Lot 176A
European, Continental School, 19th century. A tenebrist painting of a male musician playing a mandolin by candlelight. The sitter wears a silky turban adorned with a bejeweled ornament and grand red feather. With a wrinkled forehead, he focuses intently on his sheet music as his fingers press the fret board and strum the strings. Warm candlelight casts a romantic glow and illuminates the musician, his instrument, the sheet music, and the elaborately decorated, golden incense vessel before him; however, the background is intensely dark. This perceptible contrast between light and dark, known as tenebrism, makes for a dramatic, almost theatrical effect. Size: 39.5" L x 29.75" W (100.3 cm x 75.6 cm)
The technique of tenebrism (also tenebroso - derived from the Latin tenebrae meaning darkness) was first introduced by the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio (1571-1610) and was also popularized by 17th century artists including Georges de la Tour (French, 1593-1652), Francisco de Zurburan (Spanish, 1598-1664), Gerrit van Honthorst (Dutch, 1592-1656), and Hendrik ter Grugghen (Dutch, 1588-1629).
According to Lindsay Conway's "From Baroque to Bluegrass, a Globe-Trotting Instrument" (Library of Congress blog, August 20, 2020), "The mandolin is believed to descend from two short-necked lute instruments, the gittern of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance-era mandore. The earliest surviving music written specifically for mandolin is found in anonymous 17th-century manuscripts from Florence, Rome, and Bologna, containing dance and other popular music associated with the royal courts of those cities. However, historical records also indicate that the mandolin was used in large and small ensembles as early as the mid-16th century and was used in cantatas, chamber music, oratorios, and operas by the close of the 17th century. During the early 18th century, composers wrote sonatas, concertos, and partitas that featured the mandolin, and it was also used for obbligato and color in operas and oratorios by composers including Vivaldi and Handel."
Provenance: ex-private Englewood, Colorado USA collection; Ex-M. Komor Gallery, New York City, New York USA circa 1965
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#180832
- Condition: Painting has original stretchers and does not appear to have been relined. Craquelure throughout with areas of restoration executed in the past and touch up to pigment here and there. Tears and losses as shown - most not impacting the central image. Painting would benefit from professional conservation.
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