Recorder Home Page

Recorder Iconography
Compiled by Nicholas S. Lander
Miquel Nadal (15th century), Spanish
- Retablo de los Santos Cosme y Damián
con la Virgen (1453-1455), Miquel Nadal. Barcelona: Basilica
del Santo Antonio de Padua. Ref. Gudiol (1986: 678);
Rowland-Jones (1997: 14). Three angels play what look like SAT
recorders; others play rebec, lute and harp.
Franz Johann Heinrich Nadorp (1794-1876), German
- St Cecilia with Musical Angels, drawing on
transparent paper, 12.6 × 8.9 cm, Franz Johann Heinrich
Nadorp (1794-1876). Münster: Westfälisches Landesmuseum
für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte. Ref. Munich RIdM (2003:
MÜlm - 74/6); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). On
a bench beneath the figures lie a lute, a violin and bow, and a
tambourine (with two rows of jingle rings) beneath which is a
recorder. The window/labium andd double holes for the lowermost
little finger are clear, but the recorder is largely hidden. One
of a series of sketches containing musical instruments.
Antoine Le Nain
French painter of scenes from peasant life, portraits, miniatures
and groups; born Laon (ca 1588), died Paris (1648); brother of
Louis and Mathieu Le Nain.
- Le Vieux Joueur de Flageolet / The Village Piper (1642), oil on copper, 21.3 × 29.2 cm, Antoine Le Nain (ca 1588-1648).
Detroit: Institute of Arts, Inv. 30.280.
Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 12, pl. 7-col.); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image DTR 114398), Detroit Institute of Arats (2007 - col.)
An old man seated plays a narrow, flared bell-recorder (all seven fingers down), whilst
three boys, a girl and a maidservant listen. Probably refers to the same painting as above. Possibly one of a number of copies.
- Le Vieux Joueur de Flageolet, engraving after Antoine Le
Nain (ca 1588-1648). Private Collection. Ref. Pottier (1992: 29, pl. 16; 1995: 128, pl 2 - b&w). An old man plays a small duct-flute (probably a six-holed pipe).
- La Danse des Enfants, Antoine Le Nain (ca
1588-1648). Switzerland: Private Collection.
Ref. Pottier (1992: 30, pl. 17); Rosenberg (1993: cat. 16, pl. 8-col.)
A young boy standing plays a narrow, flared-bell recorder (seven fingers down), whilst a group of
children dance watched over by a maidservant.
- Peasant Children, oil on copper, 21.6
× 27.9 cm, Antoine Le Nain (ca 1588-1648). Glasgow: Burrell
Collection, 35/578; Ref. Marks et al. (1983/3: 145, fig. 1-col.);
Rosenberg (1993: cat. 18). Shows six children, one with a
duct-flute (probably a six-holed pipe since the little finger of
the player's lower hand is held under the instrument). There is a
copy of this painting at Berwick on Tweed (see below)
- Peasant Children, Antoine Le Nain (ca
1588-1648). Berwick-on-Tweed: Art Gallery. A copy of the above.
Shows six children, one with a duct-flute (probably a six-holed
pipe since the little finger of the player's lower hand is held
under the instrument).
- Portraite dans un Intérieur
(1647), oil on canvas, 28 × 38 cm, Antoine Le Nain (ca
1588-1648). Detail.
Paris: Musée de Louvre, Inv. RF 519. Ref. Rosenberg (1993:
cat. 20, pl. 9 - col.); Lallement (1997: 198); Joconde Website. A boy, seated, plays a narrow,
flared-bell recorder (seven fingers down) whilst his family
listen, including two cats.
Louis Le Nain [sometimes called 'Le Romain']
French painter of scenes from peasant life whose large scale
works in subdued colours convey a sense of identification with
his subjects; born Laon (ca 1593), died Paris (1648); brother of
Antoine and Mathieu Le Nain.
- Paysage à la Chapelle, Louis Le
Nain (?1598-1648). Hartford: Wadsworth Athenaeum. Ref. Rosenberg
(1993: cat. 33, pl. 20-col.); Pottier (1995: 129, pl. 3-b&w);
Recorder Magazine 20(1): front cover-col. – detail;
36-b&w (2000). A young woman plays a slender, flared-bell
recorder (seven fingers down); in front of her and to the sides
sit her family, including a sleeping dog; behind lies a church,
and beyond that a village.
- Paysage avec Vieille Femme et Vielleur (ca
1640), oil on canvas, 46.5 × 57 cm, Louis Le Nain
(?1598-1648). Detail. Washington: National Gallery of Art, Samuel
H. Kress Collection 1946.7.11. Ref. Pottier (1992: 26, pl. 13); Rosenberg (1993: cat. 34, pl.
21-col.) An old woman sits watching a youth, a boy and a girl
strolling in front of her. The boy plays a narrow, flared-bell
duct-flute (probably a recorder). In the distance are open
fields.
- La Charrette or Le retour de
fenaison (1641), canvas, 56 × 72 cm, Louis Le Nain
(?1598-1648). Paris: Musée de Louvre, R.F. 258. Ref.
Kitson (1966: 92, pl. 50-col.); Daudy (1967: 68, pl.); Gowing
(1987: 384-col.); Pottier (1992: 32, pl. 19); Rosenberg (1993: cat. 35, pl. 22-col.)
A boy and three girls stand atop a hay-waggon, the boy playing a narrow,
flared-bell recorder (seven fingers down). In front of the waggon
a woman nurses a baby; behind are a seated swineherd, his pigs
and two more girls in front of a tumbledown cottage.
- La Halte du Cavalier [The Resting Horseman] / Landscape with Figures, oil painting, 54.6 × 67.3 cm, Louis Le Nain
(?1598-1648). London: Victoria & Albert Museum, CA1.17.
Ref. Pottier (1992: 31, pl. 18); Rosenberg (1993: cat. 41, pl. 25-col.) A man sits to the right
with his horse, a dog and some sheep. Opposite him stands a girl
with a large copper bowl on her head. Between them stand two
boys, one of whom plays a narrow, flared-bell duct-flute
(flageolet or recorder).
- Famille de paysans dans un
intérieur (ca 1642), Louis (or Antoine) Le Nain
(?1593-1648), oil on canvas, 113 × 159 cm, Detail. Paris: Musée de Louvre, Inv.
RF 2081. Ref. White Lamb Publishing; La Città del'Arte; Réunion des
Musées Nationaux, Paris 1989, IC-00-3799 & IC-00-5207/
Rosenberg (1993: cat. 46, pl. 30-col.);
Artchive; Lallement (1997: 198); Joconde Website (1999). A woman holds a jug and a
glass of wine. A young boy plays a very slender, flared-bell
recorder to her leaning against a table around which a man and
another woman sit. Three other children sit and stand in the
background.
- Le Vieux Joueur de Flageolet (1642),
Antoine Le Nain (ca 1588-1648). Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum.
Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 42, pl. 31-col.) An old, bearded man
plays a narrow, flared-bell recorder (seven fingers down). In
front of him and to the left sits an old woman, her cat and a
small dog. Opposite her a young woman nurses a baby. The rest of
the family look on.
- Interieur Paysan au Vieux Joeur de
Flageolet (mid 17th century), oil on canvas, 61 × 75
cm, after Louis Le Nain (?1598-164). Lille: Musée des
Beaux-Arts, Inv. P 411. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). Copy of an original preserved
in a private collection (England). There is another version at
Laon; and two more were sold in England in 1923 and 1924. Amongst
his family, a peasant man plays a duct-flute (flageolet or
recorder), and there is a basket, plates, a fireplace, a dog and
cat. Not seen.
- La Visite à la Grand-Mère [A
Visit to Grandmother] (ca 1644-48), oil on canvas, 58 × 73
cm, Louis Le Nain (?1598-1648). St Petersburg: Hermitage, Inv. #
1172. Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 47 & 1172, pl. 35-col.),
Eisler (1990: 407-col. & 408-409, detail - col.), USSR Old
Master Paintings (1979: 105-b&w, 114-115). A grandmother
sits surrounded by her grandchildren, and there is a very
attentive dog. A boy plays a narrow, flared-bell recorder.
Mathieu Le Nain
French painter of scenes from peasant life and portraits with a
Flemish flavour; he became an official painter to the city of
Paris (1633) and was made a Chevalier; born Laon (1607), died
Paris (1677); brother of Antoine and Louis Le Nain.
- Le Concert, Mathieu Le Nain (1607-1677).
Laon: ? Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie. Ref.
Rosenberg (1993: pl. 67-col.) Identical to Three Musicians
(sold Christie's, 1990). A man plays a lute sitting opposite a
woman playing a guitar. Between them, a young boy sings. Behind,
an elderly bearded man plays a very slender pipe (possibly a
duct-flute).
- Three Musicians, oil on canvas, Mathieu
Le Nain (1607-1677). Location unknown: Offered for sale by
Christie's, 15 June 1990 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP
(2002 - col.) Identical to Le Concert, Laon: ?
Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie. A man plays a lute
sitting opposite a woman playing a guitar. Between them a young
boy sings. Behind, an elderly bearded man plays a very slender
pipe (possibly a duct-flute)
- Intérieur d'Ecurie, ?Mathieu Le
Nain (1607-1677). Laon: ? Musée d'Art et
d'Archéologie. Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 66, 66b). A copy
of a lost original. A boy, seated, plays a recorder watched by
his mother, a child and two girls.
- Le Joueur de Flageolet or Le
Bastion, Mathieu Le Nain (1607-1677). London: Victoria and
Albert Museum (two versions). Ref. Pottier (1992: 27, pl. 14); Rosenberg (1993: cat. 67). A
child stands in the wall of a fortification playing a small duct-flute (flageolet or recorder). The parents sit each
side.
- Musicians (1677), attributed to Mathieu Le Nain (1607-1677). London: Dulwich
Gallery. Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 72); Website: klassiskgitar.net (2007 - col.)
An elderly, bearded man plays a slender, flared-bell recorder accompanied by a younger
man playing a guitar. Behind them stands a young woman.
- Trois Hommes dont un Guitariste et un joueur
de Flageolet, Mathieu Le Nain (1607-1677). France: Private
Collection. Ref. Rosenberg (1993: cat. 73). Identical to the
above but without the young woman (or a 'third 'man').
- Peasants in a Tavern (1640's), oil on
canvas , 78 × 94.5 cm, Mathieu Le Nain (1607-1677). St
Petersburg: Hermitage, Inv. # 328. Ref. Eisler (1990: 404). A
small boy in the background plays a pipe, probably a recorder
judging by the thumb position.
Giovanbattista Naldini
Italian painter and draughtsman; his style of drawing was
individual but reminiscent of his teacher, Jacopo Pontormo; his
painting is characterised by expressive freedom and warm
colouring; born Fiesole (ca 1537), died Florence (1591).
- Apollo and the Muses; Diana Surprised by
Actaeon, oil on copper, 32 × 24 cm, Giovanbaattista
Naldini (ca 1537-1591). Vercelli: Museo Borgogna. Ref. Museo Borgogna (2002). In the first panel
Apollo (with Pegasus behind him) is surrounded by the Muses
amongst whom Euterpe holds a slender, flared-bell pipe, possibly
a recorder.
Célestin Nanteuil (lithographer)
– see Titian (1474/1482-1576)
Taiichi Nakazato
Contemporary Japanese artist who has studied in Italy. He lives
in Okinawa.
- Il flauto
dolce, Taiichi Nakazato. A stylised recorder player against a
green background.
Mariotto di Nardo
Italian artist active in Florence and central Italy who painted
in the rediscovered tradition of Giotto; his interest in
sculpture and his almost obsessive rendering of plastic form in
painting make his style easily identifiable and markedly
different from that of his contemporaries; born 1394, died
1424/31; son of the sculptor Nardo di Cione ( fl. ca 1480,
namesake of the painter).
- Coronation of the Virgin (1408), tempera on
panel, 135 × 70 cm, Mariotto di Nardo (1394-1424/31).
Minneapolis: Institute of Arts, Acc. # 65.37. Ref. Brown (1985:
#286-b&w); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 6, pl. 3);
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2003). Angels play fiddles and an
ambiguous pipe which could just as well be a shawm, though these
are rare in soft music ensembles.
Brown's (1995: 6) argument that this is a recorder of the
Dordrecht kind is seriously misplaced as the instrument depicted
here lacks any hint of either the beak or window characteristic
of duct-flutes (flageolet or recorder), and its foot is hidden by
a fiddle-playing angel on the recorder player's left.
- Adoration of the Shepherds, ?tempera on wood, Mariotto di Nardo (1394-1424/31).
Rome: Pinacoteca Vaticana, 1385 r.
Ref. Website: Milosierzia Bialstocki Biuletyn Koscielny 164: December (2003).
Mary, Joseph and two shepherds pray beside Jesus' crib. Above hover musical angels of whom five play shawms (with flared bells) and a sixth plays a slender cylindrical pipe which may represent a duct-flute, possibly a recorder.
Francesco Nasocchi (ca 1478 – ca 1550) & Bartolomeo
Nasocchi (op. 1508-1541), Italian
- Virgin and Child with Saints Francesco
Nasocchi (ca 1478 – ca 1550) & Bartolomeo Nasocchi (op.
1508-1541). Cismon: Chiesa di Primolano. Ref. Gerola (1910: 61);
Rasmussen (1999b). "Three little angels in front of the throne
sing and play lute and recorder" (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
Charles Joseph Natoire
French artist and Director of the French Academy in Rome; known
for his elegant mythological and historical paintings and
portraits; considered a rival of Boucher; born Nîmes
(1700), died Castel Gandolfo (1777).
-
The Triumph of Bacchus (mid-18th century), oil on
canvas, 199 × 225 cm, Charles Joseph Natoire (1700-1777).
Paris: Musée de Louvre, Inv. 6854. Ref. Lallement (1997:
201-202); Joconde Website (1999). Bacchus is drawn in a chariot
pulled by three ?tigresses, accompanied by a throng of nymphs and
satyrs. Lying in the foreground, a semi-clad women is served
grapes which she holds aloft, squeezing them to allow the juice
to trickle into her mouth. Cherubs doze or clamour for attention.
To the side, a young woman is encouraged by a man as she plays a
slender pipe, probably a duct-flute (possibly a recorder).
Johannes Natus
Dutch artist whose small oeuvre includes landscape and genre paintings with characteristic light and color effects; active in Middelburg (1658-1662), but possibly originally from Rotterdam.
- Interior, oil on canvas, Johannes
Natus (op. 1658-1662).
Location unknown: auctioned 12/12/2002 (sold).
Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 - col.)
Three men sit at a table in a tavern; two are drinking;
the third leans against the wall playing a duct-flute (possibly a
recorder) the window/labium of which is visible, but no other
details.
François-Joseph Navez
Belgian naturalist painter of portraits, rural scenes, religious
and mythological subjects; born Charleroi (1787), died Brussels
(1869).
- The Flute Player, oil on panel,
François-Joseph Navez (1787-1869). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank,
OMP (2002 - col.) A rural scene in which country folk (two women,
a boy and a girl) gaze in rapt attention at a man in scarecrow's
hat who is about to play a small flared-bell duct-flute, the beak
of which is just visible. All the fingers of the player's
lowermost (left) hand seem to be covering their holes, so this is
quite possibly meant to be a recorder.
Tatyana Grigorievna Nazarenko
Russian artist who was accepted into Russia's official arts
organization, the Moscow Union of Artists, in 1969, and has been
an important figure in Russian art and intellectual circles for
over a quarter of a century; her work extends the boundaries of
contemporary Socialist Realism to include social critique; born
Moscow (1944).
- Moscow Nights (1978), Tatyana Grigorievna
Nazarenko (1944-). Moscow: Tretyakov Gallery. Ref. Bridgeman Art
Library (2001: image 56604). Catherine the Great; guitar;
recorder. Not seen.
Pietro Negri (1635/40 – ca 1679), Italian
(Venetian)
- Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 1143
× 1744 cm, Pietro Negri (1635/40 – ca 1679). Caen:
Musée des Beaux-Arts, No. 37. Ref. Catalogue (1928: 37);
Rowland-Jones (1998c: 16; 1999); Joconde.
Mercury lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a renaissance-style
flared-bell recorder, his dagger nearby. His recorder is away
from his lips, but still held with his fingers slightly away from
the holes. The window/labium is very clear and seven slightly
rectangular finger-holes are in line. The instrument is
cylindrical up to the bell, with only a slight flare at the very
end (no decoration). There is very little beak. This is identical
to a painting of the same subject by Negri recently offered for
sale (see below).
- Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 132 × 168 cm,
Pietro Negri (1635/40 – ca 1679).
Location unknown: Sotheby's (London), Old Master Paintings, 18 October 1995, Lot 69 (sold).
Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2000 - col.); ArtNet (2007 - col.)
Watched by Io (as a heifer), Mercury lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a renaissance-style flared-bell
recorder, his dagger nearby. His recorder is away from his lips,
but still held with his fingers slightly away form the holes. The
window/labium is very clear and seven slightly rectangular
finger-holes are in line. The instrument is cylindrical up to the
bell, with only a slight flare at the very end (no decoration).
There is very little beak. This is identical to a painting of the
same subject by Negri in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen
(see above).
Rudolf Nehmer
German painter, draughtsman and recorder-player, it seems; born Bobersberg bei Crossen (1912), died Dresden (1983).
- Self-portrait (1938), oil on wood, 89.9 × 85 cm, Rudolf Nehmer (1912-1983).
Location unknown.
Ref. Villa Grisebach Auktionen, 30 November 2002, Lot 291; Artnet (2007 - col.); CD Cover: Hans-Joachim Fuss, Flötensolowerke (2004 - col.)
The artist stands before a small table turning a page of music on a desk music-stand with hand and holding a stoutly made tenor recorder of renaissance design in the other. Also on the ledge are a vase of flowers and three musical scores. The depiction of a renaissance-style recorder at this date is striking.
- Musical Instruments (1957), Rudolf Nehmer (1912-1983).
Location unknown.
Ref. Website: klassiskitar.net (2007 - b&w.)
A modern-day still-life. On a ledge in front of a window lie a lute and a neo-baroque alto recorder lie on a shelf with a vase with a single Dahlia and a notebook.
Ottaviano (di Martino) Nelli [di Nello] (1370/5 – p.1440),
Italian
- Last Judgement, brush drawing in brown and
white on prepared blue paper, Ottaviano Nelli (1370/5 – p.1440).
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 1975.1.562 Ref.
Constance Old (ex Amanda Pond, pers. comm., 2002-b&w). To the
trumpeting of angels and the approval of the Saints, God passes
judgement on the sinners below amongst whom an Avenging Angel in
armour raises his fists. Between his wings projects what has been
taken to be the head of a duct-flute, but seems more likely to be
the hilt of his sword.
Neri di Bicci
Italian painter and a sought-after teacher; born Florence (1418),
died Florence (1492); son of Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452), also a
painter.
- Coronation of the Virgin, oil on panel, 158
× 169 cm, Neri di Bicci (1418-1492). Image from Carol L. Gerten
(Jackson). Avignon: Musée du Petit Palais, Inv. 20252.
Ref. Laclotte & Mognetti (1977: pl. 178); Amanda Spooner
(pers. comm., 2002). Christ crowns Mary watched by saints on
either side and surrounded by angel musicians playing organetto,
harp, psaltery, shawms, folded trumpets, lute, and a small
cylindrical duct-flute (centre bottom). The latter instrument is
slightly conical; the window/labium is partly visible; the beak
is striated and apparently of a different material to the body;
the fingers are somewhat haphazard, but the little finger of
lowermost (left) hand seems to be covering its hole. Thus this is
likely to represent a recorder rather than a flageolet.
Paul Neresheimer
German painter of landscapes, cityscapes; active in Munich (early 20th century). See Neresheimer Family Homepage.
- Young Boy Playing a Recorder, oil on canvas, 90.3 × 64.7 cm, Paul Nersheimer (early 20th century).
London: Bonhams, Modern & Contemporary British & Continental Pictures, 29 March 1995, Lot 392.
Ref. Artfact (2003).
Not seen.
Caspar [Gaspar] Netscher
German painter of the Baroque era who established a fashionable
practice as painter of portraits and allegorical scenes in French
style; active in Bordeaux and the Hague; born Heidelberg (ca
1635), died the Hague (1684); father of Constantin Netscher.
- Shepherd
and Shepherdess, 54 × 44 cm, Caspar Netscher (ca
1635-1684). Brunswick: Anton-Ulrich Museum. Ref. Plietzsch (1972:
pl. 96); Archiv Moeck. shepherd holding a soprano flared-bell
recorder (with paired finger-holes for the lowermost finger)
gazes into the eyes of a shepherdess as they sit at the foot of a
statue beside a stream. There is another version of this in the
National Museum, Stockholm, attributed to Adriaen van der Werff.
In both versions the models appear to be identical to those used
in Werff's Pastoral Lovers.
- Child Playing a Recorder, Caspar Netscher
(ca 1635-1684). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen,
297 (3200). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 468). A child holds a
recorder, right hand uppermost.
- Schäferstunde [The Shepherd's Hour],
53.5 × 45 cm, Caspar Netscher (ca 1635-1684). Munich: Neue
Pinakothek. Ref. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 123); Rijksbureau
voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones
(pers. comm., 2001). A naked shepherd embraces a lightly clad
shepherdess. By his foot can be seen the lower end of a recorder
with a slight bell flare, paired little finger-holes and four
other finger-holes visible. There is an identical painting in the Kurpfälzisches Museum, Heidelberg (see below).
- Schäferszene am Bunnen [Shepherd
Scene at Bunnen], oil on canvas, 55.5 × 45.5 cm, Caspar
Netscher (ca 1635-1684). Heidelberg: Kurpfälzisches Museum,
L 40. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: HDkm-25); Anthony Rowland-Jones
(pers. comm., 2002). Surrounded by their animals in a garden with a
fountain and statues, a shepherd embraces a shepherdess. At his
feet, its head covered by her legs, lies a flared-bell recorder,
the lowermost finger-hole of which is offest to the right. There is an identical painting in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich (see above).
Constantin Netscher
Dutch portraitist; born 1668, died 1723; son of the artist Caspar
Netscher.
- [Untitled] (ca 1820), engraving after a painting
by Constantin Netscher (1668-1723). Ref. Archiv Moeck. Sitting at
a table on which stands an oil lamp, a young man plays a
flared-bell, one-piece soprano recorder.
Maximilian Neustück
Swiss artist; born Mainz (1756), died Basel (1834).
- The Hoffmann Children, Maximilian
Neustück (1756-1834). Rheinfelden: Private Collection. Ref.
Archiv Moeck. Four children sit around a table. One boy writes,
another plays a small recorder; two girls look on.
Joseph Neville
British psychiatrist, amateur basset recorder player, and ceramicist; born 1925.
- Rejoice in the Lord Alway (2000), glazed clay figurine, ca 16 cm high, base ca 15 cm in diameter, Joseph Neville (1925-).
Norwich: Ron Skins.
Ref. Joseph Neville to Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003).
Made as a gift for Ron Skins who had conducted the recorder group in Norwich in which the artist participates.
Surrounded by ducks, a man with bulging eyes wearing a cowl plays a basset recorder with bocal. On the bass are the words "Rejoice in the Lord Alway".
- Thou hast thy Music (2001), glazed clay figurine, ca 16 cm high, base ca 15 cm in diameter, Joseph Neville (1925-).
Norwich: Ron Skins.
Ref. Joseph Neville to Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003).
Made as a gift for Ron Skins who had conducted the recorder group in Norwich in which the artist participates.
Surrounded by ducks, a dragon sits playing a basset recorder with a bocal and fontanelle.
Beth Neville
Contemporary American draughtswoman, painter, muralist, stained glass maker, sculpter, teacher. Website.
R.A. Nicholson
R.A. Nicholson has been working as a self-taught artist for the
past 40 years. Initially working with house paints and scraps of
cardboard, Nicholson eventually moved on to bigger and better art
supplies. While many of Nicholson's newer works do not quite fit
into the "Thrift Store Art" aesthetic, his early '70's output
perfectly captures the spirit of the genre. Whether referencing
the ubiquitous 1960's "big-eye" portraits of Keane, pushing the
boundaries of abstract surrealism, or experimenting with new
styles and techniques, Nicholson is a unique and talented artist.
From Thrift
Store Art (2002, see below).
- Flute (1973), 30 × 35 cm, R.A. Nicholson.
Thrift Store Art: Gallery VIII. Ref. Flautotraverso
(2002 - col.); Thrift Store Art (2002 - col.) A psychedelic man
with a moustache and beard plays a conical pipe which, to judge
by the title, must be a duct-flute.
Pere Nicolau
Spanish artist, one of the earliest exponents of the international gothic style in Catalonia; painter of religious subjects, including altarpieces; active 1390-1408.
- Annunciation to the Shepherds, Pere
Nicolau (op. 1390-1408). El Burgo de Osma: Cathedral. Ref. Ballester
(2001: 12, fig. 3-b&w). Two shepherds gaze up in wonder at
the angel who signals his announcement to them on a lettered
scroll. A third shepherd seated on a hill plays a pipe (details
unclear, but possibly a duct-flute).
Adam Niklewicz
Contemporary Polish artist now living in the USA; specialises in
illustration for book covers, magazine covers and trade
publications; painter of "existential cartoons", sleek often
black and white paintings which present emphatic, graphic images
of the human figure that have assumed a kind of mechanical
condition. A different person to the sculptor of the same name.
- Untitled (1999), Adam Niklewicz (contemporary).
Ref. American Recorder 40(4): cover-col. (1999). Stylized
recorders depicted as trees are planted upside down, their feet
turning into branches. In the background the silhouette of a man
is glimpsed through a window playing a recorder.
- Recorder Player in a Hammock, Adam
Niklewicz (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder, 41,
September: cover-col. (2000). A man lies playing his recorder in
a hammock made of a musical stave. A dragonfly flits above him.
Adam Niklewicz
Contemporary Polish artist now living in the USA. A different person to the illustrator of the same name (see above).
- Romantycznosc (2002), dry sausage, 30.5 × 3.8 × 3.8 cm, Adam Niklewicz (contemporary).
Ref. Artists Space, Irving Sandler Fine Arts Online (2005).
Described on the artist's web-site as a fully functional recorder made entirely from a sausage, but appears to be a six-holed pipe. Accompanied by a recording in which " … a musician, commissioned by the artist, plays a polonaise, bringing together two emblems of Polish culture, one culinary, the other musical, in an absurd collision where nostalgia, self-awareness, and the Romantic are all equal causalties" (Steven Holmes, Curator, The Cartin Collection).
Johann Esias [Esaias] Nilson
German miniature painter, draughtsman and designer of rococo ornament, also etched prints to be hand-colored, cut out, and pasted on furniture; born Böteborg (1721), died Augsburg (1788); son of Swedish painter Andreas Nilson and miniaturist Rosina Barbara Nilson.
- La Musique Pastorale (ca 1770), engraving,
Johann Esias Nilson (1721-1788). Paris: Collection Prouté.
Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A woman in a floral hat sits beneath a
tree playing a xylophone to accompany a young man in a laced
jacket and ribboned bonnet playing a cylindrical recorder.
- [Title unknown], engraving, Johann Esias Nilson
(1721-1788). Lübeck: Museen für Kunst- und
Kulturgeschichte, AB 230A. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: LÜmk 8).
In a park, a woman dances to the music of a man playing a
tenor-sized flared-bell duct-flute (probably a recorder) seated
beneath a tree. The window/labium and beak of the instrument are
clearly depicted, and all four fingers of the lowermost (left)
hand appear to be in use.
Jan Frans Nollekens
Flemish painter; born Antwerp (1602), died London (1648).
- Children's Concert / Conversation Piece / Three Children Making Music, Jan Frans Nollekens (1602-1648).
Private Collection. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Antwerp KMSK Jaarboek (1967: 270); Apollo
(1972, 95: 40 - b&w); Rasmussen (2002, Keyboard). A young girl
(ca 15 years old) plays a keyboard instrument (probaby a harpsichord); a young man behind her plays the organ, with one hand and beats time with the other; a young boy (ca 8-10 years old) plays a soprano recorder with the bell-shaped foot characteristic of the baroque instrument.
Cornelis van Noorde (1731-1795), Dutch
– see Rembrandt van Rijn
Siard Nosecký
Czech painter and member of the Premonsterian Order who decorated
the summer refectory of Strahov monastery, unique for the 300
figures represented in a relatively small area; born 1693, died
1753.
- The Heavenly Feast of the Just (1749),
fresco, Siard Nosecký (1693-1753). Prague:
Královská kanonie premonstrátu, Summer Refectory. Ref.
Anonymous (1977: 164); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 201,
pl. 40-b&w). Musicians playing tambourine, flute, trumpet,
cello and what looks like a bass recorder (though possibly a
sordun) perched dangerously on top of a capital.
Pietro Giovanni Novelli [Il Monrealese]
Italian artist; born Monreale (1603), died Palermo (1647).
- The Musical
Duel of Apollo and Marsyas (1631/1932), oil on canvas, 154 ×
198 cm, Pietro Giovanni Novelli (1603-1647). Caen: Musée
des Tapisseries, Inv. 10. Ref. Catalogue (1928: 51); Joconde; Darmstädter & Brown (2006: 29, pl. 2 - col.)
Inspired by a depiction of the same subject by van Dyck. Painted
for a Jesuit monastery, because of its religious symbolism.
Apollo, seated on a rock or stump plays a violin. Marsyas, seated
rather clumsily on the ground below, holds away from his mouth, a
tenor/alto size recorder in an almost vertical position. His
fingers are slightly drawn back from the uplifted instrument, not
quite covering all the holes (left hand lower). In this position
the windway can be seen – and it is curved, with the block
very slightly obtruding. It is also surprisingly long – the
window/labium is very clearly shown in this rather low position.
Other than those covered by the outstretched fingers, one upper
and three lower finger-holes are visible, in line, plus an offset
finger-hole for the right-hand little finger (presumably
blocked), and possibly just visible, the edge of its
corresponding pair. The recorder is cylindrical nearly up to the
bell end where there is some flare with two incised decorative
rings. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
Sebastiano Novelli (fl. 1540), Italian
- Assumption with Saints Michel and Lorenzo,
painting on canvas, 167 × 130 cm, Sebastinao Novelli (fl.
1540). Vercelli: San Lorenzo, Trino Vercellese. Ref. Museo,
Borgogna (1976: 24-25, 78 0 b&w); Villa I Tatti 6919V45063;
Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Above the Saints the Virgin
ascends into heaven surrounded by winged putti singing and
playing trumpets, and one in the top right hand corner who plays
a slender cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder.
J. Nutter (op. 1864), English
- The Whistle, J. Nutter, J. (op. 1864)
London: Chenil Galleries.
Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image CG 19083).
Four children who have been gathering bracken on the surrounding moors listen to a lad sitting on a rock playing a duct-flute, probably a penny whistle, as the title suggets.

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