The Concert

The Concert is one of the last and most important works of Terbrugghen, who died in 1629, the same year he executed this extraordinary masterpiece. The representation of concerts with two or more figures was common in the work of Terbrugghen and in the Dutch School of painting in general: these northerners enhanced their own tradition by drawing new iconography from the Roman Caravaggesque school. Whether subtly or explicitly, these scenes of musicians almost invariably convey erotic and sensual meaning, even when they purport to depict biblical subjects.

A key figure in the spread of the naturalistic style in Europe, Terbrugghen was active in Rome during the second decade of the seventeenth century. While there, he attached himself to the Caravaggesque style, experiencing it mostly through his own luminous and chromatic interpretations of the examples of Orazio Gentileschi and Carlo Saraceni. In the transparent and vibrant rapport between light and material, so characteristic to his style, we can recognize Terbrugghen as an important precedent for Jan Vermeer.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 10 minutes): Claudio Monteverdi: Charming Angioletta, madrigal