Paintings of musicians from the mid-seventeenth century often capture the delicate balance between sound and silence. Figures are frequently depicted as if on the verge of producing a note, and the instrument itself seems to reflect a state of mind rather than an actual performance.
During this era, the viola da gamba held a unique cultural significance. As the most refined of the bowed instruments, it was associated with personal study, intellectual sophistication, and a serene, often contemplative demeanour. Its rich timbre, distinct from the bright sound of the violin or the rustic quality of folk instruments, made it a favoured companion among scholars and the well-educated. Dutch inventories and contemporary poetry frequently portrayed it as a symbol of inner discipline and thoughtful reflection, an object whose physical integrity mirrored the steadfastness of its player. Emblematic writings often used images of broken instruments to signify a lapse in judgement or a talent allowed to wane. In still-life paintings, this motif could more subtly suggest fragility rather than overt moral failing.
In this painting, the viola da gamba embodies these various meanings. It is not aged by time, but rather damaged by behaviour: its upper bass string is broken, its soundboard gashed, and its noble voice silenced. Its owner, already inebriated and offered more wine, holds it with the casual indifference of someone who has disregarded his own capabilities. For a seventeenth-century observer, the message would have been immediately clear. An instrument linked with learning, discipline, and inner equilibrium is shown in the hands of a man who has forsaken these virtues. The silence or discordant sound it now produces becomes a metaphor for that abandonment: the instrument’s noble voice is lost, and its shattered form occupies the centre of the scene, serving as a stark reminder of how quickly inner steadiness and harmony can collapse when judgement is impaired and the destructive force of drink takes hold.
References
Christie’s (2025) Cornelis Stangerus (Delft 1616–1667 Middelburg). A man playing a viola da gamba being offered a glass of wine by a young man, Lot 182, Old Masters to Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, Live auction 23862, 3 December. Available at: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6562609 (Accessed: 2 December 2025).
Jansen, G. (1985) ‘Cornelis Stangerus, an “artful painter”‘, The Hoogsteder-Naumann Mercury, no. 1, pp. 43–52.
RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History (n.d.) Cornelis Stangerus. RKDartists, record no. 74649. The Hague: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History. Available at: https://rkd.nl/artists/74649 (Accessed: 2 December 2025)
Buijsen, E. and Grijp, L.P. (eds.) (1994) The Hoogsteder Exhibition of Music & Painting in the Golden Age. The Hague and Zwolle: Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder / Waanders.
De Jongh, E. (2000) Questions of Meaning: Theme and Motif in Dutch Seventeenth-Century Painting. Translated by M. Hoyle. Leiden: Primavera Press
Franits, W. (2004) Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting: Its Stylistic and Thematic Evolution. New Haven and London: Yale University Press
Kyrova, M. (1994) ‘Music in seventeenth-century Dutch painting’, in Buijsen, E. and Grijp, L.P. (eds.) The Hoogsteder Exhibition of Music & Painting in the Golden Age. The Hague and Zwolle: Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder / Waanders, pp. 31–61.