Admiral

Located in Queens, NY

Copy of a portrait painting of an Admiral in blue dress uniform with red sash full of medals

Category

Late 20th Century European Biedermeier Paintings

Materials

Ash

Copy of a Portrait of an Admiral

$6,450

H 33.5 in W 33 in D 2 in

Set of Antique Portrait Paintings of a Dutch Elite Couple

Located in Sakskøbing, DK

This pair of 1840s portraits depicts a Dutch gentleman and lady of notable status. The gentleman wears a white shirt with high collar, black silk necktie, and a gold brooch, reflecti...

Category

Antique 19th Century Dutch Romantic Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood, Paint

Set of Antique Portrait Paintings of a Dutch Elite Couple

$2,790

H 20 in W 16 in D 1 in

Making of an American Army: the World War II Artwork of Frederick Counsel

Located in valatie, NY

The Making of an American Army: The World War II Artwork of Frederick Counsel (A G.I. View of Army Life) was an exhibit at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center from 2019-2020. 1st Ed softcover. Frederick Counsel’s art book features many watercolor drawings of army life from his service days. He painted scenes of mess halls...

Category