Betsy Wieseman: Music was one of the primary
entertainments in the seventeenth century
in a typical Dutch city. You had city musicians
who would often give performances in the town.
There was music in the taverns, there was
music in the church. But I think most people
enjoyed musical performances in their own
homes.
Richard Egarr: The nouveaux riche and all
the rich traders were having musical parties
at their houses and using all this music in
a domestic situation, which was very, very
important; so that it was a way of meeting
each other and having a good time.
Betsy Wieseman: Having a painting with a musical
subject on your wall would help you to recall
that pleasant experience that you have with
friends and family.
Music offered a rare chance in the seventeenth
century for men and women to get together
without a chaperone, because I think it was
assumed that if you hands and thoughts were
occupied with music they weren't doing something
else.
I think a good example of this is the painting
by Jan Steen of the woman seated at a harpsichord
and the man sort of slouching over the side
of it. There are two inscriptions, one on
the keyboard flap by the woman that says,
'Only for the Glory of God'; and the second
one on the lid of the harpsichord that says
'Actions prove the man'. We see in the background
a young boy bringing a huge lute for the man
to embark on a duet with this young woman.
And very often a duet in music is the prelude
to a more intimate relationship between a
man and a woman.
Artists used music as a metaphor for harmony
in all its different aspects. It was used
to symbolise political harmony, familial harmony
and I think most often, harmony between a
man and a woman.
One of the most beautiful examples of this
is a painting be Gabriel Metsu. Its composition
just seems designed to be harmonious. The
woman leans to offer the man a sheet of music,
the man tips a glass in her direction. It's
a very congenial, very harmonious and very
intimate exchange between the two people.
Before the age of recorded music, music only
existed in the moments of it playing. As soon
as the sound of the music died away the music
itself was dead, and this was likened to a
person's life.
For example in the Vanitas painting by Treck
we see common symbols of transience such as
the skull but we also see several musical
symbols. We see a violin in the background,
an open musical score; things that remind
you of the temporary nature of human existence.
I think the paintings are just remarkable.
We get I think a very good sense of how they
loved music.
Pavlo Beznosiuk: They get you just here because
the people depicted are real. We could know
those people. They're studying an instrument,
they're pining for love maybe, there's a little
bit of a frisson going on.
Betsy Wieseman: I think it's that aspect of
these paintings that we can really connect
with today, that similar shared enjoyment.
