Recorder Home Page

Recorder Iconography

Compiled by Nicholas S. Lander

O

Justin O'Brien

Australian art-teacher, draughtsman, painter and mosaicist living and working variously in Australia, Greece and Italy; his manneristic style and choice of religious subjects looked back to the classicism of Piero della Francesca as an antidote to the 20th century; born Hurstville (1917), died Rome (1976).

Triptych: The Sacred Concert (1974), oil on canvas, 133 × 145 cm, Justin O'Brien (1917-1976). Brisbane: Philip Bacon Galleries, Justin O'Brien: A Survey Exhibition 1938-1995 (3-28 October 2006). Ref. Smee (2006: 18-19 & fig.-col.) An absurd pastiche of an early Renaissance altarpiece in modern guise. The left-hand panel depicts musicians seated before a window playing a long-necked lute and a tenor-sized recorder of vaguely neo-baroque construction. The beak and window/labium of the recorder are clearly depicted, as are the characteristic hand and finger positions. The central panel depicts a Madonna and Child; the right-hand panel shows the Madonna once more, this time on a low seat with the miniature, mannish Christ-child standing between her legs; behind, can be seen a kitchen with a decidedly modern range hood. Sold for AU $395,000!

Jacob Ochtervelt

Dutch artist who first painted hunting scenes and mythological pictures reminiscent of Berchen and Weenix; later painted interiors and genre subjects noted for their elegance, delicacy and charm, often including convivial groups and flirtatious couples; born Rotterdam 1634/5, died Amsterdam 1682.

Concert in the Park, Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Location unknown; sold by Galerie Charpentier, 28 March (1955). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Watched by a young couple, three musicians play around a table. A man sings accompanied by a woman playing a small recorder and a man in a plumed hat playing a lute.
Interior with Musicians (1665), oil on canvas, 59.4 × 50.2 cm, Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Cleveland: Museum of Art, 91.23. Ref. Ford (1991: 182, fig.) "In a domestic interior, a man plays a small recorder (right hand on top) and a woman plays a violin. Neither uses written music. A second man in the foreground at left leans over to listen to the pair. The recorder player, dressed in a breastplate like a soldier's(?), has an instrument that seems too small in comparison to the violin to be a soprano on c, and is probably a sixth flute in d. If so, he plays a g-sharp in the second octave. The woman holds the violin along her forearm, cradling it in her elboy, and holds the bow with her thumb on the hair, very possibly playing g-sharp on the top string. She looks at the recorder player out of the corner of her eye while he stares into space and the other man looks at her. A third man listens from the background and a couple converse in the background at right" (Ford, loc. cit.)
Elegant Couple Playing Music in an Interior, painting, circle of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Location unknown: auctioned 19/09/2002 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 - col.) A woman with a spaniel in her lap sits at at draped table pointing at an open book of music as if following the score or possibly singing from it. In her other hand she holds a brush, presumably for the dog. Beside her, a man holds an alto-sized baroque-style recorder.

François Octavien

French painter much influenced by Watteau; he began his career as a singer but was painting professionally from 1724; born Rome (ca 1682), died Versailles (1740).

The Disappointed Pierrot, François Octavien (ca 1682-1740). Nancy: Musée de Beaux Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). On the ground by a seated lady (who presumably has just said 'no' to Pierrot) lies a tambourine with what could be a tenor-sized cylindrical duct-flute beneath it, showing the head and foot. The latter is seen from underneath, so no finger-holes are visible, but the under-part of the mouthpiece shows the beak which is shaped very like a baroque recorder.

Willem Gijsbrechtsz. van Odekerken

Netherlandish artist; born Nijmegen or The Hague (ca 1610), died Delft (1677).

Shepherd Playing the Flute, oil on panel, 751 × 617 cm, Willem Gijsbrechtsz. van Odekerken (ca 1610-1677 ). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby's (Amsterdam) Sale SALE AM0875, Old Master Paintings from the Sør Rusche Collection, 05 November 2002, Lot 48 (sold). Ref. Catalogue, Sotheby's Sale AM0875 (2002: Lot 48 - col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2007 - col.) A smiling shepherd wearing a leafy crown holds a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt as if to play it. Formerly attributed to follower of Jacob de Backer.

Hendrick ten Oever

Dutch artist; born Zwolle (1639), died Zwolle (1716).

Mercury and Argus, Hendrick ten Oever (1639-1716). Dalfsen: Collection of Count van Rechteren-Limpurg. Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Mercury plays a pipe with a slender mouthpiece. No window/labium is visible. One finger-holes shows between his hands (left hand lowermost), also an offset hole for the little finger, so this is possibly a recorder.
Pastoral Scene (1699), 144 × 181.5 cm, Hendrick ten Oever (1639-1716). Zwolle: Stedelijk Museum, Inv. 700. Ref. Jan Bouterse (2006, pers. comm.); Streng & van Dijk (1996: 120-121 & pl. - col.); Thiemo Wind (2006, pers. comm.) Originally a 'chimney piece', made for a house in the 'Bloemendalstraat' in Zwolle. A shepherd plays a pipe, probably a duct-flute, possibly a recorder. A woman sings from a sheet on which the text Een niew lied genaamd Rosemont (A new song, named Rosemont) can be read. Rosemont/Rosemond appears in Jacob van Eyck's Der Fluyten Lust-Hof and has the same tune as Giles Farnaby's Tower Hill and other pieces from Dutch sources named after various London landmarks, including Londons Bridge and Reformee (New London Bridge). See Ruth van Baak Griffioen (1991: 310-312).

Judith Oksner (op. 2005)

USAmerican painter and teacher living and working in New Hampshire; subjects include city scenes and people, town or country; born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (contemporary). Artist's home page.

Trio con Brio, watercolour & ink, 40.6 × 61.0 cm, Judith Oksner (op. 2005). King Henry VIII, one of his queens, and a courtier play crumhorn, cello and an anachronistic plastic alto neo-baroque recorder, doubtless of the Tudor brand.
[Recorder-playing Grannies] (2005), watercolour, Judith Oksner (op. 2005). Ref. American Recorder 46(5): front cover (2005 - colour). Four grannies play baroque-style recorders with ivory mounts.

Jan Olis

Dutch artist; born Gorkum (ca 1610), died Heusden (1676).

Concert, oil on canvas, 26.7 × 35 cm, Jan Olis (ca 1610-1676). Bordeaux: Musée des Beaux-arts, Inv. Bx E 1069 128, Bx M 6705. Ref. Joconde (2003 - col.) A man and a woman, standing, listen to musicians singing and playing around a table. A woman conducts, a man plays a lute, and young lad plays a slender, cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder.

Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544), Italian

Virgin and Child Enthroned between Angels, oil on panel, 136 × 202 cm, Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, Inv. 480. Ref. Boydell (1985: 45-46, fig. 35); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Pittori Bergamaschi del '500, vol. I, pag.479 On either side of the Virgin and Child musicians play lute (left) and a conical duct-flute (probably a recorder). The fingering of the latter is haphazard with all fingers of both hands down and yet two open finger-holes between the hands are clearly evident. " … the two angels in this painting are unlikely to represent an actual musical ensemble for their purpose is to represent the Virgin's supremacy over both the spiritual and the sensual sides of human nature, represented by the lute and the recorder. This painting has been retouched in later centuries, the rosette on the lute in particular showing evidence of repainting. The recorder, with an uncharacteristically expanded body and large tongue and window, is held unmusically, the player's fingers not over the soundholes, seven of which are visible" (Boydell, loc. cit.) The posture of the recorder player and the morphology of his instrument are strongly reminiscent of Oliverio's Virgin and Child enthroned with Saints Peter, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and Sebastian, City Art Gallery, Glasgow (No. 188).
Virgin with Child and Saints Lorenzo and Sebastian, tempera on panel, Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Bovolenta: Oratory of Saint Lorenzo. Ref. Pittori Bergamaschi del '500, vol. I, pag.478; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). The Virgin sits on a wooden throne beneath a large tree. On her left stands St Lorenzo; on her right is St Sebastian. At her feet on the step of the throne sits a tiny putto playing a conical flared-bell duct-flute (flageolet or recorder). Although the first three holes are covered by the fingers of the upper (right) hand and only a further three are visible below, there may be an offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand which is out of view.
Virgin and Child enthroned with Saints Peter, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and Sebastian, Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Glasgow: City Art Gallery, No. 188. Ref. Pittori Bergamaschi del '500, vol. I, pag.481; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Musical angels seated on a plinth play a flared recorder (the fingering haphazard), vielle and lute, all beautifully illustrated. At the musicians' feet sits a parrot. The recorder player and his instrument are strongly reminiscent of Oliverio's The Virgin and Child Enthroned Between Angels, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.

Johann Bergmann von Olpe [Alpe]

German printer and engraver active in Basle; born Sauerland (1455/60), died Basle (1532).

From Sebastian Brant's Das Narren Schyff [The Ship of Fools], Basle: Fool with a Recorder (1494), woodcut, Johann Bergmann von Olpe (1455/60 - 1532). Ref. Intrada 2(3): cover (1996); Card, Musica Pretiosa, Vilsbiburg (2004). A fool holds a cylindrical duct-flute (almost certainly a recorder – although only five finger-holes are shown it is grasped in the middle covering the other two) with a simple turned foot very much like those illustrated by Virdung.

Jacob van Oost, the Elder

Flemish painter; a pupil of Carraci, and a follower also of Rubens and Caravaggio, he developed a vigorous and realistic style of his own; his works include portraits and religious subjects; born Bruges (1603), died Bruges (1671).

Boy with a Flute, painting, Jacob van Oost, the Elder (1603-1671) Amsterdam: Salomon Lilian (2008). Ref. Constance Scholton ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008). The "flute" is a recorder.

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen [or Oostzanen; called Cornelisz. van Amsterdam]

Dutch designer of woodcuts, painter of portraits and religious pictures whose paintings are crowded with elaborately costumed figures and surface movement, often superfluously ornamented; born Amsterdam (1468/70), died Amsterdam (1553).

Mary with Child and Angels (ca 1500), Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie, Inv. No. 607. Ref. Wiese (1988: fig. 18 - b&w); Archiv Moeck. Mary and child are serenaded by putti singing and playing lute and two cylindrical duct-flutes (probably recorders).
Altarpiece: Triptych of Augustus van Teylingen, central panel: Virgin and Child (ca 1518), 42 × 32 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Gemägalerie. Ref. Glück (1928: 277); Friedländer (1967, XII: no. 241, pl. 131); Munich RIdIM (1999: Bgd 30); Paris RIdIM (1999); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 374.C813.34[a]; Rasmussen (1999b); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers comm., 2001). Mary and Child are serenaded on either side by putti singing and playing musical instruments. The pair on the left play lute and a duct-flute (flageolet or recorder). The window/labium of the latter is clear; althugh only three fingers of the lower (right) hand cover their holes, the four fingers of the the upper (right) hand are all on the instrument; the bell end is obscured. On the right a singing putto (with music) is accompanied by another on duct-flute (flageolet or recorder), the window/labium of which is clear, all four fingers of the lower (right) hand cover their holes, and the bell is flared. The lower wrist position of both putti suggest that these are highly probable recorders. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999, 2001).
Mary with Child and Child Musicians, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Arnhem: Gemeentemuseum. Ref. Rotterdam BvB (1936: no. 91, fig. 91); Arnhem Gemeentemuseum (1965: 36 - col.); Friedländer (1967-, XII: no. 240, pl. 130); van Dijk & Koopman (1987: no. 10); Archiv Moeck; Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 374.C813.34C; Rasmussen (1999b; 2004: Bells). Mary and Child are entertained by statuary angels playing lute and a flared-bell recorder. Elsewhere putti play hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, harp, recorder and pellet bells. "There is a variant of this painting in Bamberg, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen with a single statuary angel playing a lute" (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
Altarpiece: Triptych of All Saints, wing, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Kassel: Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, 1958 GK30; 1749 inv. 1911. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Kksq 44/1,2). Flying angels and putti play musical instruments including lute, harp, bagpipe, hurdy gurdy and a narrow, flared-bell recorder, the window/labium of which is clearly shown.
Altar-piece, central panel: Adoration of the Child, oil on wood, 126.5 × 94.3 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Basel: Oeffentliche Kunstsammlung Kunstmuseum, Inv. 1230. Ref. Friedl&aum;nder XII (1975, 246: pl. 137); Paris RIdIM (1999); Rasmussen (1999a, 1999b, 2005). In a ruined barn festooned with leafy decorations, and with putti and angels literally jumping from the rafters, Mary and Joseph honour the Christ Child. In the foreground an angel plays the organ whilst another works the bellows. Shepherds enter in at the side, one kneeling in amazement. In the background, angels play a long curvy looped trumpet, lute, flute, harp and a pipe. The latter is probably not a recorder as the player's cheeks are considerably puffed out There are a number of variants of this work (see below).
Adoration of the Child, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Location unknown. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) There are a number of variants of the above work (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) In the background of one (location unknown), two winged putti play what are clearly flared-bell recorders as they hover in the air, whilst beneath them another couple play lute and a third recorder of the same kind. This latter pair is echoed on the other side of the crib in the foreground by two fully grown angels playing lute and a cylindrical duct-flute (flageolet or recorder) the foot of which is hidden by the head of the angel in front.
Nativity (ca 1520), oil on carded panel, 98.7 × 76.5 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Chicago: Art Institute. Ref. Steinbart (1922: pl. VI/1); Friedländer (1967-, XI: no. 254, pl. 142); Ford (1987: #38); Bosseur (1999: 32 - col.); Rasmussen (1999b). "Around Mary, Joseph, and the Child are two angels playing lute and a recorder; three singing putti with a book; and four putti, three of whom play straight trumpets and one playing an S-shaped trumpet. Above the central scene are four groups of putti: four putti with a page of music (notation suggested but not legible); two putti plyaing recorders; three putti playing fiddle, lute and harp; three putti playing harp, straight trumpet, and a hurdy-gurdy; and two putti playing recorder(?) and lute. In the background, a depiction of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with one shepherd playing a recorder" (Ford 1987, loc. cit.) Bosseur (loc. cit.) gives the date of this work as ca 1520; Friedländer (loc. cit.) notes it as partly by A. Isenbrant.
Adoration of the Child with Saint André and Sainte Marguerite (ca 1512), Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Naples: Museo e Galleria Nazionali de Capodimonte. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Liesbeth van der Sluijs (pers. comm., 2001). In front of the crib a strange band of winged putti play two flared bell recorders (the window/labium clearly shown), hammered dulcimer, straight and folded trumpets from a book of music held by a sixth putto. In the background can be seen a harbour with boats and ships. Winged putti playing musical instruments abound, including two who play what are clearly flared-bell recorders as they hover in the air.
Adoration of the Child, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Utrecht: Centraalmuseum. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Mary and Joseph honour the Christ Child. In the foreground angels play lute, organetto, straight trumpets and a long flared-bell recorder, the beak end and window/labium of which are just visible. Further back and to the right an angel plays what is quite clearly another long flared-bell recorder. In the background shepherds kneel and townsfolk hasten to witness the marvel. Further back, in panoply the three kings arrive, cantering past a walled city with towers and turrets.
Virgin and Child with Angels, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Bamburg: Residenz, WAF 159. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 146). Mary holds the Holy Child who reaches out toward the fiddle playing putto, one of a group of winged putti playing harp, hurdy-gurdy and a long cylindrical duct-flute (flageolet or recorder). Around the inner frame, tiny winged putti perch on cornices playing tabor, cross-flute and lute.
Triptych: central panel, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Aarle-Rixtel: Maria Kapel, altarpiece. Ref. Postcard (1960s - b&w). Includes three winged putti musicians: one sings holding an open music book; one plays a small lute; and one plays a long slender duct-flute with a flared-bell, the window/labium clearly depicted.
Virgin and Child surrounded by Musical Angels, oil on panel, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Databank (2002). The musical angels on the left play lute, triangle and a flared-bell pipe which could represent a recorder; those on the right play timbrel and a slender cylindrical pipe which may represent a second recorder. Auctioned 25 January 2001, unsold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Maria van Oosterwijck (1630-1693), Dutch

Vanitas Still-life (1668), 73 × 88.5 cm, Maria van Oosterwijk 1630-1693). Ref. Vienna: Kunsthisorisches Museum, Gemaldegalerie, Inv. Gg 5714. Ref. IJdelheld, #20; Griffioen (1988: 440-441). On a table lie a vase of flowers a skull, a corn cob, a spike of wheat, a globe, an hourglass, a purse, a flask of wine, books, papers, a transverse flute, and a soprano-sized hand-fluyt with a maker's mark visible beneath the window/labium.

Johannes Opicius (15th century), Italian

Italian poet and ? illuminator, amongst several Italian poets to visit the English court in the 1490s.

Marginal decoration (1497), illumination, 260 × 190 mm (possibly trimmed in rebinding), Johannes Opicius (15th century). London: British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian B.iv, fol. 14r. Ref. Whalgren-Smith (210-234); Carlson (2002: 869-); Carley (2004: 46, pl. 41); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2005). Opicius presented this book to Henry VIII (1485-1509), probably at Christmas 1497, in the hope that Henry would 'lend aid [to] a foundering'. This manuscript contains five short poems in Latin. The one starting on fol. 14r is a pastoral poem. The foot of the page is decorated by a painting, unframed, to display an historiated initial 'Q', at the second of the manuscript's strongly marked sections. The painting illustrates three groups of trees, symmetrically distributed across a grassy, rolling landscape, with livestock, as a backdrop before which a pair of rustics stand, turned towards one another, gesturing. These are Arcadian shepherds, one being a musician and the other crowned as a poet. The artist shows the musical shepherd's instrument in such a way as to make sure it is recognized as a recorder – probably knowing of Henry VIII's predeliction for recorders. So the beak and window/labium are shown sideways on to the line of finger-holes, of which there are six plus paired little-finger-holes near the bell – a little blurred.

John Opie (1761-1807), British

Henry and Emma (1796), engraving, 45 × 35 cm, by Francesco Bartolozzi, R.A. (1725-1815), after John Opie (1761-1807). Uppsala: Universitet, Bibliotek, UUB 1726 (kapsel 16). Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (2000c: 86). A young man importunes a young girl, a bunch of flowers in one hand, a recorder in the other. Only the upper part of the recorder is visible/ The mouthpiece is shown as conical with a black square beneath representing the window/labium. None of the finger-holes are visible. The body is covered with horizontal sriations to indicate its curvature. The finger positions could indicate the recorder, but only two upper fingers of the lower (right) hand are visible. A verse underneath reads:
A shepherd now along the plain he roves:
And, with his jolly pipe, delights the groves,
The neighbouring swains around the stranger throng,
Or to admire, or emulate his song:
While with soft sorrow he renews his lays,
Nor heedful of their envy, nor their praise.
But, soon as Emma's eyes adorn the plain,
His notes he raises to a nobler strain,
With dutiful respect and studious fear:
Lest any careless sound offend her ear.
Emma looks out at us questioningly, clearly aware of the recorder's erotic symbolism.

Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775-1841), German

Untitled, print, Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775-1841). Coburg: Kunstsammlungen der Veste, Inv. Z 3269. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Cv 207). A crowd scene outside an estaminet (coffee-house) with a triumphal arch in the background. At the right a woman pedlar sells song-books, with a violinist and a recorder player behind her. Three girls sing from one of the song books. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
[A traditional German Wedding], aquarelle, Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775-1841). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Print Collection, 5389. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ngm 431). A wedding procession with everyone in their traditional costume led from the church by a small band which includes a drummer, a horn player and a player of an alto baroque recorder.

Christophe Orimena (14th century), French

Missal: Puer Nattus Est: Nativity (1360-1368), illumination, workshop of Christophe Orimena (14th century). Avignon: Bibliothèque Calvet. Ref. Léonelli (1978: 13, fig. 9); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007). A nativity scene very much in the Byzantine manner. The Annunciation to the Shepherds (with a sheep on a rock) is at the upper right, the two midwives (Mary and Miriam) are at bottom right, and the usual troubled Joseph is at bottom left. The shepherds have no instruments but, unusually, across the bottom is a decorative frieze with two small centaurs facing each other from either side. The one on the right has a bagpipe. That on the left has a pipe of some sort. His hands and fingers slightly overlap, and he has puffed cheeks. His inststrument is alto-sized and played in a horizontal position, and it has a small sharp bell flare. It looks more like a small shawm (too small to see details of finger-holes) but the shepherd's scene above perhaps suggests that the centaurs play the two instruments most associated with their kind, bagpipes and duct-flute. This Missal originally belonged to the Collégiale St Didier.

Bernard [Barend, Barent, Bernart] van Orley

Netherlandish painter and desinger of tapestry and stained-glass; one of the greatest proponents of Romanism, a northern style based on the ideals of the Italian Renaissance, though it seems unlikely that he ever travelled to Italy; established himself as a leading designer for the Brussels tapestry industry, and became official court painter to the Regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria; born Brussels (ca 1488), died Brussels (ca 1541); son of Valentin van Orley (ca 1466 - 1532).

The Triumph of Chastity, brown copper-plate print, Bernard van Orley (op.1515 - m.1541). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett (West). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 356). Probably illustrates Plutarch's Triumphs. Chastity stands on a platform beside a pillar above a blindfolded winged putto on a float. In the foreground are two unicorns (one riden by a soldier) which are pulling the float. To the right of the unicorns is a second soldier; to their left are musicians singing and playing a small waisted fiddle and a cylindrical duct-flute (flageolet or recorder) played by a young woman. The window/labium of the duct-flute is clear, but no holes (or fingers!) are visible behind the fiddler. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Lelio Orsi

Italian painter and draughtsman; influenced by Correggio as well as by the late Mannerist style of Giulio Romano; his large-scale works seem to have been mainly secular decorations, notably illusionistic façades, of which only fragments are extant; the surviving paintings of smaller dimensions exhibit great energy and expressiveness; born Novellara (1508 or 1511), died Novellara (1587).

St Cecilia and Valerian (ca 1550), oil on canvas, 75 × 59 cm, Lelio Orsi (1508/11-1587). Detail. Rome: Galleria Borghese. Ref. Mirimonde (1974: 18); Denvir (1980: 249); Coliva (1994: 139, fig. 73 - col.) [Villa I Tatti N2820G35]; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). An angel holding two crowns hovers overhead whilst Valerian enters at the door and Cecilia sits at the organ, a viol and a small, flared-bell recorder lying at her feet.

Walter Frederick Osborne

Irish painter of the British naturalist school; born Dublin (1859) died Dublin (1903); the son of animal painter William Osborne (1823-1901).

St Patrick's Close, Dublin (1887), Walter Frederick Osborne (1823-1903). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland. Ref. Music and Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland (1985: 83, fig. 69); Archiv Moeck. In the foreground a young lad plays a tin whistle for his own enjoyment, or perhaps to earn some pennies from passers by.

Adriaen van Ostade

Dutch Baroque painter and etcher known for his genre pictures of Dutch peasant life, religious subjects, portraits, and landscapes; born Haarlem (1610), died Harlem (1685).

Village Musicians (1645), oil on panel, 39 × 30,5 cm, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). St Petersburg: Hermitage, #904. Ref. Kuznetsov (pl. 87), Eisler (1990: 416 0 col.); Griffioen (1988: 440-1); Web Gallery of Art (2001). A woman sits at a table about to sing from a part-book. On her right, a man holds a violin examining his own part. To her left, another man is tuning his cello. Three curious children poke their heads in at a window behind the musicians. On the table lies a cylindrical soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell, the window/labium and finger-holes clearly visible. A lute and a violin hang on the wall behind the open window-shutters.
Flute player, oil on panel, 29 × 23 cm, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Moscow: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. USSR. Ref. Vipper (1971: fig. 110); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Web Gallery of Art; Bridgeman Art Library (2003: BAL 56568 - col.) A young man sits on a bench playing a soprano flared-bell recorder from music lying on a stool in front of him.
Genre Scene, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). Location unknown. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Amongst a group of merrymaking peasants outside a cottage, one stands on a half-barrel playing an alto-sized pipe (possibly a recorder) with a flared bell, left hand lowermost. This could represent the same artist's Peasants' Company cited by Griffioen (1988).
Wandering Musicians (?1642), etching, 10.8 × 8.73 cm, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (161016-85). Los Angeles: County Art Museum, 31.21.106. Ref. Los Angeles County Art Museum (2003). Ouside a peasant cottage a man plays a alto/tenor sized pipe (possibly a recorder) to the accompaniment of a little boy on a drum.
Musical Peasants in an Interior, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Location unknown. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 27097 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A woman plays a very slightly flared pipe (possibly a recorder) of soprano-size, left hand lowermost, all fingers of right hand down, left-hand with partly lifted fingers, including the little finger, mouthpiece details unclear.
Peasants' Company, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). ? Amsterdam. Ref. Vipper (1957: 223); Griffioen (1988: 440-441). Four peasants in a cavernous room carouse. One pours wine into his mouth from a pitcher, a second plays the violin, a third plays a soprano recorder, and a fourth stands in the background listening. The recorder player is identical to that depicted in Ostade's Rustic Concert in the Prado, Madrid (see below).
Rustic Concert, oil on board, 27 × 30 cm, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Madrid: Museo del Prado, Inv. 2121. Ref. Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 190-191); Tena & Mena (1985: 248, fig. 2121 - b&w); Blanch (1981: 407, fig. 252 - col.); Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). " An interior scene, possibly in the loft of a cottage or small barn, with five figures. A man in centre drinks from a bag and there are two musicians, one playing a large fiddle and the other what could be a small recorder, although the details are not clear. However, the beak is well painted and the hands and fingers are all placed in an excellent position to cover the holes of a recorder. There is very little bell flare, but a strengthening ring at the very end, by wood thickening" (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
Hearing, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DÜk 64). A peasant scene. A man standing at the back plays a rommel pot. A seated man the right, leaning forward, sings from music. An old woman seated on an upturned basket plays a flared-bell recorder. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
The Rommel Pot, oil on wood, 17.4 × 15 cm, school of Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Heidelberg: Kurpfälzisches Museum, Inv. G 514. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: HDkm-26); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A rustic musician plays a rommel pot to a group of listening children. Tucked through a loop in his hat is a small cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder as the lowermost finger-hole seems offset.
The Old Couple, oil on canvas, oil on canvas, school of Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (161016-85). Vienne: Museé des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image GIR 182564 - col.). An old woman sings from a sheet of music while a rather troubled looking man accompanies her on a hand-fluyt, playing from a sheet of music on a small table in front of him.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry

French Rococo tapestry designer, illustrator and painter, considered one of the greatest animal painters of the 18th century, and he became Director of the Tapestry Works in Beauvais where he created an entirely new Gobelins style; born Paris (1686), died Beauvais (1755).

Still-life with violin and recorder (1741), Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Berlin: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte. Ref. Alan Hutchinson Ltd, London: greeting card (col.); CD, Telemann, Six Sonatas for two flutes, Op. 2, American Baroque, Naxos 8.554132 (1997): cover (col.) Depicts grapes, peaches, a book, some sheet music, a baroque alto recorder and a violin.
Still-life with violin and recorder (1741), Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). London: Royal Academy of Art. Ref. Archiv Moeck. Another version of the above. Depicts grapes, peaches, a book, some sheet music, a baroque alto recorder and a violin.
Still-life with violin and recorder, oil on panel, 60.5 × 77 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Location unknown; auctioned Bruno Meissner, Zürich (1992) and Sotheby's. London (1998). Ref. Woodmansterne Publications Ltd, Watford: greeting card (col.); Weltkunst 62(8): 998 - col. (1992); Gabrius Data Bank> (2001 - col.) Another version of the above. Depicts grapes, peaches, a book, some sheet music, a baroque alto recorder and a violin. Currently for sale (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
Satyrs in a rocky Landscape, chalk drawing, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Bremen: Kunsthalle, Inv. 43.13a. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BMkh 124). Includes two recorders with other instruments. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). This work is not listed in the Bremen Kunsthalle's online catalogue (2001).
Allegory of Europe (1722), oil on canvas 165.8 × 155.4 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Houston: Rice University, Blaffer Foundation Collection, Accession No. 1987.2 Ref. Blaffer Foundation Collection (2003); Web Gallery of Art (2001). An elaborate still-life with a bust, lillies, playing cards, a parrot, a monkey toying with a violin, a musette, a guitar, and a baroque recorder with it's characteristic beak showing from behind a pile of sheet music. Apparently the mirror image of an otherwise identical painting in a Private Collection (see below).
The Four Continents: Europe (1722), oil on canvas, 162 × 152 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2007: image NUL 115958 - col.); Rosenberg (1999 - col.) An elaborate still-life with a bust, lillies, playing cards, a parrot, a monkey toying with a violin, a musette, a guitar, and a baroque recorder with it's characteristic beak showing from behind a pile of sheet music. Apparently the mirror image of an otherwise identical painting in the Blaffer Foundation Collection, Rice University, Houston (see above).
Music-making Monkey with Birds, oil on canvas 144 × 118 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM 872. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). An elaborate still-life with a column, musical instruments, a monkey toying with a violin, a musette, and a baroque alto recorder, with its characteristic head showing from underneath a pile of sheet music. Some music under the musette is entitled d'airs a boite (1718), composed by Le Maire.

Ida Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite neé Rentoul

Australian magazine and children's book illustrator (Australia's first); born Carlton in Melbourne (1888), died Melbourne (1888�1960).

The Piper (1922), black & white print, Ida Rentoul Outhwiate (1888�1960).

The Little Green Road to Fairyland

Johann Friederich Overbeck (1789-1869)

Romantic painter of Christian religious subjects, who was leader of a group of German artists known as the Nazarenes, or Lucas Brotherhood (Lukasbund), who set themselves the task of recovering the neglected art of fresco and of monumental painting; born Imperial Free City of Lübeck (1789), died Rome (1869).

Adoration of the Magi (1831), Johann Friederich Overbeck (1789-1869). Hamburg: Kunsthalle. Ref. Anonymous (1994: 348, col.) Two Kings pay homage to the infant Jesus and Mary who are serenaded by three lads playing a flared bell duct-flute (flageolet or recorder), a syrinx and a triangle.

William Owen

English painter; painted a number of rural scenes but specialized in portraiture; born Ludlow (1769), died London (1825).

Miss Anne Hoare as a little Girl (? 1814), 124 × 98 cm, William Owen (1769-1825). Warminster, Wiltshire: Stourhead House, Music Room. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Witt Library; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999). Anne Hoare (died 1872) was the daughter of Henry Hoare and married Sir George Mathew. Anne is shown as a young girl sitting on a knoll reading a book. Beside her on the ground lies a large soprano-size recorder The finger-holes are picked out, oddly, in white paint. The upper central part of the instrument is unfortunately occluded by a tambourine so the labium is not visible, although what is possibly an ivory mouthpiece can just be made out. The lower body shows five finger-holes in line plus a little finger-hole at the jointed bell end. There is a sharp bell flare, but the bore end hole is small, suggesting conicity.