Artists–C

Jaume [Jaime] Cabrera

Spanish (Catalan) Gothic painter in the circle of Jaume Cirera; he trained almost certainly in the workshop of the brothers Serra and is thus a painter of conservative tastes in the Italianate Gothic style rather than the emerging early International Gothic of his contemporaries Lluís Borrassà and Joan Mates; active Barcelona 1349–1432.

  • Virgin and Child with Angel Musicians (early 15th century), tempera on wood panel, 75.5 × 123.5 cm, Jaume Cabrera (fl. 1349–1432). Vic: Museu Episcopal, Inv. MEV 1948. Ref. Post (? date: 2, 366); Gudiol (1986: fig. 33, col.); Ballester (1990: 150–151, pl. 50); Rowland-Jones (1997: 9, fig. 5, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1953 (2023, col.) Panel of an altarpiece from the Cathedral of Vic. The Child Jesus – portrayed according to the typology of the Virgin of Humility – seated on a cushion on the ground –  is playing with a flying goldfinch, attached to his hand by a ribbon. They are surrounded by angel musicians singing and playing harp, vielle, lute (with a plectrum) and a cylindrical duct flute (almost certainly a recorder, though only six finger holes are visible. There is a great similarity to the altarpiece by Pere Serra (see below), though Cabrera’s angel plays with the right hand uppermost. Some documentary evidence points to a 1400 dating for this painting (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
  • Virgin and Child with Angel Musicians, tempera on wood panel, 38 × 26 cm, Jaume Cabrera (fl. 1349-1432). Madrid: Collection of Gómez Moreno. Ref. Ballester (1990: 148-149, pl. 48). The Virgin and Child enthroned are serenaded by angel musicians. Two on the right play lute (with a plectrum) and harp; two on the left play fiddle and a cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder. Originally the central panel of a triptych.
  • Triptych, Virgin and Child with Angel Musicians (early 15th-century), painting on wooden panel, 66.5 × 65.0 cm, Jaume Cabrera (fl. 1349–1432). Madrid: Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Inv. 52401. Ref. Gudiol (1986: 454); Ballester (1990: 150–151, pl. 52); Rowland-Jones (1997a: 15). The central panel depicts the Virgin enthroned with the Child in her arms serenaded by angel musicians. Two on the left sing and play lute (with a plectrum); two on the left play harp and a slender cylindrical duct flute. The window/labium of the later is clearly depicted,  and all fingers of the player’s lowermost (right) hand are covering their holes except the index finger which is raised with its hole clearly visible beneath it. Thus this very probably represents a recorder. The left side panel depicts the angel Gabriel, St Francis receiving the stigmata, and St Catherine; the right side panel depicts the Virgin of the Annunciation, St Anthony and St Sebastian.

Guglielmo Caccia, il Moncalvo

Italian mannerist painter of religious subjects; born Montabone (1568), died Moncalvo (1625).

  • Putto with a Flute, oil on canvas, oval 75.6 × 34.,3 cm, Guglielmo Caccia (1568–1625). Rome: Christies, Sale 2416, Lot 458, 4 December 2002. A winged putto, standing, plays a more or less clearly depicted cylindrical recorder right hand uppermost, the beak clearly depicted. One of a pendant pair, the other depicting a winged putto playing a horn.

Giuseppe Antonio Caccioli

Italian frescoist and ceiling painter; born and died Bologna (1672–1740); son of Giovanni Battista Caccioli  (1623–1675).

  • Holy Trinity, chalk & ink on paper, 34 × 23 cm, Giuseppe Antonio Caccioli (1672–1740). Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Inv. Z 1180. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BSm 332). Preparatory drawing for a ceiling painting of the Holy Trinity with angel musicians on the clouds. From left to right are four angels with tambourine, duct flute (or shawm), and triangle with jingle rings.

Giacinto Calandrucci

Italian (Sicilian) draughtsman and painter who executed various decorative and mythological frescoes and altarpieces as well as idylic pastoral scenes; born and died Palermo (1646–1707).

  • A Satyr, charcoal or chalk on paper, Giacinto Calandrucci (1646–1707). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum, FP 1934. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Dük 185). The satyr could have a recorder, but the drawing is too impressionistic to identify it properly. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Jan Steven [Johannes Stephanus] van Calcar [Giovanni da Calcar]

German-born artist active in Italy; a pupil of Titian with whom his work is often confused; his chief claim to fame is his woodcut illustration of Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica libri septem or On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books (1543), an anatomical text book; he is also said to have drawn the portraits of the artists in the early edition of Vasari’s Lives; born Cleves (1499–1510), died Naples (1546/1550).

  • Portrait of a Musician, attributed to Jan Steven van Calcar (1499–1546/1550). Rome: Pallazo Spada, Galleria, Room 2, No. 68. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A musician leans by a column, his left hand on a box on a table which has on it some music and what may be a tenor recorder. The bell end is hidden behind the musician’s fur-edged cloak, but the window/labium is quite clear and there are six finger holes, in line, visible before the foot end is hidden. The mouthpiece, which looks rather stubby, is in shadow.

Jacques Callot

French engraver, etcher and draughtsman of prodigious output who combined the sophisticated techniques and exaggerations of late Mannerism with witty and acute observation; one of the chief exponents of the bizarre and grotesque, much in vogue in the reign of Louis XIII; born and died Nancy (1592–1635).

  • Les Caprices (Florentine edition): Dancers with Flute and Tambourine (1617), etching on ivory laid paper, 5.6 × 8.2 cm (image/plate); 6.0 × 8.5 cm (sheet), Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv. G21 746; Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-OB-21.070; Los Angeles: County Museum, M.61.2.10 and 1965.242.33; Washington DC: National Gallery of Art, NE650.C3; New York: C. & J. Goodfriend, Online Exhibition – Masterworks of Printmaking and Drawing, Item 6 (2011). Ref. Goodfriend (1993: 99); Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 157); Lancaster (2007: 19, fig.) Two grotesque figures dance and play a tambourine (with jingle rings) and a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). Callot re-etched a second series of Capricci in Nancy (Lorraine) soon after his return to France in 1621, perhaps completing this second set ca 1622.  These two reappear in Tarantella Players, circle of Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742).
  • Dancers with Flute and Tambourine (17th century), etching, 7.8 × 11.8 cm, after Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Washington DC: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Collection, 0364/B. Ref. Lancaster (2007: 19, fig.) Two grotesque figures dancing and playing a tambourine and a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). The mirror image of the original (see above) and more crudely executed.
  • Tarantella Players, oil on canvas, 84 × 128 cm, circle of Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742), after Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Rome: Minerva Auctions, Old Masters and Art of the  XIX Century – Auction 80, 15 November 2012, Lot 41 (unsold). Ref. RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Image 1001090744 (2014, col.) On the left of the couple dancing a tarantella a man plays a tambourine; on the right, a man in a bird-like mask and costume plays a lute. The dancing man plays a flared-bell pipe, almost certainly a recorder. Curiuosly, both dancers wear spectacles! All four figures are taken directly from Jacques Callot’s etchings Les Caprices (1617, nos 32 & 34).
  • Shepherd Playing a Flute, etching, 6.4 × 8.7 cm, Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Los Angeles: County Museum of Art, M.83.318.11. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). An elderly shepherd leans forward on his staff playing a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). His dog defecates beside him, and his goats graze in the distance.
  • Temptation of St Anthony, second plate (1634), engraving, 36.0 × 33.3 cm, Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Detail. London: British Museum. Ref. Salamon (1972: 107, b&w). St Anthony is dragged from his cave by a multitude of devils and fire-breathing dragons. Above him, a hellish band of devilish and beastly musicians bray and play lute, violin and a flared-bell pipe (possibly a duct flute) in the unusual manner of the piper in Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. Perhaps he, like his forebear, also, is a music critic!
  • Dwarf with a Flute (1621–1625), engraving on paper, 6.2 × 8.6 cm Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-OB-4617. A humpback dwarf in a floppy hat plays a more or less cylindrical recorder with a flared bell. From a set of  engravings depicting a troupe of grotesque dwarf entertainers known as Les Gobbi who performed in Italy for the Medici Court when Callot was working there recording court entertainment. Dwarfs would have been regarded as amusing, and a troupe dancing and singing would have been a great novelty in the 17th century.

Dionys [Denijs, Denis, Dionisio Fiamingo] Calvaert [Caluwaert]

Flemish painter whose oeuvre is composed almost exclusively of religious works ranging in size from vast altarpieces to small devotional pictures on copper; born Antwerp (1540), died Bologna (1619). See Raphael.

Pier Paolo Calzolari (1943-)

Italian sculptor, working in textiles, clay, metal; an exponent of the Arte Povera movement which attempted to remove art from its pedestal, to design art with more simple and modest means and authentic materials, creating ephemeral works that strove for a new active inclusion of the viewer through actions and performances; born Bologna (1943).

  • Un flauto dolce per farmi suonare [A recorder for me to play] (1968), sculpture (installation), 46 × 88 cm, Pier Paolo Calzolari (1943–). Munich: Sammlung Goetz, exhibited in The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943–1968, Guggenheim Museum – image here. Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, exhibited in Arte Povera aus der Sammlung des Kunstmuseums Liechtenstein, Neues Museum Weimar, Weimar, 28 August – 21 September, 2012. Private Collection, exhibited in Arte povera 2011, Museo d’Arte Moderna, Bologna – image here. Ref. Tibia 1/98 (1968); Ausoni (2009: 317, col.); Orsela Mileti, Archivo Fondazione Calzolari (pers. comm., 2013). A small modern style recorder lies on a tablet on which the title of the piece appears in relief. From the tablet a wire snakes towards a loudspeaker.The three versions of this celebrated work vary somewhat in the materials employed, the lettering and other details. In the same year in which he made this work, Cazolari wrote La casa ideale, a text made up of dream fragments from an imaginary place in the memory, conceived for exhibition in the form of “an ideal house” of which this work was one.

Andrea Camassei

Italian painter and engraver whose subjects included religious and mythological themes; born Bevagna (1602), died Rome (1649).

  • Shepherd with Nymphs, Amoretti and Goats in a Landscape, oil on canvas, 109 × 135 cm, circle of Andrea Camassei (1602–1649). Knightsbridge: Bonhams, Sale 16860, Old Master Paintings, 28 October 2009, Lot 50. Watched by two admiring nymphs, two tumbling amoretti and a goat, a shepherd sits on a rock playing a flared-bell pipe. Although there is no sign of a beak or window/labium there is no reed, either, and the cross-fingering and bent thumb are very suggestive of recorder playing.

Luca Cambiaso

Italian sculptor and painter of the school of Genoa; his works include biblical and classical subjects; born Moneglia, Genoa (1527), died Madrid (1585).

  • Parnassus, fresco, Luca Cambiaso (1527–1585). Genoa: Palazzo Pessagno, Salita Santa Caterina, mural. Ref. Suida-Manning & Suida (1957: fig. 66, b&w). A female figure kneels before Apollo who is seated above the Castalian Spring on a wooded hillside holding his lyre. In the foreground, on either side of the stream, the Nine Muses watch and converse amongst themselves, several holding instruments including straight trumpet, tambourine (with pellet bells and jingles), and a narrow cylindrical duct flute (viewed side-on, the beak clearly depicted). Underneath an open music book, one Muse holds a larger recorder only the beak of which can be seen. In the bottom right-hand corner lies a syrinx the pipes of which are made of individual duct flutes; at the bottom left stands a viola da braccio.
  • Parnassus: The Nine Muses (1579), pen, ink and pencil drawing, 23.6 × 35.2 cm, Luca Cambiaso (1527–1585). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM H 1579/1863. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). The Muses entertain each other with music played on horn, straight trumpet, viol, harp, bagpipe and duct flute. One of the duct flutes is sketchily drawn and is of at least tenor size; it has no beak, but there are two incised rings close together near the mouthpiece and a mark indicating a window/labium; otherwise the instrument has no distinguishing features. A second cylindrical duct flute on the ground, however, has a beaked mouthpiece, window/labium, and a finger hole near the end of the instrument beneath which is an incised ring and short bell flare. The artist has added in pencil where the finger holes would be if they were visible (as if the instrument were transparent). The first of these pencilled finger holes is above the windway opening, and the second is half way down the labium! The third is where the first finger hole should correctly be. After a gap, the fourth, fifth and sixth penciled rings are correctly placed for the lower hand, with the visible hole (that is in brown ink) shown just below the last of the penciled holes. All this suggests that the artist was rather unclear about what the details of the instrument actually looked like. Above the date 1569 can just be made out another date which is probably 1529.

Adam Camerarius

Dutch portrait painter known for his unusual colour combinations that have a surprisingly modern appearance; born Groningen (? date), died (p. 1685).

  • Family Portrait, oil on canvas, 138 × 172 cm, Adam Camerarius (op. 1644–1685). Darmstadt: Hessisches Landesmuseum, Inv. GK 874. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DAhl 43). Family portrait with parents, grandparents and seven children. On the far left, a boy holds a recorder of soprano/alto size with a marked bell fare. On the far right, another boy dances with a tambourine.

Domenico Campagnola

Italian painter and draughtsman of German extraction who often passed his engravings, woodcuts and drawings off as Titian’s; his own prints are executed in an unusually flowing and sketchy technique and include enigmatic, pastoral themes; born ?Padua (a. 1500), died Padua (1564); adopted son of Giulio Domenico (ca 1482–1516).

  • Shepherd Playing his Pipe with Landscape (a. 1550), pen and brown ink drawing on paper, 40.4 × 68.5 cm, Domenico Campagnola (a. 1500–1564). Paris: Louvre, Print Collection, Inv. 4754. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A pastoral scene against a landscape which includes a valley, a village, fields, peasants, forest and mountains. A shepherd, seated amongst his sheep, plays a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). There is an engraving of this work by Caylus.
  • Triumph of David, Domenico Campagnola (a. 1500–1564). Berlin: Staatliche Museen, Kupferstichkabinett. Ref. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 19 (1966: 335); Rasmussen (1999c). “The Welcoming Women play generic woodwind (recorder?) and two tambourines” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.
  • Ascension of Christ, fresco, Domenico Campagnola (a. 1500–1564). Padua: Chiesa del Convento di Praglia. Ref. Grossato (1966: 186–187, fig. 121); Rasmussen (1999c). “Putti play lyre, panpipes (?), recorder (held) and tambourine” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.

Giulio Campagnola

Italian painter and engraver who anticipated by over two centuries the development of stipple engraving; praised by his contemporaries for his artistic gifts, his knowledge of Greek, Latin and Hebrew, and his skills as a musician, singer and lute-player; born Padua (ca 1482), died Venice (1516); father of painter and printmaker Domenica Campagnola (ca 1500–1564).

  • Shepherds in a Landscape (1515-1517), engraving, Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482-1516) & Domenico Campagnola (ca 1500–1564). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett. Ref. Turner (1966: fig. 55); Burlington Magazine 109: pl. XLV (1967); Levenson et al. (1973: 41); Martineau & Hope (1982: 310–312, 250, pl. 7); Burlington Magazine 134: xxi (1992); Frings (1993: 147–148, fig 6); Rasmussen (2003); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Wikimedia Commons (2012). Shows four shepherds seated beside a stream with some sheep. One plays a hurdy-gurdy, another plays an ambiguous cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder), and a third holds a long-necked bowed stringed instrument. Across the stream is a hilltop village; further down the valley is a bridge and some hills. This was widely copied with variations by contemporary artists (Frings, loc. cit).
  • Shepherds in a Landscape (ca 1517), engraving, Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482–1516) & Domenico Campagnola (ca 1500–1564). Ref. Hind, Early Italian Engraving 6 (2): pl. 774 (1970); Rasmussen (2003). A variant of the above, reversed and with a different background and the addition of two cows. Not seen.
  • The Old Shepherd, plate, 7.9 × 13.5 cm, Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482–1516). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 37.3.11. Ref. Hind, Early Italian Engraving 5 (8): 11 (1970); Archiv Moeck. In front of a rambling wooden house, watched by a goat and a sheep, an old shepherd reclines with an ambiguous pipe in his mouth.
  • Young Shepherd, engraving, 13.2 × 7.8 cm, Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482–1516). Cincinnati: Art Museum, 1943.88, Hind 5, no 10 11. Ref. Archiv Moeck. A young shepherd reclines on a bank before a large rambling house; in his hand is a duct flute (possibly a double pipe).
  • Landscape with a Shepherd Couple (2nd half of the 16th century), drawing in pen and brown ink, after Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482–1516). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 4780. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). Against the background of a castle by a river with a water mill, two shepherds and their sheep sit in the shade of a grove of trees. One shepherd leans on an indeterminate instrument, possibly a viola da mano; the other plays a slender duct flute (flageolet or recorder). There is another copy by Watteau (1684–1721) in the Musée des Beaux Arts et d’Archéologie, Besançon.

Pedro Campana or Petrus Campania or Companicusis or Peter Campener – see Peter de Kempener

Jacob van Campen [or Kampen]

One of the leaders of a group of Dutch architects who created a restrained architectural style that was suited to the social and political climate of the Netherlands; born Haarlem (1595), died Huis Randenbroek, near Amersfoort (1657).

  • Hermes Lulling Argus to Sleep (ca 1635), oil on canvas, 204 × 194 cm, Jacob van Campen (1595–1657). The Hague: Mauritshuis. Ref. Haak (1984/1996: 258, pl. 546); Griffioen (1988: 438–439), Rowland-Jones (1998a: 16; 1999; pers. comm. 2001); Blanker et al. (1999: pl. 4, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 10645 (2010, b&w); Website: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (2001); Ausoni (2009: 72, col.) Hermes (as a young boy) lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a flared-bell, soprano recorder (the lowest little finger down, but no finger holes or window/labium actually visible), surrounded by sleepy dogs and beasts, including a white heifer (Io). Contemporary photographer Vik Muniz has made an amusing parody of this work in his Junk Series – see here.

Peter Campener – see Peter de Kempener

Campi

Italian dynasty of painters from Cremona, active there and in Milan during the 16th century.

  • Merry Company (ca 1600), oil on canvas, 130 × 49 cm, attributed to the school of Campi (16th century). Location unknown: sold at the Hôtel des Ventes, Cannes, 10 April (1990). Ref. Gazette de l’Hôtel Drouot No. 14, 6 April (1990). Around a table on which there is food on plates and a guitar, a group of men drink whilst one plays a slender, flared-bell pipe which may represent a recorder, although the bell is very large for such a slender instrument.
  • Decorated ceiling, Campi (16th century). Location unknown. Ref. Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). A tortured-looking boy lies crouched beside a pile of instruments which include a viol (only the pegbox, fretted neck and part of the body visible), a hunting horn, a harp (the arm of which is visible) and a cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder, though only the lower section and three finger holes are visible).

Bernadino Campi

Italian artist of the Lombard school; painted portraits and church decorations; born Cremona (1522), died Reggio (1591); although not directly related to Galeazzo Campi (1477–1536) or his sons, he was an assistant to Giulio Campi (p. 1507–1573)

  • Ceiling Decoration (1583–1584), fresco, Benardino Campi (1522-1591). Sabbioneta: Palazzo del Giardino, Camera dei Miti, ceiling. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (2006, pers comm. ex Anthony Rowland-Jones). A series of interlocking panels in which a strutting cupid (holding Mercury’s caduceus and winged helmet) is surrounded by birds and figures from classical myths including Daedalus and Icarus, Arachne and Minerva, Saturn and Filira, and Apollo and Marsyas. The latter holds a shepherd’s pipe, so often represented by a recorder. The instrument is cylindrical but otherwise featureless. The Palazzo del Giardino was built as a pleasure palace between 1578 and 1588 by the Gonzagas, starting with the main block and then the Galleria. The Camera dei Miti was designed by Fornarino (Givovan Francesco Bicesi) with gilded stucco work by Martiri Pesente. Campi and his team decorated the seven rooms in the Garden Palace between 1583 and 1584.

Giulio Campi

Italian architect and painter of the Lombard school who combined elements of the styles of Raphael and Correggio and founded a school of his own at Cremona; his numerous paintings include portraits, classical and religious subjects; born and died Cremona (p. 1507–1573); son of the artist Galeazzo Campi (ca 1475–1536); brother of Antonio Campi (1523–1587) and Vincenzo Campi (1532–1591), all artists.

  • Apollo and the Muses (ca 1550), oil on panel, 40 × 97 cm, attributed to Giulio Campi (p. 1507–1573). Parma: Galleria Nazionale, Inv. GN191. Ref. Villa I Tatti, N 2740 A6 (1997); Riccomini et al. (1997, 2: 177, pl., col.); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Apollo, seated with his lyre, holds court amongst the Muses most of whom hold or play musical instruments. One plays an ornate and exotically shaped viol, another a violin; one holds a syrinx with seven tubes, another a straight trumpet. Two (one on each side of the painting) hold recorders: that on the left holds hers by her side in her left hand, her right hand holding a music book steady in her lap; that on the right holds her instrument two-handed as if to play it. Both instruments are of cylindrical construction, the beak and window clear; on the left-hand instrument four of the finger holes for the right hand are visible, the lowest slightly offset; on the right-hand instrument the fingers are deployed somewhat haphazardly, though again the lowermost hole seems slightly offset to the others.
  • Assumption of the Virgin, ? fresco, 16th century,  Giulio Campi (p. 1507–1573).  Soncino: La Chiesa di S. Maria delle Grazie. triumphal arch. Ref. Dmitry Badiarov (pers. comm.); Manzoni di Chiosca (1984, front cover, col.); Ferla (460, fig. 6, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1842 (2023, col.) The Virgin is surrounded by musical angels who play harp, lute, tambourine, viola da braccio, lute, organ and a long tenor-sized cylindrical recorder. The window/labium of the recorder is clearly shown, and the fingering is consistent with recorder-playing.

Peter Candid [Pietro di Pietro Candido, Pieter de Witte]

Netherlandish painter, tapestry designer and draughtsman, active in Italy and Germany; one of several Italian-trained Mannerist artists employed by the courts of Europe; the leading figure in Munich from 1600 to 1628; born Bruges (ca 1548), died Munich (1628).

  • The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (ca 1590), oil on canvas, 226.0 × 159.1 cm, Peter Candid (ca 1548–1628). Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1980.72. Depicts the vision received by St Catherine of Alexandria in which the virgin saint went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with Christ, in the presence of the Virgin Mary, consecrating herself and her virginity to him. Above the central scene angel musicians sing and play harp and vielle; in the top right hand corner a putto plays a duct flute. The latter’s hand position is suggestive of recorder playing, and a window/labium is just visible. Based on a Mystic Marriage of St Catherine by Christoph Schwarz (ca 1545–1592), his predecessor as court painter to Maximilian I in Munich, this painting has also been known as The Virgin and Child with St Anne.  According to both Christian and Islamic traditions, St Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary and thus the grandmother of Jesus Christ.

Javier Cano Velazquez

Contemporary Spanish lawyer who has painted since childhood. Artist’s web-site.

  • Desk with a Recorder, oil on canvas, 45 × 37 cm, Javier Cano Velazquez (contemporary). On a desk with a pink tablecloth are two sheets of paper on top of which are stacked  two leather-bound books, and an open notebook. Against this pile leans a slender neo-baroque recorder. Behind, is an oil lamp. This composition bears a striking resemblance to Still-life with Flute and Books (2010) by Eduardo Rosado and to Pedro de Abajo Cordero’s Still-life with a Flute.

Antonio Canova

Italian sculptor, painter, draughtsman and architect; the most influential sculptor of the Neoclassical movement who often combined a classicising format with a naturalistic presentation of features; he worked for a galaxy of European notables; born Possagno (1757), died Venice (1822).

  • The Muse Euterpe, tempera, Antonio Canova (1757–1822). Asolo: Museo Civico. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry), wearing a feathered cap, holds a shawm with a pirouette and two curious keys in her right. There is no bell flare. In her left hand she holds an alto pipe, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder) , which seems to have a beaked mouthpiece, a window/labium and a very slight bell flare.
  • Terpischore and Euterpe, Antonio Canova (1757–1822). Possagno: Civic Museum. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Terpsichore (Muse of dancing and song) dances with two cupids one playing a harp bigger than himself on his shoulder. Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) holds a shawm with a pirouette in her right hand and two curious keys. There is no bell flare. In her left hand she holds an alto pipe, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder), which seems to have a beaked mouthpiece and a very slight bell and bore flare.

Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’

Italian painter and engraver who developed a highly original style, which united aspects of Bolognese classicism with a bold naturalism; born Pesaro (1612), died Verona (1648).

  • Naked Man Holding a Flute, engraving, Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Départment des Arts Graphiques RF 31349, Verso A naked man seated on a rock, a long staff in the crook of his left arm, holds a slender, cylindrical pipe, possibly a duct flute. This appears to be a study for Cantarini’s depiction of Mercury and Argus (see below).
  • Mercury and Argus, Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Location unknown. Ref. Bartsch (1854–1870, 19: 142.31). Mercury reclines on a bank playing an alto-sized flared-bell duct flute (window/labium and several finger holes visible) with his left hand, holding his caduceus in his right. Argus reclines against a tree, looking very sleepy. In the background are Argus’ cattle.
  • Mercury and Argus, engraving, after Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Inv. 13809, Recto Mercury reclines on a bank playing an alto-sized flared-bell duct flute (window/labium and several finger holes visible) with his left hand, holding his caduceus in his right. Argus reclines against a tree, looking very sleepy. In the background are Argus’ cattle.
  • Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 35 × 44 cm, Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM52. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Mercury plays a recorder-like instrument of tenor size to the listening Argus, who is not yet drowsy. The mouthpiece is narrow and the whole instrument outwardly gently conical with a greater expansion at the bell end. All fingers are down except the left hand lower little finger, but this is in playing position with the hand much too near the bell end for a shawm. Neither finger holes nor window/labium are visible. The context suggests a recorder. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
  • Mercury and Argus, engraving by Gio. Jacomo Rossi, after Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Ref. Warburg Institute, London (2000). Mercury plays to Argus on a longish thin pipe (possibly a recorder) with a flared bell, two finger holes of which can be seen but no window/labium. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
  • Mercury and Argus, engraving, 25.2 × 30 cm, Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648). Michigan: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Accession No. 1961/2.18; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26.70.4[142]; Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, Hannan Fund Endowment, 1972.985. Ref. Websites: University of Michigan Museum of Art (2016), Metropolitan Museum of Art (2005), Chicago Art Institute (2010). Argus and his dog recline drowsily amongst the trees as Mercury pipes on a flared-bell recorder, sitting on a rock with his caduceus beside him and his sword almost hidden beneath his robe. Io (as a heifer) glances back at them from her pasture in the background.

Gustav Jakob [Jacob] Canton

German landscape painter; born Mainz (1813), died 1885.

  • Boy with a Flute, oil on cardboard, 4.9 × 11.7 cm, Gustav Jakob Canton (1828–1885). Mainz: Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum, Inv. 0/595. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: 162). Half figure of a shepherd youth with a brown shirt and a big green hat blowing on a short pipe. Not seen.

Estella Louisa Michaela Canziani (1887-1964)

Italian-born artist working in England where she was an active member of the Folk-Lore Society; her works include portraits, landscapes, and illustrations drawn from fantasy and folklore; born Milan (1887), died London (1964); daughter of the fairy painter Louisa Starr.

  • The Piper of Dreams (1914), watercolour on paper, 46.9 × 34.2 cm, Estella Louisa Michaela Canziani (1887–1964). Private Collection. Ref. Recorder & Music Magazine 25 (2): cover, col. (2005); Bridgeman Art Library, Image MAA199091 (2009, col.) Originally titled ‘Where the Little Things of the Wood Live Unseen’. Surrounded by fairies, a wistful country boy in a peacok-feathered hat, sits beneath a tree playing a slender, cylindrical duct flute with a visible window/labium and a hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand. This picture was amongst the most popular paintings of the Victorian/Edwardian period and, incredible though it may seem, was a favorite among English soldiers in the trenches of World War I. Canziani painted scientific water colours in hospitals and made moulded splints and casts of abnormal cases during wartime. There is a study for this painting in pastel at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 47 × 36 cm, bequeathed by Hilda Amelia Lake-Barnett through The Art Fund. What is clearly a reinterpretation of it can be found here, and a more honest one there. There is a recorder concerto by the English composer Christopher Ball (1936–) entitled The Piper of Dreams, presumably drawn from that of the painting. And a piece for unaccompanied oboe inspired by it was composed in 1941 by Ruth Gipps (1921–1999).

Francesco Capella, called ‘il Daggiù’

Italian painter and frescoist, a student of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1683–1754); born Venice (1711), died Bergamo (1784).

  • Duet (18th century), Francesco Capella (1711–1784). Bergamo: Casa Mazzocchi. Ref. Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003). A young woman plays a lute and a man plays a baroque alto recorder, very clearly depicted.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Italian painter of great originality and influence, regarded by many as an ‘evil genius’; his early works were mostly small pictures of non-dramatic subjects, often of a distinctly homo-erotic character; his later works were mainly large-scale religious pictures; born Caravaggio (1571); died Port Ercole (1609/1610).

  • Musical Trio (16th century), gouache, 92.5 × 127.5 cm; attributed to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). Chatsworth House: Duke of Devonshire’s Collection. Ref. La Rassagua Musicale 5 (Sept, 1930); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Three carousing musicians sing and play lute and a soprano flared-bell recorder.
  • Concert, engraving, 43.0 × 53.3 cm, by Thomas Chambars (ca 1724–1789, Irish), after Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). The Hague: Gemeentemuseum. Ref. Paris RIdIM (2000). From the original picture attributed to Michelangelo da Caravaggio in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire (see Musical Trio), though the lute in the original has become a guitar and the recorder an ambiguous pipe. Three carousing musicians sing and play guitar and a small flared-bell pipe (possibly a duct flute).
  • The Lute Player, oil on canvas, 100.0 × 126.5 cm, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). New York: Wildenstein Institute. Ref. Connoisseur 145 (1960); Scherliess (1972: pl. 50, as by Carlo Saraceni); Christiansen (1990: front cover, 8 & 34-35, col.); Camiz (1994: 62, fig. 4); Ferino-Pagden (2001: 104); Exhibition Catalogue: Colori della musica …, Rome (2000–2001: 19); Mahon (1990); Postcard: Royal Academy of Arts, London (2001); Exhibited: The Genius of Rome, Royal Academy (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (2001: 15); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.Sa71.90[a], as by Saraceni (2002); Rasmussen (2002, Lute); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Wikipedia: The Lute-player (Caravaggio) (2014, col.) A young woman plays a lute, her music books on a table in front of her with a flared-bell recorder (with paired holes for the lowermost finger), violin, and miniature spinet. The music is clearly legible and shows songs by a native Florentine (Francesco de Layolle) on a text by Petrarch: Laisse le voile (‘Let go the veil’) and Pourquoi ne vous donnez-vous pas? (‘Why do you not give yourself?’) by Giachetto Berchem (Jacquet de Berchem). A replica of this work appeared on the London art market in 1960 (Connoisseur, loc. cit.), and there is another copy by Carlo Magnone in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome. Other versions of this painting are found in the Hermitage, St Petersburg and at Badminton House, Gloucestershire: in both the table-top is bare marble, with a violin on one side and a still life of flowers and fruit on the other; and in both the music comprises madrigals by Jacques Arcadelt (1515–1568)  including to a text that reads in part  “Vous savez que je vous aime et vous adore … Je fus vôtre” (“You know I love you and adore you … I was yours”).
  • The Concert (ca 1595), oil on canvas, 92.1 × 118.4 cm, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 52.81. Ref. Bruce Dickey, Cornetto Iconography (2023, col.) Painted for the artist’s first great patron, Cardinal Francesco del Monte. Three musicians play lute and a cornetto whilst a third reads a score, his violin beside him. Behind them, Cupid picks at some grapes. Although it was described by contemporaries as simply “a piece of music” (una musica), it is an allegory of music. Cupid, “who is always in the company of music” (Vasari), is shown at left with a bunch of grapes, “because music was invented to keep spirits happy, as does wine” (Ripa). The costumes have a vaguely classical look. The central figure with the lute has been identified with Caravaggio’s companion Mario Minniti, and the individual next to him and facing the viewer is possibly a self-portrait of the artist. The surface of the picture is worn and there are extensive losses in the back of the right-hand figure (the piper, unfortunately) and in the music and the violin. This painting was extensively restored in 1983. A copy sold in London in 2006 (see below) was used by the Metropolitan Museum to reconstruct the damaged areas of their own painting, notably the upturned sheet of music that had been largely destroyed. Another copy was sold in Berlin in 1901.
  • The Musical Party (ca 1595), oil on canvas, 94.7 × 125.0 cm, follower of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). Location unknown: auctioned by Sotheby’s (London), Sale LO6032, Old Master Paintings Day, 6 July 2006, Lot 219 (sold.) Ref. Website: Sotheby’s (2006: Lot 219); Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) This composition repeats that of the painting commissioned from Caravaggio by Cardinal del Monte in 1594, today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The compositions are almost identical, with only minor differences between the two versions (such as the decoration of the crimson drapery of the principal musician). Three musicians play lute and a cornetto whilst a third reads a score, his violin beside him. Behind them, Cupid picks at some grapes. Although it was described by contemporaries as simply “una musica” (music piece), it is an allegory of music. Cupid, “who is always in the company of music” (Vasari), is shown at left with a bunch of grapes, “because music was invented to keep spirits happy, as does wine” (Ripa). The costumes have a vaguely classical look.
  • Portrait of a Recorder-playing Boy in a Plumed Hat, oil on canvas, attributed to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Databank (2002). A portrait of a boy in a plumed hat, a cloak wrapped loosely around his shoulders, playing an alto-sized flared-bell recorder with a metal-sheathed beak. Auctioned 2 June 1993, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Polidoro da Caravaggio [Polidoro Caldara]

Italian painter of the Mannerist period, arguably the most gifted and certainly the least conventional of Raphael’s pupils”, who was best known for his now-vanished paintings on the facades of Roman houses, usually in grisaille; his style was highly individual, extremely free in technique, and powerful in expression; born Caravaggio (ca 1499), died Messina (1543) robbed and murdered by an assistant, Tonno Calabrese; unrelated to the later painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1609/1610).

  • Putti Musicians, grisaille, oval canvas, 18.0 × 21.5 cm, follower of Polidordo da Caravaggio (1499–1543). Paris: Étude Tajan, Sale 8835, 26 March 2008, Lot 7. Five putti make music amongst the clouds. Four sing from music; the fifth plays a flared pipe, possibly a duct flute although the player’s cheeks are inflated.
  • Parnassus, cassone panel, Polidoro da Caravaggio (1499–1543). Vienna: Palais Liechtenstein, Inv. GE207. Ref. Paul Schubring (1915: pl. 846); Website: gallica (2016, b&w); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2013, b&w). Apollo sits playing his fiddle, his viola da braccio beside him. On either side of him the Muses sing and play musical instruments including organ, lute, tambourines, trombone and a slender cylindrical pipe which may represent a recorder. At the recorder player’s feet are two other wind instruments. On the far left, Pegasus is just touching down.

Cecco del Caravaggio = Francesco Boneri [Buoneri]

Anne-Marie Carl-Nielson

Danish sculptor whose preferred themes were domestic animals and people, with an intense, naturalistic portrayal of movements and sentiments; she also depicted themes from Nordic mythology; born Thygesminde (1863, neé Brodersen), died Copenhagen (1945); wife of composer Carl Nielson (1865-1931).

  • Herd Boy Playing a Wooden Flute (1933), plaster statuette, 125.0 × 46.3 × 62.0 cm, Anne Marie Carl-Nielson (1863–1945). Odense: Fyns Kunstmuseum, Inv. FKM/478. The original model for the bronze monument to Carl Nielsen set in Nørre Lyndelse on the island of Funen in 1933. A young boy sits on a tree stump holding a soprano-sized cylindrical duct flute. No details of the finger holes or window/labium are visible, but the outline of the beak is plain to see. The instrument is possibly meant to represent a recorder. There are four variants, three at the Odense Bys Museer: CNM/1984/1979, CNM/1956/0016 & CNM/1984/2095), and a fourth in a private collection. Carl Nielson wrote but a single, slight piece for recorder, namely an  Allegretto in C major for two recorders, CNW 72, included in a recorder tutor published by C.M. Savery (1931)
  • Monument to Carl Nielson (1933), bronze statue, Anne-Marie Carl-Nielsen (1863–1945).  Location: Nørre Lyndelse, Funen. Ref. Website: Lyndelse Sogns Lokalhistoriske Arkiv, BM3195 (col.) This monument to the Danish composer Carl Nielsen is placed at his childhood home at Nørre Lyndelse on Funen in 1933. It suggests Nielsen’s childhood experiences as a flute-playing goose-herd at nearby Bramstrup Hall. A young boy sits on a tree stump holding a soprano-sized cylindrical duct flute. No details of the finger holes or window/labium are visible, but the outline of the beak is plain to see. The instrument is possibly meant to represent a recorder. Carl Nielson wrote but a single slight piece for recorder, namely an  Allegretto in C major for two recorders, CNW 72, included in a tutor published by C.M. Savery (1931).

Angelo Caroselli

Italian painter who was described as dressing in high fashion, but behaving with a low reputation; his style was eclectic and included influences from Caravaggio and the Bombaccianti; born Rome (1585), died Rome (1653).

  • Concerto, oil on canvas, 107.5 × 172.5 cm, follower of Angelo Caroselli (1585–1653). Milan: Christies, Sale 2489, Old Master Paintings and Drawings, 7 June 2006, Lot 69. Four women make music around a table. singing and playing a lute, a violin and a slender conical pipe, probably a recorder since there appears to be a hint of window-labium and the player’s fingers are disposed as if for recorder-playing.

Giovanni Cariani = Giovanni Busi

Vittore Carpaccio

Italian painter, a specialist in teleri, the large narrative paintings on canvas which adorned the scuole – charitable confraternities characteristic of Venice; born and died Venice (1460/5–1525/6).

  • A Monk and three Musicians in a Room, pen and brown ink wash on blue paper, 19.8 × 28.1 cm, Vittore Carpaccio (1460/5-1525/6). London: British Museum, Department of Prints & Drawings, Inv. 1895,0915.806. Ref. Royalton-Kisch et al. (1996: 44–45, pl. 16); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3227 (2023, col.) Two of the musicians play lutes; another plays a rebec. On the wall behind hang a viola da braccio and a timbrel; On a bench before the players lie a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) and a curved instrument (possibly a cornetto), both very sketchily drawn.

Adriaen Carpentier

French-born artist active in England; born 1713, died London (1778).

  • The [Flute] Player, oil on canvas, 71 × 57 cm, Adriaen Carpentier (1713-–778). London: Sotheby’s, Lot 34, auctioned 6 April 1993. Ref. Sotheby’s Catalogue (April 1993: 54, pl. 34). “Half-length [portrait of a man], wearing a grey coat decorated with red and blue ribbons, a recorder in his right hand” (Sotheby’s, loc. cit.) The head of the instrument is out of frame and the single standing key seems to indicate that a flute was intended rather than a recorder.

Giulio Carpione [Carpioni]

Italian painter and etcher known for his religious, mythological, and allegorical paintings and also decorative friezes, but his most original works are his small bacchanals, indebted to Titian and to Testa, whom he interpreted with wit and a melancholy charm; active predominantly in Verona, also in Venice and Padua; born Venice (1611), died Verona (1674).

  • Bacchanal, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Milan: Museo d’Arte Antica (Castello Sforzesco). Bacchus, at the centre, plays a pipe (possibly a duct flute) listened to by two women, two men, a boy, and a man in drunken stupor. A centaur clashes cymbals at the left. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
  • Pan’s Music Lesson (1668–1671), oil on canvas, 68 × 210 cm, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Paris: Louvre Inv. RF 1983-52. Ref. Lallement & Devaux (1996: 237–238, pl. 3, b&w); Joconde Website (1999). Pan mellows out playing a pipe (his swollen cheeks suggesting a shawm rather than a duct flute) surrounded by men and women in various stages of undress, some asleep. Two putti (one holding a slender flared-bell pipe) chase a naked women banging a timbrel; another dozes, holding what looks very much like a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in his crossed arms. An embarrassed statue (?Aphrodite) looks aside. If only all music lessons were like this! There is clearly a relationship between this work and the the same artist’s Nymphs and Satyrs around a Statue of Priapus (see below)
  • Nymphs and Satyrs around a Statue of Priapus 92.5 × 71.0 cm, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Location unknown: sold Sotheby’s, London, 5 March 1969. Ref. Sale Catalogue (1969: No. 22); Paris RIdIM (2000). At the foot of a statue of Priapus (looking somewhat haughty), a satyr (?Pan) mellows out playing a flared-bell duct flute, probably a recorder despite his somewhat swollen cheeks, since the window/labium seems to be visible, and all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand seem to be deployed covering their holes. On a plinth behind him a baby satyr dances. In front a putto bangs two cymbals together, a second lies fast asleep in front of an enormous tambourine, and a third dozes in the bottom left-hand corner. Two naked women look on. In the background a second satyr plays a tambourine whilst a third semi-clad woman dances; beside them a fourth putto claps his hands and dances. There is clearly a relationship between this work and the the same artist’s Pan’s Music Lesson (Louvre, see above).
  • Cupid Triumphant over War, canvas, 72 × 57 cm, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Location unknown: sold St Germain-en-Laye, 9 December 1990. Ref. Gazette H.D. (30 November 1990: 343); Paris RIdIM (2000). Cupid leans on a drum playing a slender flared-bell recorder, the beak, window/labium of which are clearly depicted. He plays right hand uppermost, with all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand covering their finger holes. Behind the drum the bell of what appears to be a shawm projects, the rest of the instrument hidden behind Cupid’s back.
  • Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, circular, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000, b&w). Playing a long cylindrical pipe (probably a duct flute), Mercury lulls a drowsy Argus to sleep.
  • Saints Cassia, Innocenza, Gaudenzia and Neofita (ca 1665–1670) ca, oil on canvas, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Vicenza: Basilica dei Santi Felice e Fortunato Ref. Brugnolo Meloncelli & Cevese (1993: 68, col., detail). Two putti play rebec and a slender pipe. No details of the latter can be seen, but the little player’s hands are well disposed for recorder-playing. In particular, the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is characteristically stretched as if to cover its hole.
  • Bacchanal, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Reims: Musée des Beaux Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). A satyr at the centre plays an alto-sized duct flute, probably a recorder. Most of the beak is in his mouth, and it has a long window/labium. The instrument is near-cylindrical with a slight bell flare. The player’s right hand is lowermost with the little finger lifted. Fingers 3 and 4 of the left hand are also lifted, hiding any finger holes beneath. No lower finger holes are visible. other instruments depicted include tambourine, a large frame drum, and a very thin double-pipe played by a naked boy as he dances.
  • Pan and a Nymph (1666–1671), oil on canvas, 68.5 × 53.0 cm, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Venice: Ca’ Rezzonico – Museo del Settecento Veneziano, Sala 4, Collezione Martini Inv. 53. Pan plays his pipe to a seated nymph, watched by a putto who reaches for something in an enormous jar. At the nymph’s feet is a large tambourine (with jingle rings). The pipe is cylindrical and slender, but Pan’s fingers and thumb seem well disposed for recorder playing, despite his inflated cheeks.
  • Bachanal, oil on canvas, tondo, 80.5 × 80.0 cm, Giulio Carpione (1611–1674). Freiburg im Breisgau: Städtisches Augustinermuseum, Inv. 11476. Ref. RIdM Munich (2009, FRa 11). In a landscape putti gambol while a youthful Bacchus wine glass in hand, sits astride a barrel mounted with architectural set pieces (urn, etc.), more carousing putti and juvenile satyrs, one of whom is blowing on a small duct flute and holds a second pipe in his other hand. Not seen.

Agostino Carracci

Italian (Bolognese) painter, engraver and draughtsman of the Bolognese school; born Bologna (1557), died Parma (1602); brother of the more famous Annibale (1560–1609) and cousin to Lodovico (1555–1619).

  • Annunciation, oil on canvas, 48 × 35 cm, Agostino Carracci (1557–1602). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 182. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). In the clouds above Gabriel (who has just surfed in on his own cloud) and Mary (who has dropped her washing in alarm), putti and angel musicians sing and play lute and duct flute, almost certainly a recorder (given the right hand playing position with the lowermost finger hovering above its hole).
  • Allegory of the City of Cremona (1585), engraving, 32.4 × 21.4 cm, by Antonio Campi (1582–1584) after Agostino Carracci (1557–1602). Bologna: Fondazione Cassa di Resparmio, Genus Bononiae, Musei Nella Città, Stampe 4909. Ref. Bartsch (1854–1870, 18: 137.193 N.Y.); Website: Fondazione Cassa di Resparmio in Bologna (2016, col.) A personification of the city of Cremona sits on a lion surrounded by emblems of the sciences and arts. On either side her, putti hold various emblems of the city. Before her are an open book of music, and a pile of musical instruments which include a viol, lute, syrinx, cornetto and a duct flute (probably a recorder) the beak and window/labium and four finger holes of which are clearly depicted. There are also drawing implements. In the foreground are figures representing the rivers Po, the Adda and the Ticino. Originally part of Antonio Campi’s four-volume  Cremona fedelissima published in 1585 which is divided into two books on the history of Cremona until 1584 and two with the lives of the Dukes and Duchesses of Milan, of which the duchy was Cremona part.

Annibale Carracci

Italian (Bolognese) painter, draughtsman and printmaker, considered one of the greatest Italian painters of his age; his eclectic style is said to have rescued the great traditions of Italian art, from Giotto to Raphael, from the twin evils of Mannerism on the one hand and unbridled realism on the other; he painted in a number of genres including mythological, biblical and landscape scenes and caricature (of which he is said to have been the first exponent); born Bologna 1560, died Rome 1609; brother of the painter and printmaker Agostino (1557–1602), and cousin to the painter Lodovico (1555–1619).

  • Title unknown, Annibale Carracci (1560–1609). Ref. Burlington Magazine (1998). Includes a recorder-playing angel whose smallish instrument has double holes for fingers seven and three, a solution found in some instruments to the g# problem. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. (1999).
  • Baptism of Christ (1585), oil on canvas, Annibale Carracci (1560–1609). Bologna: Chiesa dei Santi Gregorio e Siro. Ref. Cooney & Malafarina (1976); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999); Wikipedia (2014, col.) In the top half of the picture, beneath the figure of God the Father, arms outstretched, six angel musicians play viola, ? violin, flute, lute, viol and a soprano recorder with a bell flare. The beak is clear, but the window/labium is obscured. The finger holes are not visible, but only the third finger of the upper (left) hand is raised; all the others, including the little finger of the right hand are on the instrument. The open bore-end shows that most of the flare is due to the thickening of the wood. The playing position is perfect. The bottom half of the picture depicts John on the banks of the river Jordan pouring water from a bowl over the kneeling Christ’s head (baptism by affusion) watched by other candidates.
  • Assumption of the Virgin (ca 1587), Annibale Carracci (1560–1609). Dresden: Stadtmuseum. Ref. Cooney & Malafarina (1976); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2014, col.) Born aloft by two cherubim (winged heads) and a putto, Mary is serenaded by singing putti and angel musicians playing violin and an alto-sized recorder. The mouthpiece of the recorder is beaked, the window/labium is quite clear and although no finger holes are visible and the hands are rather high up they are in excellent recorder-playing position, especially the little finger of the left (lowermost) hand. The instrument is cylindrical, except for a rather sudden but slight bell fare at the end. The detailing is clear enough to see the bore opening. Below, the apostles are struck with wonder and amazement. On a ledge at the foot of a pedestal is a document held down by a weight of some kind. Other depictions of this event are in the Prado, Madrid (1590) and the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo of Rome (1600–1601), though neither include musical instruments.
  • Venus Asleep with Cupids (1602–1603), oil on canvas, 190 × 328 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Chantilly: Musée Condé, Inv .63. Ref. Pozza (1980; fig. 208); Cooney & Malafarina (1976); Paris RIdIM (1999); Joconde Website (1999); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). One of a series of pieces commissioned by Odoardo Farnese for the Farnese Palace, Rome. A mythological scene in which the sleeping Venus is surrounded by putti who dance and play tambourine and duct flute (probably a recorder to judge by the hand, with the window/labium and bell-end clearly shown) against the background of a landscape. The instrument is held with the right hand down and all holes are covered. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
  • The Angel Gabriel in Glory with Angel Musicians and Cherubim, oil on canvas, 249 × 212 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Chantilly: Condé Museum, Inv. 69. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A biblical scene in which the Angel Gabriel is surrounded by angel musicians singing and playing lute, timbrel and recorder – all fingers of the player’s lowermost (right) hand are covering their holes. The cherubim (winged putti) loll about on clouds.
  • Coronation of the Virgin (?1609), pen & brown ink and brown wash with white highlights, 46 × 47 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Dijon: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. CA 785. Ref. Posner (1971: pl. 94b), Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). Painted in Rome. The Virgin ascends into Heaven and is crowned. Beside and beneath her, on clouds, angel musicians play double bass, organ, viol, lute, flute, cello, an ubo (unidentified bowed object) and duct flute (probably a recorder). Two cherubs (winged putti) at the very front centre sing from music. The duct flute is at the lower left and is of alto or tenor size, held at the lips but not played. Its sideways position shows a marked beak, although the window/labium is not visible. The right hand is lowermost with all fingers down, but two finger holes show close to the bell flare of this otherwise cylindrical instrument.
  • Coronation of the Virgin (p .1595), oil on canvas, 117.8 × 141.3 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 1971.155. Ref. Web-site: Metropolitan Museum of Art (2002, fig., b&w); Exhibition: Giovanni Lanfranco: La Vertigine del Barocco, Palazzo Venezia, Rome (March–July, 2002); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Constance Old (via Amanda Pond 2002, pers. comm.) Angels sing and play viola, viols, mute cornetto, lute and (at far right in shadow) a small pipe which could be a recorder. The pipe is cylindrical before the bell where half the lower right-hand is completely hidden. At the very top of the painting, less clearly depicted, is a multitude of musical angels whose instruments include harp,lute and, in the top right-hand corner, a recorder. This picture was painted for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini shortly after Annibale’s arrival in Rome in 1595; it remained in the Aldobrandini collection until 1800.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds (1597–1598), oil on canvas, 103 × 85 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Orléans: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Villa I Tatti ND623C38P6; Posner (1971: 44, pl. 102a); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Bridgeman Art, Culture & History Images: Image DGA507222 (2012, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). The shepherds join Mary in worshipping the Holy Child whilst above them angel musicians sing and play violin, viol, lute and a flared-bell recorder, the characteristic beak and window/labium of which are clearly visible, though the fingering seems haphazard.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds (1818), engraving & etching on paper, 43.9 × 33.1 cm, Johann Heinrich Lips after Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Published by P. Didot, l’ainé Le Musée Royal, vol. 2, pl. 10 (1818) Ref. Website: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (2021). The shepherds join Mary in worshipping the Holy Child whilst above them angel musicians sing and play violin, viol, lute and a flared-bell recorder, the characteristic beak and window/labium of which are clearly visible, though the fingering seems haphazard.
  • Studies of Angels playing Viol and Recorder (ca 1597), black chalk on laid, off-white paper, 16.9 × 21.4 cm, Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Liverpool: Walker Art Gallery. “This sketch is a working drawing for the Adoration of the Shepherds (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Orléans) painted by Annibale Carracci in Rome. It shows the figures not as finally painted but in the process of being defined. Many changes were made between the initial large sketch (now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) on which these figures are based and the final painting.The combination of relatively finished areas, such as the viol-playing angel, with rougher drawn figures, is common in later drawings by Carracci. However, the careful chalk marks are not altogether typical of his later style. This may indicate the work was executed by an assistant.This drawing is not securely dated. It may have been made around the same time as the painting (1597–1598), or may date from after 1600.” (Walker Gallery).
  • Silenus with a Pipe, school of Annibale Carracci (?1560–1609). Dubrovnik: Rectors Palace, Art Gallery and Museum. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). This picture is hung above a doorway and is dark and probably needs cleaning. Silenus’ pipe is of soprano size. It is played right hand lowermost with six fingers covering their holes and the lowermost little finger lifted as if above its hole. There is a possible window/labium, but no other identifying details are discernible. Silenus’ hands are in recorder-playing position (Charles Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Ludovico [Lodovico] Carracci

Italian painter, draughtsman, etcher and printmaker, noted for his religious compositions and for the art academy he helped found in Bologna in 1582, which helped renew Italian art in the wake of Mannerism; his later work became overblown and eccentric, displaying a curious ‘gigantism’; born Bologna (1555), died Bologna (1619); cousin to Annibale (1560–1609) and Agostino (1557–1602).

  • The Glory of the Angels  (1616), oil on canvas, 350 × 200 cm, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Detail 1. Detail 2. Bologna: Chiesa di San Paolo Maggiore. Ref. Abbiati, in Fabbri (1952, 2: 113); Remnant (1981: fig. 136, b&w); Archiv Moeck; Villa I Tatti ND623C42B6; Bodmer (1939: 128, no. 36, pl. 92, col.); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000);  Website: Wikimedia Commons (2016, col.); Website: Bruce Dickey: Cornetto Iconography (2020, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2089 (2023, col.) A host of angels play instruments of every kind including triangle, cymbals, organ, cornetto, lute, viol, a magnificent bass sackbut, harp and two or three duct flutes. Of the latter, one (near the cornetto player) is a cylindrical flageolet or recorder; the other (near the sackbut player) is flared and obviously a recorder, with the little finger of the lowermost hand covering its hole. Amongst the shady figures in the background, one plays a pipe which could also be a duct flute. This painting has also been attributed to Annibale Carracci.
  • The Glory of the Angels, drawing, attributed to Francesco Rosaspina (1762–1841) after Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). ?Bologna. Ref. Website: Will Kimball Trombone (2015, col.) A copy of the painting by Carracci in Bologna (see above). A host of angels play instruments of every kind including triangle, cymbals, organ, cornetto, lute, viol, a magnificent bass sackbut, harp and two or three duct flutes. Of the latter, one (near the cornetto player) is a cylindrical flageolet or recorder; the other (near the sackbut player) is flared and obviously a recorder, with the little finger of the lowermost hand covering its hole. Amongst the shady figures in the background, one plays a pipe which could also be a duct flute.
  • The Recorder Lesson, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Florence: Uffizi, Print Collection. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Paris RIdIM (1999). His arms encircling his young pupil, a man fingers a cylindrical recorder whilst she blows it.
  • The Triumph of Bacchus, drawing, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Florence: Uffizi. Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372d.C233.4Ba; Rasmussen (1999c). “Bacchantes play recorder, straight trumpet and tambourine. A centaur plays a lyre” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
  • The Ascension, oil on canvas, 256 × 160 cm, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Modena: Galleria Estense, Inv. 272. Ref. Bodmer (1939: 128, no. 36, pl. 92, col.); Villa I Tatti ND623C42B6; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Cosetta (1985, 1: pl. 59).
  • Assumption of Mary, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Modena: Galleria Estense, Inv. 407. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Detail. Mary is born aloft by winged putti and entertained on either side by angel musicians. On the left the latter play violin, theorbo, and a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). On the right are viol, cornetto and a second duct flute (flageolet or recorder). Of both duct flutes only the head and window/labium are visible. Beneath, on Earth, an angel kneeling on a plinth points downwards.
  • Mystic Marriage of the Virgin, Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619). Rome: Chiesa del Corpus Domini. Ref. Staedel (1933: pl. 57); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). At the top, the Virgin kneels before Christ with angels, some of whom have musical instruments. At the right is a viol player; at the left are a choir, a lutenist, and a piper (far left). The pipe (of alto size, played right hand lowermost) could be a recorder or a cornetto.

Michiel Carrée

Dutch artist active in Den Haag; born Den Hague 1657, died Alkmaar (1747).

  • Landscape with a Flute-playing Shepherd, oil on canvas, 63 × 53 cm, Michiel Carrée (1657–1747). Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Inv. No. 1061. Ref. Bildkunst Foto Marburg (DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00010800, b&w). A shepherd sits on a bank playing his pipe (? flageolet or recorder) as his assistant herds their beasts into an opening in the forest.
  • Southern Landscape at Night with Resting Shepherds, oil on canvas, 52.7 × 60.3 cm, Michiel Carrée (1657–1747). Location unknown: offered Christie’s, 8 July 1998, Lot 144, unsold. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 45437 (2010, col.) A shepherd plays his pipe (possibly a recorder) to a shepherdess at dusk whilst their beasts graze around them.

Rosalba Giovanna Carriera

Italian artist specialising in miniature pastels and oils on ivory early in her career and later painting large pastel portraits, genre scenes about the lives of women and classic mythological scenes; born and died Venice (1675–1757).

  • Love Presiding Over a Concert of Flute and Harpsichord, painted ivory, circular, 10 cm diameter, Rosalba Giovanna Carriera (1675–1757). Paris: Musée de Louvre, Inv. 4801. Ref. Joconde Website (2007, col.) An amoretto stands between two lovers, a young woman playing a harpsichord and a young man playing a slender pipe with a hint of a window/labium and a flared bell, his fingers in a suitable position for recorder-playing.

Cristoforo Caselli [Castelli] (da Parma) [called ‘Il Temperelli’ or ‘Il Temperello”]

Italian painter of religious works which were characterised by an individual narrative style; born and died Parma (ca 1461– a. 1521).

  • La Madonna col Bambino intronoeiss Hario, Giovanni Batista e Padre Eterno, Cristoforo Caselli (1461– before 1521). Detail. Parma: Galleria Nazionale. Ref. Copertini (1932: pl. 3); Testi (1905: 13); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, C263.34[a]1; Paris RIdIM (1999); Rasmussen (1999b); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Three boy musicians stand to the right, three singers to the left. The musicians play lute, viola da braccio or viol (mainly hidden behind the recorder player) and recorder. The recorder player has all fingers down (left hand lowermost) with right thumb in recorder position. The instrument is of alto size, cylindrical, with a gentle flare towards the bell. The bell opening shows an expanded bore. The window is not clearly depicted, but there is a metal or ivory mouthpiece curved towards the player’s lips. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) The detail, provided by Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm.), shows without doubt that the recorder beak is reinforced by a brass sleeve.

Jamue Cascalls

Spanish sculptor representative of the Catalan school; born Berga, died 1378. Cascalls was married to the daughter of painter Ferrer Bassa (ca 1285–1348) and the two families monopolised all court commissions.

  • Musical Angels (1370s), sculpted stone cornice decoration, Jaume Cascalls (m. 1378). Tarragona: Catedral Basilica, Capella de Sant Miquel. Ref. Website: flickr, Wilfried Praet’s photostream (2015, col.) Musical angels play duct flutes (possibly recorders), bagpipe, rebec, fiddle and psaltery. The window/labium of the duct flute is clearly depicted, both hands seem to be in play but the number of finger holes is unclear. Construction of the cathedral was completed in 1379 and is noted for its Gothic style sculptural decoration which concentrated in the arc of access, in the cornice and the keys to the vault, representing angel musicians, evangelists and Christ Pantocrator. The Chapel of St Michael was built towards the middle of the 14th century. The sculpture is attributed to Jaume Cascalls and his collaborators who in the decade of 1370 were at work decorating the facade of the cathedral.

Nicola Casissa (op. 1730), Italian (Neopolitan)

  • Vase of Flowers and a Putto with a Flute, oil on canvas, Nicola Casissa (op. 1730). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) Beside an enormous vase of flowers, a discretely draped putto with a floral wreath plays a small conical pipe, possibly a duct flute. Offered for sale with a pendant, Vase of Flowers and a Putto with a Parrot.

Francesco Cassone

Italian nineteenth-century architect who worked as the town engineer in Noto, Sicily, where he designed a number of buildings including the Town Hall, Town Theatre and Clock Tower.

  • Facade decorations (ca 1842), Francesco Cassone (19th century). Noto: Teatro Vittorio Emanuele III. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Macmillan (2008: 136). The theatre, designed by Cassone, was built in the main square, and clearly, even in 1842 Noto was proud of its baroque buildings (which are splendid even if collapsing) and the theatre architect modelled his façade largely on the many in the same area from a century earlier. Two sets of trophies on the left and right outside uprights at the front entrance and two more on the inner left and right, show a total of ten recorders of which three have clear window/labium’s and all 10 have beaded mouthpieces. Two have baroque decoration at the beak. Those showing the foot have markedly flared bells. Other instruments include flutes, panpipes, oboes, lutes, trumpets, curved horns, violas, cymbals, and lyres. There are two open music books. At the sides of the building are two more identical pairs of trophies each with a recorder crossed with an oboe. None is shown complete. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). In fact the design for the theatre was initially undertaken by Francesco Sortino. At his death in 1863 the direction of the work passed to Francesco Cassone. In 1864 the city of Noto committed to continue the construction work, entrusting this to the firm Ruiz Syracuse. The theatre was opened in December 1870.

Bellerophonte [Bellerofonte] Castaldi

Italian theorbo player, composer, poet, book collector and artist; he led an adventurous life that involved much travel after involvement in the murder of his brother; born Modena (ca 1581), died 1649.

  • Title page: Capricci a due Stromenti cioe Tiorba e Tiorbino (1622), engraving, 17.5 × 24.5 cm, published by the composer, Bellerophonte Castaldi (ca 1581–1649). Capricci a due stromenti, cioè tiorba e tiorbino, e per sonar solo varie sorti di balli e fantasticarie, Bellerofonte Castaldi, Modena.  Ref. Fraenkel (1968: pl. 84); Boydell (1982: 285, pl. LXXV); Website: International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), complete book (2014); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1293 (2023, b&w.) The eccentricities of Castaldi’s life, as well as the notion of caprice and fantasy, are reflected in this unusual title page on which his first name is spelled backwards as “Setnoforelleb”. Bellerophonte himself engraved and decorated this collection of theorbo solos and duos, songs and poetry with his own freehand artwork. Above the title is an angel with outstretched wings. Surrounding it are winged putti and fauns singing and playing musical instruments. A faun plays a shawm with a square fontanelle at the wrong end of the instrument, possibly through confusion with a wind cap. A trophy of wind instruments above his head include a lysarden and a sharply tapered recorder of plain design, the paired finger holes at the bottom clearly shown. Above the female faun on the left is a much bigger cylindrical recorder the characteristic beak and three finger holes of which are clearly visible; also a shawm, a straight trumpet and the body of another wind instrument. Winged putti at either side play fiddle and tambourine. At the bottom of the page is a trophy with a coat of arms and two theorboes.
  • Title page: Tiorba Sola (1622), engraving, 17.5 × 24.5 cm, published in Modena by the composer, Bellerophonte Castaldi (ca 1581–1649). Capricci a due stromenti, cioè tiorba e tiorbino, e per sonar solo varie sorti di balli e fantasticarie, Bellerofonte Castaldi, Modena. Ref. Website: International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), complete book (2014); Website: Mathew Jones: Theorbo Timeline (2014); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1295 (2023, b&w). Four cupids holding cornetto, lysarden (or sigmoid horn), lute and guitar surround an elaborate trophy containing two violins, two theorboes, two recorders, ?flute, mute cornett and shawm. The recorders are of the same size, each with a tapering profile; in one a slightly flared foot can be seen. The shawm has a square fontanelle at the wrong end of the instrument, though the reed and pirouette are clearly depicted. In the centre, two eagles back-to-back support a shield on which the title is written; in turn, this is supported by two strange figures with diaphanous wings and scaly tails intertwined. Underneath this composition lie a two lutes, a ?flute, a cornetto a single organ pipe and a bow, the latter doubtless dropped by one of the cupids.

Abdón Castañeda

Spanish baroque painter of altarpieces and clerical portraits; born ca 1580, died Valencia (1629).

  • Virgin with Angels (ca 1610–1620), oil on canvas, 106 × 140 cm, Abdón Castañeda (ca 1580–1629). Valencia: Museo de Belles Artes San Pío V., Inv. No. 3860. Ref. VV & AA (1995: 77, pl., col.); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2001). On either side of the Virgin and Child, decidedly female-looking angels play narrowly conical pipes. That on the right is a duct flute played one-handed, the window/labium clearly depicted. The longer one on the left, played two-handed, is ambiguous with no window/labium visible, but three finger holes are visible above the right hand and by the first finger and the bell is well flared, indicating that this might represent a recorder.

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (called Il Grechetto or, in French, Le Benèdette)

Italian artist, equally at home on an intimate scale and in monumental works, in rustic, genre and in the grand manner; his works abound in animals; inventor of the monotype technique – a single print made from an un-incised cooper plate painted in oils or printer’s ink; born Genoa (1609), died Mantua (1670).

  • Allegory of Vanity, (1647-1649), oil on canvas, 98.4 × 144.2  cm, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (ca 1610–1665). Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Ref. Rich (1969: 126); Website: Lute Iconography LI-912 (2023, col.) An evocation of a mythical age of man with people adoring a herm of Priapus, god of fertility. A panoply of musical instruments of all kinds lie littered about the countryside, amongst them a cittern, a cello and a lute. A maenad with disheveled clothes and rolled up sleeves plays a tambourine and dances in the foreground accompanied by musicians playing lute and bagpipe! A reclining satyr holds a small, slightly flared recorder. In the distance, revelers frolic in disarray. Faintly rendered in bas-relief, a skeleton alludes to death and is accompanied by the inscription VANITAS.
  • The Education in Music of the Young Achilles by the Centaur Chiron, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (ca 1610–1665). Hamburg: Kunsthalle. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Hkh 144); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). Achilles plays a guitar while his teacher, the centaur Chiron, points to a score open on his lap. At Achilles’ feet, tied together, are a small trumpet and an alto recorder with a slightly flared bell. Another centaur dozes against a pillar. A large bird (perhaps an owl, the symbol of wisdom) looks down from its perch on a spreading tree in the centre of the scene.
  • From Varii Capricci, E Paesi (1758): The Education in Music of the Young Achilles by the Centaur Chiron, etching, 21 × 29 cm, (1680–1767), by Gaetano Zompini (1700–1778) after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (ca 1610-1665). Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2001.641; San Francisco: Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts. Formerly attributed to: Anton Maria Zanetti I (1680–1767). Achilles plays a guitar while his teacher, the centaur Chiron, points to a score open on his lap. At Achilles’ feet, tied together, are a small trumpet and an alto recorder with a slightly flared bell. Another centaur dozes against a pillar. A large bird (perhaps an owl, the symbol of wisdom) looks down from its perch on a spreading tree in the centre of the scene.
  • From Varii Capricci, E Paesi (1758): The Centaur Chiron Exercising the Art of Magic in the Presence of the Young Achilles, etching, sheet 24.2 × 32.8 cm (Boston), 26.9 × 37.6 cm (San Francisco), Gaetano Zompini (1700–1778) after Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (ca 1610–1665). Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Accession No. 2001.642; San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums, de Young, Accession No. 2013.52.129. One of a series of 12 prints depicting the life of Achilles. Watched by a youthful Achilles, his teacher, the centaur Chiron, lowers something into his magic brew with tongs held in his right hand whilst in his left he holds a narrowly cylindrical object to his lips. If it is a musical pipe then there is a shadow of a windway/labium, but no other details are visible. More likely it is a blow-pipe with which to fan the flames beneath the cauldron. In the foreground is an upturned hourglass, and a snake slithers towards some frightened looking sheep.
  • Pan Teaching the Young Olympia to Play the Flute (1648), engraving by Jo. Iacomo Rossi after, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (ca 1610–1665). Paris: Louvre. Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 21: 17.15); Rosenberg (1969: 92); Paris RIdIM (1999). Paris RIdIM (loc. cit.) give the title as Marsyas and Olympia. Pan shows Olympia how to play a pipe as she sits at the foot of a tree beside a culvert gushing water in which two putti gambol. The instrument is ambiguous and could be a chalumeau or duct flute. The mouthpiece looks rather like a reed. However, two finger holes are clearly visible below the middle finger of the lowermost (right) hand and one above, so this just might be a recorder. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
  • A Shepherd and his Flock attributed to Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–1670). Bordeaux: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Joconde Website (1999).
  • Adoration of the Shepherds, drawing in sepia, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–1670). Venice: Galleria dell’Accademia, exhibition Disegni genovesi 28 September 2002 – 6 January 2003. Ref. Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003). Shepherds crowd around the Holy Family. One of them, a bearded man, holds a tenor-sized flared pipe with a small notch at the blowing end which may represent the window/labium of a duct flute.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds (1659), oil on copper, 68.0 × 52 cm, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–1670). Paris: Louvre. Ref. Website: artlover.me (2013, col.) Admiring angels hover overhead, Joseph leans on his shoulder, asleep, and shepherds pay homage to the Holy Child. One of the shepherds holds a tenor-sized pipe with a bulbous middle joint and a flared bell. There is no beak or window/labium: instead, there appears to be slender sigmoid bocal, so this is possibly a shawm rather than a recorder.

Castrucci Workshop (1590s–1624)

Cosimo Castrucci was a Florentine artist and one of the earliest masters of the art of pietre dure stone-cutting which flourished in Florence well into the 18th century (and is still practised there today). His mosaics of semi-precious stones were avidly collected by the emperor Rudolf II whose patronage persuaded Castrucci’s son Giovanni to move to Prague, where he established a workshop to produce pietre dure pieces for the Rudolfine court.

  • Pietra dure table-top (with coat of arms and monogram of Karl I von Liechtenstein (ca 1623), commessi di pietre dure, garnets, and gilt bronze, 93 × 89 cm, Castrucci Workshop (1590s–1624). Vienna: Palais Lichtenstein, Inv.-No. SK1401. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007; Website: Palais Lichtenstein (2007, col.) The coat of arms and monogram on the table-top in commessi di pietre dure indicate the piece was commissioned by Prince Karl I von Liechtenstein. It is divided into small fields by strips of reddish-brown jasper, and the fields are inlaid with landscape images, trophies, coats of arms and geometric forms. The symbolism of these motifs reflects the influence of the scientists and philosophers active at the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague (1552–1612). The platonic bodies were equated with elements of cosmology: tetrahedrons and octahedrons thus stand for the elements fire and air. Within Baroque society´s concept of the hierarchy of nature, precious stones occupied a similarly outstanding position as princes did in society. This explains why it was a ruler’s prerogative to possess precious stones. One of the trophy designs shows two kettledrums and two trumpets and, sticking out on each side from behind the kettledrums, an instrument that looks like a slender tenor recorder or a flute of some kind – but it does have a beaked mouthpiece and some very slight bell flare and so may represent a recorder.

Luigi Catani

Italian decorative painter and stuccoist, known for his monochrome depictions of historical and mythological themes; born Prato (1762); died 1840.

  • Ceiling decoration, Luigi Catani (1762–1840). Florence: Palazzo Pitti, Sala dell’ Educazione di Giove. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A spectacular coffered ceiling on a diagonal pattern creating many spaces for single objects, such as panpipes which appear frequently. Near the SW corner is an alto recorder with a scroll of music over it; the instrument, seen sideways on, has a beaked mouthpiece with a long windway. The window/labium is not visible, but three upper finger holes are, before the instrument is obscured by the music from which the flared bell end obtrudes.

Sigismondo Caula

Italian draughtsman, painter and stuccoist; born and died Modena (1637–1724).

  • St Carlo Borromeo Administers to the Sick, oil on canvas, 97 × 147 cm, Sigismondo Caula (1637–1724). Modena: Galleria Estense. Ref. Cosetta (1985, 1: pl. 71); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). An episode from the life of St Carlo Borromeo (1538–1584), a cardinal who was archbishop of Milan from 1564 until his death in 1584. The sick in this case were sufferers from the plague in Milan in 1576. Among 17 musicians in various places, mainly trumpeters, a group at the left comprises 2 violas, bass, lute and a tenor recorder. The later is played right hand lowermost, the left hand rather too high up. The mouthpiece is beaked, the body is cylindrical, possibly with a very slight bell flare. The player’s position in shadow makes it impossible to see details other than the outline (Rowland-Jones, 2002).
  • Saint Ambrose on Horseback in the Crowd, oil on canvas, Sigismondo Caula (1637–1724). Modena: Galleria Estense, Inv. 1884 n. 2927 Ref. Cremona, Università di Pavia, Facoltà di Musicologia (MLS); Institut für Musikwissenschaft (2003, col.) St Ambrose, enters the city of Milan, looking around and taking in the reality of the place in its various aspects. He is surrounded by trumpeters accompanying his arrival in a solemn way, and by the men and women acclaiming him; there are also a group of brawlers, a poor man lying on his back – perhaps he is ill, a woman praying, and a group of street musicians with a narrowly cylindrical alto-sized recorder, violin, viola (?), cello and lute.

Louis de Caullery

Flemish artist; born ? Courtray (before 1582), died Antwerp (1621/22).

  • Nativity, oil, Louis de Caullery (op. 1582–1621/2). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000, col.) The Holy Family are surrounded by their visitors. In the clouds above, angel musicians sing and play lute, harp, organ, and a flared-bell pipe. The latter is possibly a recorder, since a shawm or trumpet would be rather out of place in this company. The “portholes” in the clouds through which the heads of putti can be seen are a curious touch.

Bartolomeo Cavarozzi [del Crescenzi]

Italian painter, active also in Spain; born Viterbe (ca 1600), died Rome (1625).

  • The Lament of Aminta, 1614–1615), Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (ca 1600–1625) & Master of the Acquavella Still Life (fl. 1610–1620). Italy: Private collection. Ref. Heyghen (1995: 7, pl. 1, caption – the illustration itself is in serious error!); Exhibited: The Genius of Rome, Royal Academy of Art, London (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rowland-Jones (2001: 15); de Avena Braga (2015: 8, fig. A, col.) “Depicts Aminta’s Lament (from Tasso), probably based on a lost work by Caravaggio. This has music in it, showing the title page of the score of Aminta Musicale, and the shepherd Aminta expresses his grief over the death of his lover Sylvia by playing on a recorder, while his companion shepherd, Thyrsis, leans over a tambourine, presumably Sylvia’s, with a viola and bow on the table just below. The recorder is a perfect representation – a rather heavily-bodied alto, with no decoration. Aminta’s hands are partly hidden by vine-leaves (left hand uppermost), but the paired little-finger holes and the gently flared bell are clear, as is the bore end opening showing that most of the flare is in wood-thickening” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
  • Young Violinist, oil on canvas, 100 × 120 ( originally 87 × 111) cm, attributed to Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (ca 1600–1625). Paris: Louvre Inv. R.F 1937-6. Ref. Musique-Images-Instruments 2 (1996: 240); Lallement & Devaux (1996: 239–241, pl. 6, b&w); Joconde Website (1999); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.It117.90[h]; Rasmussen (1999c). A young man (Aminta’s shepherd companion, Thyrsis) languishes with one arm on a table on which lie his violin and a book of music, the other arm clutching a tambourine. Beside him, a soulful Aminta with a laurel crown plays a renaissance-style flared-bell alto recorder (perfectly depicted); in front of him on the table grapes are heaped. Formerly attributed to Giovan Battista Crescenzi. There are two versions superior in quality to this in private collections in London and Bergamo.
  • Young Violinist, oil on canvas, attributed to Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (ca 1600–1625). Bergamo: Collection Parelari. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A young man, Thyrsis, languishes with one arm on a table on which lie his violin and a book of music, the other arm clutching a timbrel. Beside him, a soulful youth with a laurel crown plays a flared bell alto recorder; in front of him on the table grapes are heaped. Formerly attributed to Giovan Battista Crescenzi (ca 1575–1637). There are versions of this in a private collection in London and in the Louvre.

Cecco del Caravaggio = Francesco Boneri [Buoneri]

Pietro Cavaro

Italian painter who was a leading representative of the “Scuola Stampacina” that takes its name from the historic district of Cagliari in Sardinia where the Cavaro family workshop operated  from the early 15th  to the early 17th century; he worked in Naples and Barcelona; died  Cagliari (1537).

  • Retablo di Villamar (1518), also known as Madonna del Latte [Maria Lactans], painting on panel, Pietro Cavaro (m. 1537). Detail. Villmar: Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista. Ref. Website: flickr, Alessio Bacci’s photostream (2015, col.) This elaborate work consists of several painted panels, arranged around the central niche, where a wooden statue of the Madonna and Child is preserved, carved by Giovanni da Nola Campania (1488–1558). Six smaller panels on either side of the carving depict angel musicians who play waisted fiddle, harp, tambourine, organetto, a pipe and a guitar (with a distinctive sickle-shaped and decorated peg-box). The pipe is alto-tenor-sized and has a flared bell; there is no sign of a reed and the fingers and thumb are well disposed for recorder-playing. The predella (lower end of the altarpiece) has seven compartments, with many depictions of episodes from the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Two large panels on either side of the dais depict the saints Peter and Paul. In addition to the statue of the Madonna, the top of the altar has five tables: the two on the left depict St John the Baptist and St Michael the Archangel; in the middle (above the niche), is the Crucifixion of Jesus; and the two on the right represent the Baptism of Jesus and St Francis of Assisi in the act of receiving the stigmata. Finally, in the paintings on polvaroli, are represented St Nicholas of Bari, St Onofrio, St Anne and the Child Mary, St Ursula and the virgins her companions, the Archangel Raphael with Tobias, God the Father among the bishops of Saints George and Suelli Lucifer of Cagliari, the archangel Gabriel, Saints Cosmas and Damian, St Catherine of Alexandria, St Christopher and St Anthony (abbot).

Jules-Cyrille Cavé

French artist working in Paris; painted genre scenes and botanical still-lifes; born and died Paris (1859–1940).

  • Flute Lesson, oil on canvas, 155 × 107 cm, Jules-Cyrille Cavé (1859–ca 1940). Location unknown: auctioned Bonhams (New Bond Street), Sale 11930, 22 March 2005, Lot 102, (sold for £34,800) Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) An elderly herdsman in a loin-cloth and fur blanket teaches a young boy in a loin-cloth to play a narrowly conical pipe, possibly a recorder given the disposition of the fingers.

Giacomo Cavedone [Cavedoni]

Italian painter of the Bolognese School who worked in Rome and Venice; his subjects were mostly religious in a style inspired by Ludovico Carracci; born Sassuolo, near Modena (1577), died 1660.

  • Flute Player, drawing, Giacomo Cavedone (1577–1660). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0017249 (2009, b&w). A man viewed in side profile plays a cylindrical pipe of alto/tenor size. If it is indeed a flute then it must be a duct flute, possibly a recorder.

Pierre-Jacques Cazes

French painter of mythological, religious and historical subjects, genre scenes and portraits; in 1703  he became part of the Académie, was named as director in 1743 and chancellor in 1746; born and died Paris (1676–1754).

  • Musical Gathering, oil on canvas, 140.0 × 113.5 cm, Pierre-Jacques Cazes (1676–1754). Chaumont: Musée Municipal. Ref. CD cover: Jacques-Martin Hotteterre “Le Romain”, Music for Flute Vol. 2, Naxos 8.553708 (1995, col.) Surrounded by her children a woman gazes heavenwards (like St Cecilia) and conducts with her right hand from a score in her lap. Her two boys play flute and an alto recorder, respectively, both with lavish ivory mounts. The two girls gaze at their mother.

Benvenuto Cellini

Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician, who also wrote a famous autobiography; celebrated as much for his tempestuous life as for his wonderful sculptures; one of the most important artists of Mannerism; born and died Florence (1500–1571).

  • Children of Gemini and the Month of May, offertory plate, imitator of Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). In a beautiful garden with a fountain a couple relax with a shared glass of wine. Spread before them are the remains of a picnic, a lute and a pipe, possibly a recorder given the indexing in the gallica database.

Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni

Italian painter and manuscript illuminator, noted for his eclectic style, his use of perspective to create depth, his strong sense of narrative, and his often elongated figures; active 1369–1415.

  • Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels (?1369–1380), tempera & gold on panel, 87 × 47 cm, Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni (op. ?1369–1415). London: Sotheby’s 6 December 2006, Lot 28; formerly Florence: Galleria Luigi Bellini di Giusepppe e Mario Bellini (1969–1971). Ref. Catalogue of the Biennale des Antiquaires, Florence (1973); Brown (1984, 1). The Madonna and Child enthroned are surrounded by two angels and eight saints. In the foreground four angels play musical instruments: harp, two psalteries and a flared-bell pipe. Brown (loc. cit.) identifies the latter as ‘a recorder or shawm’, but it is impossible to tell. In the the predella beneath, the risen Christ is flanked by Mary and St John the Evangelist.

Carlo Ceresa

Italian artist; known for his distinguished portraits and religious works; born San Giovanni Bianco, near Bergamo (1609), died Bergamo (1679).

  • Still-life with Musical Instruments, Carlo Ceresa (1609–1679). Bergamo: Private Collection. Ref. Tintori (1985: 113). Beneath a tasselled drape on a table lie a violin, viola da braccio, guitar, lute and trumpet. From beneath the viola da braccio projects the foot of a recorder, the thumb hole of which is clearly depicted.

Michelangelo Cerquozzi [Michelangelo delle Battaglie]

Italian painter of bambocciate (low-life subjects), battles, small religious and mythological works and still-lifes; born and died Rome (1602–1660).

  • Shepherds Resting and Making Music, with a Cow and Sheep in a Landscape. Circle of Michelangelo Cerquozzi (1602–1660). Location unknown: auctioned 29 October 2003 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) A dark scene, presumably at night. A group of shepherds listen to one of their companions playing bagpipe whilst another plays on a cylindrical pipe, probably a recorder since the instrument is rather wide and the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand seems to be covering its hole.

Giovanni [Gian] Domenico [Perugino, Cavaliere] Cerrini

Italian painter and draughtsman whose work is characterised throughout by clear and unitary composition, the almost statuesque postures of the figures, and a chiaroscuro softness; born Pérouse (1609), died Rome (1681).

  • The Muse Euterpe as a Young Woman Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, 63 × 47, Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (1609–1681). Rennes: Musée des Beaux Arts, Inv. 801.1.19. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) as a young woman plays a very slender duct flute (flageolet or recorder) the beak of which is just visible, though other details are obscure.

Giacomo [Jacop] Ceruti [il Pitocchetto] (1698-1767), Italian

Italian painter, one of a group of artists working in Bergamo and Brescia who observed reality with an unusual freshness and directness; painted religious subjects and portraits but was most distinguished as a painter of genre and low-life scenes which included many pictures of beggars and vagabonds (pitocchi), hence his nickname ‘il Pitocchetto’; born and died Milan (1698–1767).

  • Farm-boy with a Recorder, Giacomo Ceruti (1698–1767). Treviso: Il Museo Civico “Luigi Bailo”. A peasant boy plays an alto/tenor recorder with a marked bell flare. The window/labium is clear; all fingers of the upper (left) hand are on the instrument; the lowermost hole (for the right hand) is open and is not offset; and the second lowest finger is half-holing. The 4+3 fingering is unusual.
  • [Man with a Recorder], oil on canvas, Giacomo Ceruti (1698–1767). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A man, half length, in a wide-brimmed hat, holds a highly decorated recorder reminiscent of surviving examples by Anciuti and Gahn.
  • Portarolo seduto / The Basket Bearer, Giacomo Ceruti (1698–1767). Milan: Castello Sforzesco. Ref. Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2004). The ancient term portarolo denotes the old trade of panage which was undertaken by the poorest youngsters. A young lad, warmly dressed, sits on a basket in a town square holding a cylindrical recorder of alto size.

Giovanni Battista della Cerva

Italian painter and frescoist, a pupil of Gaudenzio Ferrari of whom he became the main assistant and collaborator during the last stage of his career; born Navarra (ca 1515), died Milan (1580).

  • Angel Musicians, fresco, Giovanni Batista della Cerva (ca 1515–1580). [?Borgomanero: Cheisa di San Bartolomeo, Confraternità del Santi Sacremento e di S. Caterina, lunette above and to the right of the altar. Ref. Website: Webcultura (2021, col.) Musical angels sing and play lute, violins, viol and a narrowly cylindrical pipe (recorder or mute cornetto). Marred by a blackened background, this fresco has been brought back to its original color by recent restorations (19891992). 

Amidano Giulio Cesare – see Sisto Rossa Badalocchio

Giuseppe Cesari, also called Il Giuseppino and Il Cavaliere d’Arpino

Italian mannerist painter patronised by Popes Clement VII and Sixtus V; his most notable and perhaps surprising pupil was Caravaggio (1571–1610); born Rome (ca 1568), died Rome (1640).

  • Angel Holding a Flute, black & red chalk on buff laid paper, incised, 20.3 × 13.7 cm, circle of Giuseppe Cesari (ca 1568–1640). Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection, 1922.26. An angel facing left holds a cylindrical, alto-sized duct flute (possibly a recorder) with her lowermost (right) hand. The windway of the flute and its lowermost hole are clearly visible, but no other details are apparent.
  • Angel Playing a Flute, black & red chalk, with traces of pen & brown ink, on buff laid paper, incised, 20.5 × 13.6 cm, circle of Giuseppe Cesari (ca 1568–1640). Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection, 1922.25. An angel plays a cylindrical, alto-sized pipe (probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder) with her uppermost (right) hand. No details of the window/labium can be seen, but there are several scattered finger holes.

Bartolomeo Cessi

Italian painter and draughtsman, possibly also a sculptor, known for his religious frescoes and paintings in a sober devotional style; born Bologna (1556), died Bologna (1629).

  • Holy Trinity Encircled by Angel Musicians (1594), fresco, Bartolomeo Cessi (1556–1629). Detail1. Detail 2. Siena: Certosa di Maggiano, cupola. Ref. Graziani (1988: 19, 24, 163); Villa I Tatti ND623C54G7; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone: Trombone History. Christ is crowned by the Father, both seated on clouds, whilst a Dove hovers above them. In a circle round about the central scene angel musicians sing and play musical instruments including harp, trumpet, tambourine, violin, viols, triangle and sackbut. One angel holds aloft a flared-bell pipe (recorder or small shawm) the head of which is hidden behind a tambourine; another plays a small pipe, possibly a recorder (see Detail 2).
  • Holy Trinity Encircled by Angel Musicians (1594), preparatory sketch, pen and brown ink, Bartolomeo Cessi (1556–1629). Ref. Graziani (1988: 163, pl. 18); Villa I Tatti ND623C54G7; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm, 2000). Christ is crowned by the Father, both seated on clouds, whilst a Dove hovers above them. In a circle round about the central scene angel musicians sing and play musical instruments including harp, trumpet, tambourine, violin, viol, triangle and sackbut. Four angels play or hold ambiguous pipes (possibly recorders).

Marc Chagall [Mark Zakharovich Shagal]

Russian-born artist, book-illustrator and designer of stained glass and theatrical costumes, active mainly in Paris and later in the USA; he combined images from the Jewish life and folklore of his native Russia with those from the Bible to create a highly distinctive style remarkable for its sense of fantasy; born Pestkovatik, Belorussia (1887), died Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France (1985).

  • The Three Candles (1938–1940), oil on canvas, 127.5 × 96.5 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 100, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). At the bottom right a harlequin figure wearing a green cap plays an ambiguous flared-bell pipe that may be intended to represent a recorder.
  • Madonna of the Village (1938–1942), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 83, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2001). Two singing angels are accompanied by a goat playing violin and an angel playing an ambiguous flared-bell pipe that may be intended to represent a recorder since a slight cut-out near the beak appears to represent a window/labium, and a number of finger holes are visible.
  • La Mariée (1950), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Paris: Galerie Maeght; London: Sotheby’s, November 1967. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000; 2002d: front cover, col.) Beside the bride a goat plays a cello (Chagall’s imagery frequently included the violin family, usually painted blue – but this cello is brown), a cock beneath. At the bottom right is a pipe-player; wind instruments are infrequent in Chagall’s work. The pipe is of alto size, expanding conically from a small mouth end to a bell which lacks a flare. If the instrument is not really recognisable its symbolism in this subject certainly is! Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
  • The Concert (1957), 140.0 × 239.5 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 98); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Olga’s Gallery (2009, col.) At the centre of this painting, a bride and groom are shown as lovers. At the top right, a girl in a striped blouse and checked skirt plays an ambiguous flared-bell pipe of alto/tenor size that may be intended to represent a recorder. Towards the top left, a man plays a similar instrument.
  • Dance (1962–1963), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 100, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). At the bottom right musicians play piano, violin, cello, drum and an ambiguous pipe of tenor size that may be intended to represent a recorder.
  • Music (1962–1963), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 101, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). At the bottom right two lovers are accompanied by musicians singing and playing cello and an ambiguous flared-bell pipe that may be intended to represent a recorder.
  • The Big Circus (1968), 170 × 160 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 116, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: chosun.com (2009, col.) Men, women and children look up at a ghostly figure above them playing a yellow, flared pipe which could represent a trumpet or possibly a recorder. See also The Large Grey Circus, detail at top.
  • Musicians (1979), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 120, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Next to a violinist a man in a red bowler hat plays an ambiguous flared-bell pipe of alto/tenor size that may be intended to represent a recorder.
  • The Grand Parade (1979–1980), oil on canvas, 119 × 132 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Compton (1985: pl. 121, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2001). A man plays a flared wind instrument that seems almost certain to be a recorder. It is of alto/tenor size, the beak and window/labium are visible and there is an offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand.
  • Vie (1964), Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Around a mother, her husband and baby life revolves: lovers. musicians, dancers, the Eiffel Tower … In the top right-hand corner a woman plays a conical pipe which possibly represents a recorder.
  • The Flute Player (ca 1957), colour lithograph on paper, 22.9 × 39.4 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Stamford: Harbor View Center for Antiques, FMT-33075 (for sale). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, 20th Century (2002, col.) A woman with flowing hair, on her side, plays a conical pipe with the characteristic beak of a duct flute; a window/labium is hinted at; three finger holes are visible; and the thumb of the uppermost hand seems well angled for the recorder.  A cello floats above her, and above that a bird. In the distance are some houses. Published by Maeght, Paris in 1957 as part of a set printed by Sorlier from the celebrated Mourlot atelier in Nice, France, where the artist lived. The set contained a total of 15 lithographs (including a cover).
  • The Magic Flute, lithograph on paper, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Location unknown: copies auctioned 15 November 1990 (sold), 7 November 1996 (sold), 01 May 2003 (sold), 18 September 2003, 03 November 2005 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) In a garden are a snake, a lion, hens, a mule, a dove, and a chimera (with a hen’s legs and feet, a woman’s body, and angel wings) playing a flared-bell pipe. This work has also been offered for sale attributed to Charles Sorlier, Chagall’s friend and a lithographer who worked with him in the production of his works in this medium.
  • The Magic Flute, lithograph on paper, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Location unknown: copies auctioned 04 March 2003 (sold), 15 September 2005 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A coloured version of this work. In a garden are a snake, a lion, hens, a mule, a dove, and a chimera (with a hen’s legs and feet, a woman’s body, and angel wings) playing a flared-bell pipe. This work has also been offered for sale attributed to Charles Sorlier, Chagall’s friend and a lithographer who worked with him in the production of his works in this medium.
  • Maternité au Centaur (1957), coloured lithograph on pale cream wove Arches paper, 24.8 × 23.5 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). London: William Weston & Co. 24/90 (sold 2002); San Francisco: Art Gallery, Gleary St (East of Union Square), 88/90 (for sale, 2002); Blaine: Fisher Fine Art (for sale, 2009) Ref. Website: William Weston & Co. (2002); Website: Fisher Fine Art (2009, col.) A reclining nursing mother is serenaded by a blue centaur who plays a conical pipe, possibly a duct flute.
  • Musicians (1962), lithograph in black ink on pale cream stiff wove arches paper, 32.4 × 24.6 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). London: William Weston & Co., 42/150 (sold). Ref. Website: William Weston & Co. (2002). Four musicians play violin, cymbals, a curved horn, and a straight, flared pipe, possibly a duct flute.
  • Angel over Vitebsk (1977), oil on canvas, 81 × 100 cm, Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Web-site: choson.com (2009, col.) Above the city lovers embrace, a horse bears a candelabrum (Menorah) on its back, and a crowd looks up at musicians playing violin and a conical pipe, probably duct flute.
  • The Saltimbanque (1975), oil on canvas, 120 x 172 cm Marc Chagall (1887–1985). Private Collection. Ref. Artnet (2017, col.) At night, a group of saltimbanques (itinerant circus performers) play to a crowd of dancers. In the centre of the picture, a large brightly dressed member of the group holds a pullet. Above, a cow and a woman fly between his head and a passing sputnik. His (smaller) companions play violin and a slender conical pipe, possibly a duct flute.

Thomas Chambars – see Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Jerome François Chantereau [Chanterau or Chantreau]

French draughtsman and painter who killed picture dealer and restorer to the royal collection Ferdinand-Joseph Godefroid (-1741) in a duel over a disputed picture; born ca 1710, died Paris (1757).

  • The Dancing Dog (a. 1749), oil on canvas, 33 × 42 cm, Jerome François Chantereau (ca 1710–1757). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM 776. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Members of a peasant family sit and stand around, watching a small dog on his hind legs – whilst another dog watches disapprovingly! Music is provided by a boy playing what looks like an alto-sized duct flute (possibly a recorder). The instrument is mainly slender and cylindrical, but has a considerable bell flare. Both the boy’s hands are well down the instrument, with the little finger of the lower (left) hand outstretched to its hole near the start of the flare. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
  • Flute Player and Children in the Forest, oil on canvas, Jerome François Chantereau (ca 1710–1757). Location unknown: Auctioned by étude Tajan, Paris, 14 December 1998 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w). In the forest, a girl with a basket of flowers sits playing with her dog, a boy offers another girl a bouquet, and a second boy sits playing a long cylindrical pipe. The first finger of the piper’s upper (right) hand and all four fingers of his lower (left) hand are covering their holes, so the artist may have had a recorder in mind.

Wonjoung Chang (fl. 2009), USA

  • Untitled, cover illustration, Wonjoung Chang (2009). American Recorder 50 (2): front cover (2009). Above a stylised New York skyline fireworks spell out “70th”. In the foreground the Statue of Liberty holds a neo-baroque recorder high in the air. Celebrates the 70th anniversary of the American Recorder Society.

Pierre Chapelle

French painter of ceramics, known principally for his celestial and terrestrial spheres (1725), now at the Musée National de Céramique, Rouen.

  • Recorder Player, painted ceramic tile, attributed to Pierre Chapelle (17–18th century). Sèvres: Musée National de Céramiques. Ref. Benoit (1971: pl. xvii, fig. 21c); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007). A Hotteterre-style alto recorder is played by a young man, left hand lowermost.

Jeanne Norman Chase

Contemporary American (US) etcher, painter, printmaker working in California. Web Page

  • Flute Player, woodblock print on paper, Jeanne Norman Chase (contemporary). Ref. Website: flautotraverso.it An edition of 30 prints were made. A young girl plays a stylised cylindrical recorder, the little finger of her lowermost (right) hand clearly positioned to cover its hole.

Chelsea Manufactory – see also Joseph Willems (1715-1766)

  • Shepherd (ca 1752), ceramic figurine, 16.51 cm high, Chelsea Manufactory, England. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. 1988.647. A shepherd boy leans against a tree stump at left rear, with a spotted dog lying on an irregular base with applied flowers. He wears a turquoise hat and breeches, white coat with ruffs at neck and wrists, gold button, and black shoes with gold buckles. He plays a perfectly depicted baroque recorder, though the foot has broken off.

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki

Polish-German painter, draughtsman and engraver, he was particularly prolific as a book illustrator and executed an enormous number of etchings and drawings, many of which, apart from their technical skill, are valuable as social documents; he became Director of the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Berlin in 1797; born Danzig (1726), died Berlin (1801).

  • [Musical Instruments] (1780), Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki (1726–1801). Ref. Website: Will Kimball, Trombone History Timeline (2009); Wikigallery (2016). Depicts a number of other musical instruments, including flute and recorder. The scale of the individual instruments is not realistic. Presumably a book illustration.

Joseph Christian (18th century), German

  • Nativity with the Adoration of the Shepherds (1744–1748), gilded lime-wood relief, Joseph Christian (18th century). Zwiefalten: Münster Unserer Lieben Frau, rear panels of stalls on both sides of the choir. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2000d: 11-12, fig. 1–4 b&w). “Three shepherds are arriving, and others have already placed their gifts before the crib. The two shepherds at the left bring a trombone and a bass recorder – unlikely instruments for simple shepherds to make, but full of portent. For both trombones and recorders are associated with death … two shepherds’ pipes, possibly modeled by the artist on descant recorders, placed immediately at the foot of the crib, one upon the other, in the form of a cross” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Joseph Christophe

French artist who became painter to the Archduke Leopold, for whom he executed many portraits;  born Verdun (1662), died Paris (1748); brother of portraitist Claude Christophe (1667–1746).

  • Baptism of the Dauphin Louis, Son of Louis XIV, Celebrated in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye, March 24, 1668,  Joseph Christophe (1661–1748). Versailles. In the musicians’ gallery, opposite the King, Henry Dumont conducts singers and musicians in a performance of Lully’s motet Plaude laetare Gallia. The musicians include players of both the transverse flute and a small recorder. This was used as the basis of a tapestry from the Manufacture des Gobelins, Atelier de Delatour, after Charles Le Brun (1619–1690) in which the recorder is more clearly depicted.

Petrus Christus [or Cristus or Christophorus]

Flemish painter who became the leading painter in Bruges after the death of Jan van Eyck in 1441, and thus kept the late Gothic style alive in the Netherlands; born Baerle-Duc [now Baarle-Hertog] near Antwerp and Breda (ca 1410), died Bruges (1475–1476).

  • The Virgin of Granada, wood, 77 × 53 cm, Petrus Christus [or Cristus or Christophorus] (fl. ca 1442–1473). Barcelona: Collection Miguel Maten. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: art.com ((2021, col.). The Virgin and Child sit beside a road winding through the countryside with an extensive fortified wall. On either side angel musicians play a lute and a long, cylindrical flared-bell recorder. The bell has a little decorative turning, the window/labium and the disposition of the fingers (including paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand) are clearly shown.

Luca Ciamberlano [Ludovico Ciamberlano, Luca Cianberlano, Lucas de Urbino, Lucas Urbinas]

Italian artist who abandoned the study of jurisprudence to devote himself to painting and engraving, particularly the latter; from 1599 to 1641 he lived Rome, where he executed a great number of plates from his own designs, as well as after the works of Italian painters of the day; born Urbino (ca 1580, died Rome (1641)

  • The Liberal Arts, engraving, Luca Ciamberlano (1589–1641). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Personifications of the Liberal Arts sit together variously calculating, reading, arguing, making measurements on a celestial globe, philosophising and playing music. Music plays the virginals and is accompanied by a young man on lute. At her feet are musical instruments, including harp, shawm, cittern, violin, hurdy-gurdy, and a recorder, the beak, window/labium and first four finger holes clearly depicted. Scattered elsewhere on the floor are books and mathematical instruments, etc.

Kristen Cicilova

Comtemporary USAmerican graphic designer and illustrator studying at the Boston School of Arts; she is engaged in various projects for non-profit organisations. Artist’s web-site.

  • Music of Spring, pen, watercolour, pencil and pastel on paper, Kristen Cicilova (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder (2007: cover, col.) A neo-baroque recorder sprouts branches in which birds nest and beneath which they feed.

Conte Carlo Cignani

Italian painter and draughtsman who bore the title of Conte and, it was said, ‘always worked for glory, not for need’; he was the leading master in Bologna during the later decades of the 17th century; the gentle manner and reflective, intimate mood of his work marks a break with the more energetic style of earlier Bolognese classicism; born Bologna (1628), died Forlì (1719).

  • Personification of Painting and Sculpture, oil on canvas, 97.2 × 74.9 cm, Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). New York: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, 14 January 1994, Lot 205 (Artifact 2003), Item 114 (Gabrius Data Bank (2002). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Website: Artfact (2003). A putto holding a laurel wreath and a flared-bell recorder crowns a female personification of painting and sculpture who holds an artist’s palette in one hand and a pair of dividers in the other which rests on the pate of a marble bust. The recorder’s bell is exceptionally wide; the beak can just be seen beneath the putto’s hand, and seven finger holes are clearly visible, the lowermost slightly offset.
  • Shepherd and Shepherdess (1670s), oil on canvas, 103 × 128 cm, Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). St Petersburg: Hermitage GE 7009. Ref. Dukelskaya (2013, Cat. 68); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2013). Originally in the collection of Britain’s first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, at Houghton Hall where it had hung until sold to Catherine the Great when the family was in debt. A shepherd plays his recorder to a shepherdess whose two children gambol over a sheep sitting in her lap. The recorder, a slender, renaissance-style flared-bell alto-sized instrument, is beautifully depicted, the beak, window/labium and several finger holes clearly visible, including the paired holes for the lowermost finger.
  • Nymph and Shepherd (1775), engraving on paper, 27.8 × 35.6 cm, Jean Baptiste Michel after Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). Kingston (Ontario): Agnes Etherington Art Centre Inv. 00-1054. A copy of Cignani’s Shepherd and Shepherdess (see above), with some differences.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1680), Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). St Petersburg: Tsarkoye Selo State Museum-Preserve, Inv. 197-X. Ref. Dukelskaya (2013, Cat. 18); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2013). Originally in the collection of Britain’s first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, at Houghton Hall where it had hung until sold to Catherine the Great when the family was in debt. This is greatly influenced by a Corregio nocturnal, with a strong light coming from the upper right directed entirely on the infant Jesus. All the other characters in the pictures are illuminated from the Christ Child. On the right side of the picture are three shepherds; the lower one is holding a sacrificial lamb, and the middle one is a youthful shepherd playing a pipe, or at least the end of the pipe is touching his lips. This end is, it seems, shaped like a recorder mouthpiece and the lips are relaxed. The right hand is uppermost, with the fingers just lifted; the left hand has the first finger down and the others lifted, including the little finger which is in the correct playing position. The end of the instrument is slightly flared. In the darkness it is impossible to see any finger holes. As the player’s head is turned towards the infant Christ and he holds the instrument in the opposite direction, it could at first sight be mistaken for a transverse flute.
  • The Nativity. In the common parlour at Houghton (1780), engraving on paper, 22.4 × 17.8 cm, Jean Baptiste Michel after Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). London: Wellcome Library no. 21939i. A copy of Cignani’s dAdoration of the Shepherds (see above).
  • Putto with a Tambourine and an Infant Satyr with a Panpipe (ca 1685) oil on canvas, 68.5 × 91.0 cm, attributed to afollower of Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, A257. A wingless putto holding a tambourine (with pellet bells) leans on an upturned jug of water seems to be being attacked by a baby satyr who holds a panpipe in one hand and brandishes a small recorder in the other. The satyr holds the recorder loosely and upside down and the beak, flared foot and characteristic finger holes are clearly depicted, thee lowermost offset. The subject derives from Guido Reni’s pairs of playful putti in the Loggia of the Palazzo Pallavicini, Rome (ca 1611–1612) which were engraved by Carlo Cesio.

Lodovico Cigoli [Lodovico Cardi; il Cigoli]

Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and scenographer; one of the most influential artists in 17th-century who introduced a new clarity and naturalism which led to the distinctively Florentine baroque style; born Castello di Cigoli, near San Miniato (1559), died Rome (1613).

  • Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1602), oil on canvas, 250.2 × 155 cm, Lodovico Cigoli (1559–1613). Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, Inv. 1992.75. Ref. Zafran & Baillio (2004: 54–55, pl., col.) Mary lifts the covers to reveal the sleeping Jesus to the shepherds who have come to pay him homage. At centre-right a shepherd boy with inflated cheeks plays a small cylindrical duct flute, and an old bearded shepherd next to him holds a lamb with its legs tied, a basket of eggs beside him – all symbolic details. The window/labium of the pipe is clearly depicted, and the young lad plays with all fingers down, except finger 6, with the right hand uppermost. The little finger of the lowermost (left) hand appears to be in a hole-covering position, but higher up, although the fingers are down, two finger holes are fully visible under the right hand and one partly under the left-hand. In the clouds above putti unfurl a banner declaring the glory of God.

Michelangelo Cinganelli

Italian painter and designer of cartoons for tapestries, the best known of a family of artisans and artists; born Settignano (1580), died Florence (1635); son of John (ca 1558–).

  • Angel Musicians, fresco, Michelangelo Cinganelli (1580–ca 1635) Florence: Casa Buonarroti. Camera degli Angioli (via Gibellina 70). Ref. Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). This room was used as a chapel from 1677 onward. The inside of the cupola and the ceiling are decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo Cinganelli depicting St Michael Archangel with angels playing music and singing hosannas, from which the room takes its name (“Chamber of the Angels”). In one of the ceiling panels, four angel musicians sing and play viol, tambourine and a flared-bell pipe of alto size. The latter is held almost horizontally and the upper part is hidden behind the neck of the viol; however, all fingers of the lowermost right hand seem to be covering their holes, and the flared bell is characteristic of the recorder rather than a flute.

Antonio Ciocci [Cioci]

Italian painter and engraver active in Florence; by 1770, he had been appointed Director of the Opficio delle Pietre Dure, the official Florentine body dedicated to the cutting of hard stone; as an expert in pietra dure (the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images) he was responsible for the decoration of the Villa La Tana at Candeli and the ducal villa at Poggio Imperiale; active Florence (1722– ca 1792).

  • Still-life, oil on canvas, 65.5 × 102.8 cm, circle of Antonio Ciocci (op. 1722–ca 1792). Location unknown: sold Christie’s London, 11 December 1992, lot 428. Ref. Sale catalogue (1992: 66, fig. 72); Paris RIdIM (2000); Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On a tapestry-covered table are a bowl of carnations, an oil painting, an engraving, an open music book, sheets of music, papers, a violin, a guitar (face down) and a cylindrical alto recorder, the foot hidden behind the guitar. Auctioned 11 Dec. 1992, sold; 23 May 1997, unsold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (or Zippa), called ‘Il Todeschino’ [or ‘Todeschini’]

Austrian-born artist active in Italy; celebrated for his paintings of scenes from everyday life; born Feldkirch or Bregenz (?1664), died Milan (1736).

  • The Duet, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Bremen: Kunsthalle. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Munich RIdIM (1999: BMkh 21). A man holds a flared-bell alto recorder of tenor size; his companion holds a bassoon and a piece of music; a dog and a young boy look on expectantly.
  • Musicians, canvas, 115 × 95 cm , Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Florence: Antique Dealer “Florentia”, Bellini et Berti. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A man playing a baroque oboe accompanies his wife who sings from a sheet of music beating time with another furled in her hand and gazing heavenward. Both seem oblivious of the small child at their feet who blasts away on an alto flared-bell recorder grasped in one hand.
  • The Recorder Player, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Venice: Galleria dell’Accademia, Inv. 856. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: klassiskgitar.net (2007, col.); Website: Instituto Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0028292. An old man holds an alto flared-bell recorder which he is about to play from a music book open on the table in front of him. In the foreground, a cittern leans against the wall; behind him an old woman and a young man sing from a sheet of music.
  • Players at Mora, oil on canvas, 112 × 144 cm, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Madrid: Prado, Inv. 6076. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website; Oronoz (2021, image 142651, col.) Mora is a game originating in Spain, involving clapping and punching. A single musician plays a perfect alto size recorder, with all details clear and fingers well placed (right hand lower). This is a hand fluyt, with a bell flare after a slight contraction in the exterior shape.
  • Market Scene, 120 × 155 cm, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Detail. Location unknown: sold Sotheby’s, London, 24 February 1971. Ref. Sale catalogue (February/March 1971); Paris RIdIM (2000). A group of peasants are gathered at a market. A young man has a basket of fish; a young woman weighs out some ? cherries taken from a basket in front of her which also contains some asparagus. Behind them a young woman offers a coin in payment for the fruit whilst two beggars cadge from her. In this distance a young boy plays a cylindrical pipe, probably an alto-sized duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
  • Musical Pair with a Singing Bird, oil on canvas, 92 × 70 cm, attributed to Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown: formerly Private Collection, Europe; offered for sale by Dorotheum, Vienna, Lot 5, 22 March 2001 (unsold). Ref. Paris RIdIM (2000); Sale Catalogue: Dorotheum, Vienna (22 March 2001, col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) A woman sitting at a table sings from a manuscript held in her left hand, a second page held in her right from which a bird standing on the table appears to be reading its own part! A third manuscript page lies curled up on the table. To her right a young man in a tricorn hat plays a slender flared-bell one-piece alto recorder, apparently from the same part as the bird!
  • A Peasant Man playing a Recorder at Table, oil on canvas, 77.5 × 67.3 cm, follower of Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Sale catalogue; Paris RIdIM (2000); Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A middle-aged man with sad eyes sits at a table playing a flared-bell duct flute of soprano/alto size. However, his lower-most little finger supports the instrument from underneath, so this may represent a flageolet rather than a recorder.
  • A Pair of Musicians, oil on canvas, 109 × 92 cm, follower of Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Sale catalogue; Paris RIdIM (2000). A bearded man (wearing a wreath of leaves) plays a flared-bell alto-sized recorder with a wave-profile head. A woman (wearing a sort of turban) beside him holds a sheet of music from which he reads. On a table immediately in front of them lie a violin and an open book.
  • Cittern Player, oil on canvas, 96.0 × 132.5 cm, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, Inv.-Nr. NM 761. An old man plays a diatonically fretted cittern. Behind him the bells of two wind instruments can be seen: one appears to be a shawm, the other a recorder, the last four finger holes of which are visible. On a table in front of the player seven tortoises frolic – perhaps the player keeps them to use their shells for plectra!
  • A Peasant Man playing a Recorder, oil on canvas, attributed to, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A man in a cap holds a crudely depicted recorder. Auctioned 22 February 1996, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Concerto Campestre, oil on canvas, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A smiling shepherd holds a flared-bell recorder of alto-size whilst his shepherdess companion plays a Jew’s harp. A dog at their feet looks interestedly up at them. In the foreground sits a young boy with his back with us; it is unclear what occupies him. The recorder has a sharply flared bell and the beak appears to be made of a darker material than the body of the instrument. Auctioned 5 December 1991, unsold; 15 October 1993, unsold; 28 November 1995, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • A Loving Couple with a Flute-player, a Little Girl, a Dog and a Still-life in a Landscape, oil on canvas, Giacomo-Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A loving couple share a meal from amongst the bread, fruit and wine on the table before them. Beside them a young man holds a pipe (possibly a recorder); at their feet are a dog and a little girl. Auctioned 1 March 1994, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • An Old Woman with a Mouse Trap, a Girl with Knitting and a Peasant Boy with a Recorder in a Farmhouse, oil on canvas, 148.0 × 118.8 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 16 December 1998, Lot 60. Ref. Artfact (2004). One of a pair of paintings offered for sale, the other depicting a peasant woman playing the hurdy-gurdy, a girl playing the dulcimer and drinking, and a youth in a farmhouse. Another painting by Cipper of these peasants with a mousetrap and a cat, where the youth also holds a recorder is illustrated by Proni (1994: 70, fig. 20). Not seen.
  • Musician, painting, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown: auctioned 3 December 2002 (unsold). [Possibly Sotheby’s (Milan), Sale MI0206, Old Master Paintings.] Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) A young man in a feathered cap holds an alto-sized, slender, flared bell recorder right hand uppermost, the window/labium clearly depicted.
  • Shepherd Recorder Player, oil on canvas, 75 × 60 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Ljubljana: Narodna Gallerija, Inv. S 982. Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2013, col.) A young shepherd wearing a floppy hat plays a tenor-sized cylindrical recorder with a flared bell. The labium/window are clearly shown and five finger holes are visible, including all four for the lowermost (left) hand.
  • Peasant Banquet with a Young Flute Player, oil on canvas, 145 × 114 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Paris: Galerie Canesso (2008). Ref. Exhibition Catalogue: TEFAF, Maastrict, 7-16 March 2008 (col.); Apollo (March 2008: col.); Constance Scholten ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008). A young family are seated at a table on which is bread, a wedge of cheese and some walnuts. A man holding a stoneware jug points to his wife who smiles in our direction. A young girl seats in front of them eating soup from a bowl. Behind them is an old woman, and a young girl wearing a bonnet who plays a cylindrical, alto-sized recorder with a flared bell.
  • Musicians (1695), oil on canvas, 130 × 103 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Moscow: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. Corbis Images BU001098 (2010, col.); Websites: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte, AKG172237 (2014, col.); art.com (2023, col.) An old man seated at a small table plays a violin. Standing beside him a younger man tunes a cello, his bow tucked under his arm. on the table lies an open music book, some sheet music and an alto recorder with a flared bell.
  • The Little Piper (18th century), oil on canvas, 132 × 100 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Arbois: Musée Sarret de Grozon, Inv. 35. Ref. Website: Joconde (2011). A young boy holds an alto recorder with a markedly flared bell. His mother sits beside him with some darning on her lap and is dipping a biscuit in a glass of wine on a table in front of them.
  • A Woman Singing oil on canvas, 87.1 × 66.1 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). London: Bonham’s, New Bond Street, Sale 19011, Old Master Paintings, 7 December 2011, Lot 44. Seated at a table, a woman wearing glasses reads a sheet of music. On the table before her lie some sheets of music and a one-piece recorder of ? tenor size. Only the head and first three finger hole are visible, but the characteristic beak and window/labium are clearly depicted. One of a pendant pair with A Peasant Seated at a Table Smoking a Pipe. It has been suggested that the pair may be an Allegory of the Five Senses.
  • Pipe Player, canvas, 74 × 55 cm, Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Paris: Aguttes, Maison de Ventes aux Enchès, 9 December 2009, Lot 3. Ref. Website: Arcadja Auction Results (2012, col.) A young lad in a floppy hat plays a slender, more-or-less cylindric alto-sized recorder, the window/labium and seven finger holes clearly depicted.
  • [Couple], oil on canvas, 89 × 113 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Milan: Porro Art Consulting, 13 May 2009. Ref. Website: AskART (2013, col.) A couple seated at a table on which are bread, cheese, and ?sweets embrace as they are entertained by a piper sitting opposite them. His instrument is slender and treble-sized with the hint of a window/labium. The little finger of his lowermost (left) hand is beneath the instrument but there appears to be a finger hole above it.
  • Still-life, painting, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a table are a glass flask with a label, a drinking glass, a china bowl with a floral design, a peach, an open music score, an ink bottle and quill, a piece of paper with a note, a violin and bow, a baroque recorder, the body and head of which are largely hidden. The presence of a baroque recorder argues against the painter being Cipper.
  • A Fisherman with his Catch, a Boy Piping and a Coastal Port Beyond, oil on canvas, 86.1 × 104.8 cm, Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). London: Christies, 24 March 2009, Lot 61. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 279026 (2014, col.) An unusual composition comprising a fisherman with his catch, a young man in a feathered cap playing a clearly depicted hand-fluyt, and a coastal town in the distance.
  • Domestic Scene with Musicians and Woman Spinning (1725), Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Frankfurt-am-Main: Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische GalerieWebsite: Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) A young woman spins whilst a priest at a spinet conducts an old man and a young boy singing, another young boy plays a cylindrical duct flute, probably a recorder since hole for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand can be seen and the beak and window/labium are more-or-less clearly depicted. A little girl eats from a bowl; and an old woman looks in on the scene from a balcony of some kind.
  • Young Beggar Playing a Recorder, oil on canvas, 90 × 73 cm,, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Antwerp: Bernaerts Auction House, Bernaerts Hôtel de Vente, Art et Antiquités – Old Masters, 3 Mai 2016, Lot 357. A smiling youth holds a one-piece, alto-sized recorder with a flared bell. His hands and fingers are held perfectly for recorder-playing.
  • Country Scene, oil on canvas, 105 × 172 cm, Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Milan: Ars Antiqua SRL (2021, col.) A family sit amidst the ruins of a house surrounded by trees. A loaf of bread and some grapes sit on a ledge, a sheep and a goat rest in the foreground. A young woman scrubs a cloth in a pool of water, a young lad peers inside a cauldron. A shepherdess in a wide-brimmed straw hat plays a jaw harp, and a young shepherd in a floppy hat plays a slender alto recorder with a flared bell, the beak, window-labium and finger holes clearly depicted. A old woman peers suspiciously from behind a wall.
  • Flute Player, engraving after an original attributed to Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Instituto Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0028490. The sheet is numbered 29 and the bears the name “J.A. Barkworth”, possibly the engraver. A young man in shabby dress plays a one-piece tenor recorder with a flared bell.
  • Flute Player with a Girl, attributed to Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Instituto Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 002829. A young lad plays a one-piece, tenor-sized recorder to a shepherdess in a straw hat.
  • Pipe Player, oil on canvas, after Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Location: Unknown. Ref. Wikigallery (2013, col.) A lad in an fur-lined orange hat holds a slender pipe several finger holes of which are visible. There is a darkish area where one might expect the window/labium of a duct flute, so this might represent a recorder. Wikigallery give this the incorrect title of The Pipe Smoker.
  • Flute Player, oil on canvas, 74 x 58 cm, circle of Giacomo Francesco Cipper (? 1664–1736). Florence: Pandolfini, Auction 0088, Old Masters and 19th-century Paintings, Lot 151 (18 October 2012). A grinning man in a feathered hat, a staff in the crook of his arm holds a slender recorder with an abruptly flared bell, left-hand uppermost. The characteristic beak, window/labium and offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand are clearly visible.

Niccolò Circignani, called ‘II Pomarancio’

Italian Renaissance Mannerist period painter, one of three artists called ‘II Pomarancio’; he painted religious and mythological frescoes making something of a specialty of representing the often horrific martyrdoms of saints and early Christians; born Pomarance (c.1517),  died Città della Pieve (c. 1598).

  • Angels and Saints before the Savior, fresco, Niccolò Circignani (c.1517/1524–p.1596). Rome: Basilica di Santa Pudenziana, dome interior. Ref. Website: flickr, Alvaro de Alvariis’ photostream (2011, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-2411 (2023, col.). Recognized as the oldest place of Christian worship in Rome. In the cupolo interior fresco the outer ring of angels are all musical. They sing and play many different instruments, including lute, harp, cello, cittern, cornetto, shawm, folded trumpet, vielle, chamber organ, pipe & tabor, tambour ,and a slender more or less cylindrical recorder. The recorder player, behind the lutenist’s pegbox on the right hand of Christ, has all four fingers of his lowermost (left) hand covering their holes

Pieter Claesz. or Claese (also called Pieter Claexz. van Haarlem)

Dutch painter who achieved a striking simplicity and atmospheric quality in still-life representations, many of which represent magnified sections of objects found ‘accidentally’ on the corner of a table, such as a knife, a plate of fruit, a piece of cut cake, or even a gutted fish; born in Burgsteinfurt, Westphalia (ca 1597/8), died Haarlem (1661).

  • Still-life, oil on canvas, 49.5 × 65.0 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Location unknown: formerly Sweden: Private Collection; auctioned by Phillips, London, 31 March 1992. Ref. Vroom (1980, 1: 27, fig. 22); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Weltkunst 6: 745 (1992, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Scattered on a table are a book open at pages headed Memento Mori, a candlestick and dying candle, playing cards, a glass roemer, a watch, a document with a seal, a human skull and thighbone, an hourglass, books, a lute and a cylindrical recorder. The body of the recorder is largely hidden by the book, but the beak, window/labium, and two lower finger holes can be seen.
  • Still-life, 80 × 112 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Paris: Leegerhoek Collection. Ref. Vroom (1980, I: 27, fig. 23); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a table are littered a skull, books, fruit, cakes and other food, a watch, a shell, an ornate chalice, drinking glasses, music, a violin, and a soprano hand-fluyt, the offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly depicted..
  • Still-life with Musical Instruments (1623), oil on canvas, 69 × 122 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Paris: Louvre. Ref. Pincherlé (1959/1963: 83); Revue du Louvre 12: 180 (1962); Vroom (1980, II, fig. 124); Jongh (1982: 36); Griffioen (1988: 440–441, attributed to Clara Peeters); Record Cover: Italian Virtuoso Music for the Violoncello, Das Alte Werk (Telefunken), SAWT 9548 (1969, col.); Paris RIdIM (1999): Web Gallery of Art(2001); Rasmussen (2004, Lute); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 544 (2010, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-375 (2023, col.) A table is littered with items of food (including a partly sliced loaf of bread and a tortoise, both on platters), a glass (seen in a mirror), a watch, a glass, books, papers, a lute, and a tray which holds a large and a small flask, a glass dish and a live tortoise! A cello leans against a wall on which hang a violin, cornetto and a cylindrical duct flute, almost certainly a recorder (window/labium quite clear, and holes for six fingers, the lowermost occluded by the cello and its bow).
  • Vanitas: A Corner of the Artist’s Studio / Vanitas with the Spinario (1628), oil on panel, 70.5 × 80.5 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, SK-A-3930. Ref. Vroom (1980, I: 27, fig. 25); Montagu (1976: 85, pl. XII, col.); Boydell (1982: 273, pl. LV, b&w); Griffioen (1988: 438-439); Francone et al. (1996: 29, fig. 16); Badiarov (2005:, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 553 (2010, b&w); Ausin (2009: 59, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Websiste: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1217 (2023, col.) A still-life with a draped table on which stands a statue of a boy removing a thorn from his foot (a copy of a much-lauded 12th century statue widely copied in the 17th century), some books, a skull and cross-bones, an artist’s palette and brushes, a pocket watch, and a large drinking glass. Scattered on the floor in the foreground lie a steel breastplate, some books of drawings – one open at a portrait of a female nude, a plume, a lute, violin, bass crumhorn, and the foot of a pipe which (given the double holes for the little finger of the lowest hand) appears to be a near-cylindrical soprano recorder.
  • Still-life (1653), oil on canvas, 150 × 200 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz Museum 1505. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr – 28). A table is covered in food of various kinds – cruets, a wineglass, a jug, some flowers – and musical instruments – a cello, a violin and two very small flared-bell duct flutes, close together and slightly obscured, one of which has seven finger holes and thus probably represents a recorder. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • Vanitas Still-life (1653), oil on canvas, 71.5 × 109.0 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597/8–1661). Location unknown: auctioned Christie’s, London, 15 April 1992, Lot 5. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration ONS9500434 (2010, col.) On a table are scattered a tazza, jewelery, a candlestick, a drinking glass, a terrestrial globe, a skull and thigh bone, books, papers, music, shells, a viol, and a pipe (only the body with 4 finger holes visible). Formerly attributed to Clara Peters.
  • Still-life (1644), oil on canvas, 77.2 × 109.5 cm, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597–1661). Zürich: Koller, A172 Old Master Paintings, 27 March 2015, Lot 3051; formerly Sotheby’s, London, 9 July 1998, Lot 38; London: Richard Green (private collection). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 1001207302 (2010, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip2278 (2022, col.) Still-life with musical instruments, an open music-book, a silver salt-shaker, pewter plates and dishes, wine-glasses, a loaf, notes, and an upside-down crab in a dish; also an alto hand-fluyt, the head obscured but five finger holes of which can be seen, including paired holes for the lowermost little finger.
  • Vanitas, painting, Pieter Claesz (ca 1597–1661). Locality unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a draped bench are a skull, books, crumpled sheets of music, a guttering candle, a timepiece, a violin and an alto-sized recorder with a metal-sleeved beak.
  • A Man and a Woman on Horseback in a Ford, black chalk, 15.5 × 14.1 cm, Nicolas Berchem (1620-1683) after Pieter Claesz (ca 1597-1661). Paris: Louvre, Print Collection, Inv. 22468. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A man and a woman, both on horseback, pause in the middle of a river while their dog struggles valiantly shoreward. She sings from a manuscript; he accompanies on a slender, flared-bell pipe (possibly a duct flute, perhaps a recorder).
  • Vanitas Still-life, oil on panel, 50 × 68.5 cm, follower of Pieter Claesz (ca 1597–1661). Location unknown. Ref. Vroom (1980: 21, fig. 22 – as by Pieter Claesz); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2009). On a table covered with a cloth is a jumble of vanitas objects including a candlestick with gutting candle, playing cards, a watch, an hourglass, a globe, the upper part of a human skull, a shell, a document, books (one open), an upturned goblet, a lute and a long, slender ?tenor recorder with a flared bell, the window/labium and three finger holes visible.

Jacques [Adolphsz.] de Claeuw [Jacques Grief de Clauew]

Dutch artist active in Dordrecht, The Hague and Leiden; he mainly painted still-lifes and a few animal figures; in addition to numerous vanitas still-lifes, he painted a series of fruit still-life, flowers and hunting pieces, some in collaboration with his son Adriaen; born Dordrecht (1616), died Leiden (p.1694); father of the painter Adriaen de Gryff.

  • Still-life with Violin (1641), 21.5 × 28 cm, Jacques de Claeuw (1616–p. 1694). Private collection. Ref. Haak & Willems-Treeman (1984/1996: 437, fig. 959); Bol (1969: 97, pl. 82l); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). On a draped table are a human cranium, a letter, a violin a candlestick, and a renaissance-style soprano/alto recorder, possibly with a metal-sheathed beak, the foot hidden behind the skull.
  • Vanitas, Jacques de Claeuw (1616-1694). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bgd 26). Partly hidden by a book and a violin is an alto recorder with a metal (? brass) protective sleeve.
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 37 × 47 cm, Jacques de Claeuw (ca 1616–p. 1694). Location unknown: formerly New York: Otto Naumann; sold Christies (London), Sale 6376, Old Master Pictures, 3 November 2000, Lot 23; Johnny Van Haeften, London (2006). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2006); Rijksbureau de Kunshistorische Documentatie 61139 (2010, col.) On a table covered in a dark cloth are scattered a globe, flowers, books, a human cranium, a letter, music, a violin and a renaissance-style recorder with a brass sheathed beak, the head and body with three finger holes visible.
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 37 × 47 cm, Jacques de Claeuw (1616–p. 1694). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w.) A chipped giant roemer on a document leans against a row of books, with a human cranium, a ? rebec, a clay pipe, an extinguished candle and a flared-bell recorder with the beak, window/labium and all finger holes clearly visible (including the lowermost offset).
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 42 × 54 cm, follower of Jacques de Claeuw (1616–p. 1694). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s (London), Sale W0517, Old Master Paintings, 05 July 2005, Lot 492 (unsold). Ref. Sotheby’s Catalogue, Sale W0517 (2005: Lot 492, col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A human cranium, a candle, hourglass, pipe, shell, stalks of wheat, sheet of music, and a pipe with a flared bell on a wooden table draped with green velvet with bubbles above. Only the foot and lower section of the pipe with five finger holes are visible; its holes are all in line. It may represent the chanter of a bagpipe rather than a recorder.
  • Vanitas (1647), oil on panel, 15.6 × 19.1 cm, Jacques de Claeuw (1616–p. 1694). London: Rafael Valls. Ref. Rafael Valls Ltd (2014: no. 7). On a draped shelf or table are scattered, books, papers, a ?celestial globe, an hourglass, a human cranium, a taper, a smoking pipe, a violin and an alto-sized recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, the foot hidden beneath the violin.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 47.5 × 57.2 cm, follower of Jacques de Claeuw (1616–p. 1694). Location unknown; sold  Christies (London), Live Auction 2394, Old Master Pictures, Lot 34 (1998). A human cranium decorated with ears of barley (not corn!), a music-book, a document, a snuffed candle, a recorder and a violin on a stone ledge

Judith Spector Clancy

USAmerican book illustrator whose work appeared regularly in publications like The New Yorker, Gourmet, and Architectural Digest; she left behind over 80 sketchbooks; born 1933, died 1990.

  • Janine with Recorder (1963), black ink on paper, 28.0 × 21.6 cm, Judith Spector Clancy (1933–1990). San Francisco: Palace of the Legion of Honour, Inv. 2004.13.11.2.  Sketch of a young girl playing a hardly recognizable recorder.

Jaques Claramunt (contemporary)

  • Der Flötenspieler, bronze statue, Jaques Claramunt (contemporary). Ref. Windkanal 1–97: cover (1997, col.) A young man sits on the ground and plays a long, cylindrical recorder. Used as an advertising insignia by Mollenhauer.

Greg Clarke

Contemporary US book, magazine and comic illustrator who works in watercolor or oils to create sophisticated characters in humorous yet heartfelt situations.

  • Pan Playing (1994), Greg Clarke (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder 39 (3): front cover, col.) Pan plays a baroque recorder amongst a hilly landscape, his syrinx abandoned on the ground behind him.

Claude Gellée (Gellee or Gillee) [called Claude Lorrain(e), or Le Lorrain(e)]

French painter, draughtsman and etcher, active in Rome; one of the greatest masters of ideal-landscape painting, an art form that seeks to present a view of nature more beautiful and harmonious than nature itself; his distinctive contribution to the ideal-landscape genre was to use light as the principal means both of unifying the composition and of lending beauty to the landscape; he was also able to introduce into the artificial formula, to an unusual degree, effects studied from nature; born Chamagne near Mirecourt, Lorraine(1600), died Rome (1682). Claude was a rather careless delineator of his many shepherds’ pipes, but it is just possible that he had the recorder in mind.

  • Pastoral Landscape with a Piping Shepherd (ca 1635), Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Nancy: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). A shepherd plays an ambiguous pipe (possibly a recorder) with an unused offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand. There is a slight bell flare, but the instrument appears outwardly conical.
  • Italian Landscape at Dawn (1642), canvas, 97 × 131 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie, No. 448B. Ref. Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz (1968: 32); Bock, H. (1986: 360–361, fig., col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001) A woman dressed as a shepherdess sits on a rock listening to a shepherd playing a flared-bell pipe (recorder or shawm).
  • Apollo and Mercury (1677), pen drawing and wash, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600-1682). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett. Apollo, required to guard a herd of cows (the flocks of Admetus), has an ambiguous pipe in his hand of which only the markedly flared bell end is visible. In a variant of this in Holkham Hall Apollo plays a viola da braccio. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • Apollo and Mercury (1677), medium brown and grey ink and wash on paper, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Location: Private Collection. Ref. Roethlisberger (1977: 37, col.); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image AGN95222, col.) One of a group of drawings that were bequested by Christina, Queen of Sweden to an Italian noble family who sold them. Sitting by a stream, Apollo, required to guard a herd of cows (the flocks of Admetus), plays a slender pipe (probably a recorder) with a slightly flared bell. In the background, Mercury is stealing the cattle.
  • Landscape with a Goatherd (1635-1636), oil on canvas, 38 × 49 cm, Claude Gellée,’Le Lorrain’ (1600-1682). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum (WA1962.17.11). Ref. Röthlisberger (1961: no. 215). Seated amongst his animals beside a river amidst a luxuriant wooded landscape a goatherd plays a small flared-bell recorder, right-hand down, the hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand clearly visible. This work has close affinity with a landscape in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, signed and dated 1636.
  • Youth Playing a Pipe in a Pastoral Landscape (1640s), black chalk with pen and brown ink and pale brown wash on laid paper, edged with brown ink, 182 × 238 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, WA1855.65. Ref. Whiteley (2000: 238); Parker I (1938: 424). Seated with his animals beside a river amidst a lightly wooded landscape a shepherd plays his pipe.
  • Landscape with Mercury and Argus, drawing, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). London: British Museum, Malcolm Collection. Ref. Royalton-Kisch et al. (1996: 113, pl. 55); Rowland-Jones (2008b: 17, fig. 7). Mercury lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a narrow flared-bell pipe (shawm or duct flute, possibly a recorder).
  • Landscape with Mercury and Argus, 57.5 × 73.8 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Location unknown: Offered for sale by Sothebys, London, 27 March 1974. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Beside a temple in front of a small pond, surrounded by sheep, goats and cows, and watched by Io (whom Jupiter has turned into a white heifer), Mercury lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a narrow flared-bell pipe (shawm or duct flute, possibly a recorder).
  • Mercury and Argus (1662), Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, Museum of Art, Accn. 1949/1.150. Before a temple in front of a stream beside which cattle graze, and watched by Io (whom Jupiter has turned into a white heiffer), Mercury lulls Argus to sleep by playing on a narrow flared-bell pipe (shawm or duct flute, possibly a recorder). Mercury, as a shepherd in disguise, has discarded his winged sandals (and his sleep-inducing caduceus), but not the winged hat (petasus) on his head. A dagger can be seen behind Mercury in readiness to turn sleep into death. Lully tells the story memorably in Isis (1677).
  • Mercury and Argus (1662), drawing, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Art. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2009: 244, fig. 11 – detail). On the edge of a glade, watched by Io (whom Jupiter has turned into a white heiffer), Argus falls asleep as Mercury pipes on a slender flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder). Cattle graze in the distance. Mercury, as a shepherd in disguise, has discarded his winged sandals (and his sleep-inducing caduceus), but not the winged hat (petasus) on his head; his dagger lies behind him. This is much finer work than the above.
  • Mercury and Argus (1802–1810), mezzotint and etching on wove paper, 22.2 × 30.5 cm, Richard Earlom (British, 1743–1822) after Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). New York: Great Modern Pictures, Romantic Affinities, Rare and Important Original Antique Prints 1775-1850, Item 19 (2009). From Liber Veritatis Or, A Collection of Two Hundred Prints … Executed by Richard Earlom (1802–1810), published by John Boydell, Cheapside. On the edge of a glade, watched by Io (whom Jupiter has turned into a white heiffer), Argus falls asleep as Mercury pipes on a slender flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder). Cattle graze in the distance. Mercury, as a shepherd in disguise, has discarded his winged sandals (and his sleep-inducing caduceus), but not the winged hat (petasus) on his head; his dagger lies behind him. The original drawing by Claude is in the University of Michigan Museum of Art, New York (see above).
  • Landscape with the Metamorphosis of the Shepherd Apulo (? Apulius), Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Merton: Duke of Sutherland’s Collection. At the right are a tambourine, flute (with a flared bell as in other Claude pictures), double pipe/aulos ; on the left is a soprano duct flute (possibly a recorder) and a small frame drum. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • View of Delphi with a Procession, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Rome: Galleria Doria Pamphili, Cat. i32. Ref. Postcard: Galleria Doria Pamphili (2002, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). In the foreground a shepherd sits on a parapet at the end of a bridge with a pipe. There is a slight bell flare, but the instrument appears outwardly conical. A copy by Claude of an original now in the National Gallery, London. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • Landscape with Satyrs and Dancing Nymphs, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Switzerland: Private Collection. A seated nymph plays a pipe with a flared bell. Two of the satyrs in the musical group could be playing duct flutes (flageolets or recorders). Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • Landscape with Tiburtine Temple at Tivoli (ca 1635), oil on canvas, 38 × 53 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. 1796-5. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). A cow herd seated with a girl on the left plays a slender, cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute). The lowermost (left) hand is in the correct position for playing a recorder; the mouth piece is beaked; and there is a sudden sharp bell flare.
  • Landscape with the Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1647), oil on canvas, 102 × 134 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Dresden: Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999); Rowland-Jones (1999d: 125, fig. 5, b&w); Web Gallery of Art (2001). At the edge of a forest, on a bank beside a pool at the side of a river, a shepherd plays a cylindrical pipe (probably a duct flute since all but the third finger of the lowermost (right) hand cover their holes) to a young woman who sits leaning wearily on her staff, a basket beside her. A young woman fills a pitcher with water from a culvert. Two cows drink from the pool. Rowland-Jones (1999d) suggests that the young man “is entirely occupied in playing his pipe to a seated shepherdess.” Behind, in the shadows amongst the trees is the Holy Family with the Virgin and Child on a donkey led by an angel. This is very similar to the version in Melbourne (see below), but differs in a number of details.
  • Landscape with a Piping Shepherd and a Flight to Egypt, oil on canvas, 103.5 × 135.2 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. 1719-4. At the edge of a forest, beside a pool at the side of a river, a shepherd plays his pipe to a young woman who sits with her crook on a rock with her bundle beside her. A young woman fills a pitcher with water from a culvert. A cow and calf drink from the pool. This is very similar to the version in Dresden (see above), but differs in a number of details.
  • Shepherd teaching a Shepherdess the Use of the Pipe, drawing, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). London: British Museum, H. 213. Ref. Warburg Institute, London. A young woman practices on a flared-bell duct flute (flageolet or recorder) under the instruction of a young shepherd who sits beside her beneath a tree.
  • Le Bouvier [The Herdsman], Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Ref. Website: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Accession No. 1949/1.149. A herdsman sits on a bank playing an ambiguous pipe to cattle grazing a pasture before a house.
  • Dawn, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Turin: Pinacoteca Nazionale. Ref. Daudy (1967); Liesbeth van der Sluis (pers. comm., 2001). Amidst a landscape around an ocean bay, with one big tree and flat red soil a goatherd plays a long duct flute (possibly a recorder), sitting on a stone (van der Sluis, loc. cit.)
  • Italian Landscape (1648), oil on canvas, 75 × 100 сm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). St Petersberg: Hermitage. Ref. Exhibition, French Drawings and Paintings from the Hermitage: Poussin to Picasso, Hermitage Rooms, Somserset House London (2001–2002); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). At a bend in a river a herd of cows have come to drink and a person in a boat is born along by the current. In the background, on a rise, is an extensive rural villa with tesselated walls, beyond that is a bridge and in the distance some hills. “At the bottom right … there is a group of three figures, being a cowherd with a staff (and cows) and two seated girls. The cowherd is instructing one of the girls in playing a tenor-sized ‘pipe’ (so described in the wall caption). She has both hands on, left hand uppermost, in good recorder-playing position. No details of the instrument are visible, but it is mainly cylindrical with only a slight bell flare” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
  • A Shepherd Playing the Flute, a Shepherdess and Two Goats on Rocks, drawing, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Location unknown: auctioned 11 April 2002 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) A shepherd wearing a wreath plays a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) to a shepherdess. They and their two goats are seated on rocks.
  • The Landing of Aeneas (1675), Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Lode, Cambridgeshire: Anglesey Abbey (Collection of Lord Fairhaven), Lower Gallery. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). A pastoral scene with a lake and classical ruins. Beneath the ruins on the left of the painting is Aeneas. At the bottom right are a seated shepherd with a crook and a seated shepherdess in a blue dress playing a small pipe. The latter is cylindrical but with a slight bell flare, and all fingers of both hands touch the instrument so no holes are visible, nor is the window/labium as the detail is too small to show one. It is not impossible that Claude might have intended this to represent a recorder.
  • Pastoral Landscape (1645), Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600-1682). Birmingham: Barber Institute of Fine Arts, 53.6. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). Claude also made a drawing from this composition in his Liber Vertitatis (British Museum, No. 93). The usual misty lights with distant mountains and a town with a castle. In the middle ground is a bridge over water which feeds a lake beyond the meadows where a cow and goats graze, looked after by a standing shepherdess in a red dress. Another seated shepherdess in a blue dress sits playing a pipe, taught by a kneeling shepherd. The pipe is of alto size, its beaked end just touching her lips (but no sign of a window/labium). It is almost cylindrical with a very slight outward conicity to a more strongly flared bell. All the player’s fingers are on with the uppermost (left-hand) little finger supporting the side of the pipe, and the lowermost (right-hand) little finger in the offset hole position, immediately below which is an incised decorative ring before the start of the flare. Her wrists are in excellent recorder-playing position. The group is by a tree at the left of the landscape. This work was painted for the Marquis de Fourenay, French Ambassador in Rome.
  • Liber Veritatis: Pastoral Landscape (164[5?]), aquatint in sepia, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). London: British Museum, No. 93. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). A drawing from Claude’s painting, Pastoral Landscape (Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham).
  • Landscape with Peasants and Cattle (1776), mezzotint & etching on woven paper, 20.6 × 25.9 cm , Richard Earlom (British, 1743–1822) after Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Ref. Liber Veritatis Or, A Collection of Two Hundred Prints … Executed by Richard Earlom (1802-1810: pl. 121), published by John Boydell, Cheapside. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Accession No. 1930/19. Ref. Website: The University of Michigan Museum of Art. In the foreground a shepherd seated beside a stream plays a cylindrical pipe to a shepherdess who stands beside him. In the middle-ground cattle graze. In the distance are ruins.
  • Pastoral Landscape with Lake Albano and Castel Gondolfo, oil on tin, hexagonal, 30.5 × 37.5 cm, Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, Inv. PD.950-1963. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2005: 36–37 & ill. 6, b&w). Castel Gandolfo was the Pope’s country residence. Two shepherds and a shepherdess stand listening two a seated shepherd and shepherdess playing flute and what is probably a recorder respectively. It is said that Claude showed the instruments more clearly than usual because the painting was for a music lover, Pope Urban VIII. There is an engraving of this by Parboni *early 19th century) completed as a rectangle.
  • Landscape (17th century), follower of Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600–1682). York: Art Gallery, Inv. YORAG 808. As their goats and beasts graze on the slopes at a bend in a river, two shepherds sit together playing a flute and a pipe. The latter has a slightly flared bell and the player’s fingers seem well-disposed for recorder playing. In the background are a bridge, a tower of some sort and rolling countryside.
  • Unknown, engraving by John Boydell (1774) after Claude Gellée, ‘Le Lorrain’ (1600-1682). Cambridge: Garden House, corridor between pool and bar. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). One of two copies of engravings after original drawings owned by the Duke of Devonshire rather than originals, dated 1774. A group of five figures at centre lower right, with sheep and cows on a neighbouring bluff overlooking a lake in a hollow with steep cliffs around it. A shepherd and two shepherdesses stand idly in their usual way, but two seated shepherdesses with them have pipes. The first holds hers in one hand, not playing, but looking at the other; her instrument has a very marked bell-flare – probably a shawm. The other shepherdess plays her pipe (left hand lowermost) which is only slightly outwardly conical with a slender mouthpiece, in fact almost cylindrical until a slight bell-flare. Between the bell end and her lower hand a hole, offset to the player’s left, is clearly visible and could be a little-finger offset hole. No other details are visible. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Charles Clay

English watch- and clock-maker who became one of the foremost builders of  complex musical clocks in London; combining his own craft with those of  painters, gold and silversmiths, furniture makers and composers (amongst them Handel), he created a  series of intricate and beautiful musical clocks, often incorporating  automata; appointed clock-maker to His Majesty’s Board of Works (1723–1737);  born Yorkshire (late 17th century), died London (1740).

  • Musical Clock (1735), ormolu case front attributed to John Michael Rysbrack  (1694–1770; painted decoration by Jacopo Amigoni (1685–1752); small sculptural figures and groups for the crowns by Louis-Francous Roubilac (ca1702-1762);  clockwork by Charles Clay (op. 1716–m. 1740). Detail 1. Detail 2.  Birmingham: Museum & Art Gallery. Ref. Website: Handel House Museum, The Triumph of Music over Time (2013); Website: flickr, groenling’s photostream (2013, col.) The clock was altered in the 19th century to play then-popular ballads. On the left-hand side of the case a highly decorated panel has at its centre a trophy of musical instruments comprising a lute, a lyre, a perfectly depicted baroque recorder (head and body visible), a syrinx, the bell of trumpet, and an open book of music (possibly legible). A trophy in the centre of a similar panel on the right-hand side comprises a lute, a violin & bow, a tabor, a trumpet, a flute, a triangle, and an open book of music.

William James Morley Clayton

British painter of tromp l’oeil still-lifes; born 1834, died 2006.

  • Still-life, Wiliam James Morley Clayton (1934–2006). Location unknown; formerly Greystoke Ghyll: Beckstones Art Gallery. Ref. Website: Beckstones Art Gallery (2005, col.) On a table covered with a blue cloth are a glass of wine and a bottle, a score of Beethoven waltzes, a bugle, a violin and a soprano recorder of modern two-piece design. There is a green drape in the background.
  • Still-life, Wiliam J.M. Clayton (1934–2006). Location unknown; formerly Greystoke Ghyll: Beckstones Art Gallery. Ref. Advertisement, Beckstones Art Gallery (2005). Hanging from a panel are a violin and bow and a music score. On a small ledge below are a modern clarinet and a soprano recorder of modern two-piece design.

Clement de Jonghe – See Paulus Pieterz. Potter

Hendrick de Clerck [Clercq]

Flemish mannerist painter and draughtsman active in Rome and Brussels; court painter to the governors of the southern Netherlands; known for his altarpieces and cabinet paintings depicting allegorical and mythological subjects, which were collected by Brussels’ aristocratic patrons; frequently, he painted the figures while collaborating with other artists such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Denijs van Alsloot; born (?1570), died Brussels (1630).

  1. Adoration of the Shepherds, oil on panel, 123.5 × 93.0 cm, Hendrick de Clerck (?1570–1630). Location unknown: formerly Vienna: Dorotheum, 12 March 1998, Lot 72. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Rijksbureau de Kunshistorische Documentatie 45293 (2010, col.) Winged putti (not just heads) hover above. An angel points towards the Christ-child as Mary draws back his cover and Joseph look on in wonder. On either side, two of the shepherds kneel in adoration. The shepherd on the left of the picture has a long staff over his shoulder; beside his purse hanging from his belt is what appears to be a small cylindrical duct flute, the window/labium is visible, although no finger holes are indicated. In the background, a shepherd hastens to the scene. In the foreground, a dog sniffs at a sleeping lamb. Auctioned 13 December 2000, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Joos van Cleve [Cleef, or Joos van der Beke]

Netherlandish artist identified with Master of the Death of the Virgin, active in Antwerp; known primarily for his religious paintings and portraits; born Cleves (1480–1490), died Antwerp (1540/1541); father of the painter Cornelis (Sotte Cleef) van Cleve (1520–ca 1569).

  • The Nativity Shepherds, oil on panel, 76 × 67 cm, Joos van Cleve (1480/90–1540/41). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldersammlungen, 6667. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 136). Mary uncovers the Christ-child for his admiring visitors who include three shepherds and a young child. A bearded shepherd with a white hood (centre right) holds a long cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) of which the window/labium and very pointed beak are clear. Beneath his hand can be seen five large finger holes. There is a single incised ring at the foot of the instrument. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
  • Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (1514), Joos van Cleve (1480/90–1540/41). Detail. Nancy: Musée de Beaux Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). The infant Christ in his Mother’s lap reaches out invitingly to St Catherine who stands demurely before them. Between them a priest reads from a document, and an angel with huge pale blue wings plays a long mainly cylindrical pipe with a gradual but then quite marked bell flare. No window/labium is visible, but the playing position and relaxed lips suggests a duct flute. The pipe is held right hand uppermost with the little finger away from the instrument. Five finger holes are visible between the left and right hands, one (or two) being under the right hand. The little finger of the left hand appears to be covering a hole. No other instruments are depicted in this picture, so the pipe may be symbolic of heavenly marriage, in which case it could well be a recorder. To the right of the Virgin and Child stands Joseph. Before them is a table with a vase of flowers, a plate of fruit, some heart-shaped leaves and a jar.

Francis [Franz] Cleyn [Kleine]

German-born painter, designer, illustrator and printmaker; named court painter by James I of England in 1624, and designer of the famous Mortalke tapestries, also produced a small number of etchings; born Rostock, Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1582), died London (1658).

  • Septem Liberales Artes: Musica (1645), etching, 12.4 × 10.1 cm, Francis Cleyn (1582–1658). New York: Public Library; London: Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. E.1280-1936.. Ref. Beck & Roth (1965: 26, fig.); Website: artnet (2016). From a set of allegorical representations of the Seven Liberal Arts depicted as female figures. Here, a personification of Music is represented by  a young female lutenist accompanied by a gentleman flautist and a singing boy. They are surrounded by instruments, including a curved cornetto, shawm, violin and a small ambiguous pipe lying on the floor; and a harp, cittern, shawm, flute and recorder arranged in a trophy on the wall. The recorder is very long and has a widely flared bell. The window/labium is clearly depicted.

John Closterman (also spelled Cloosterman, or Klosterman)

German portraitist who painted in Paris, England and at the Spanish court; born Osnabrück, Germany (1656), died London (1711); older brother of artist John Baptist Closterman (m. 1713)  – their works have often been conflated.

  • The Children of John Taylor of Bifrons Park (? 1696), oil on canvas, 19.0 × 27.2 cm), John Closterman (1656–1711). London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG 5320. Ref. Moeck (1983: May, col.); Recorder & Music 7 (4): front cover (1981); Recorder & Music 13 (1): front cover (1993). In this great family portrait the Taylor family’s motto ‘Fame is sweeter than the white rose’ is used here as an organising motif. The oldest child, Mary, seated centrally, holding a cornucopia of flowers, extends a white rose to her brother Nathaniel. The toddler below Nathaniel is Bridges; he offers a rose to the youngest child, Upton, who is supported by his brother John. On the left side, Olive and Margaret crown their brother Brook with laurel. Brook (1685–1731), holds an elaborately turned baroque-style recorder with ivory mounts that symbolises family harmony. Two of his older sisters, Olive and Margaret (depicted as heraldic figures) hold a laurel wreath above his head. Although only 11 years old, Brook was already a virtuoso on the recorder. In later life he became a distinguished mathematician.

John Cluer

English engraver and general printer whose production included ballads, chapbooks, labels and shopkeepers’ signs; he soon turned to music printing and issued some of the best engraved music of his period; a considerable innovator, he introduced the use of engraving on pewter rather than copper plates; born c. 1681, died London (1728).

  • Title Page: Siroe, King of Persia (1759). Ref. Website: Alamy, Image KF0J26 (2021, col.) A personification of Music, seated, plays the harp. Above her are a trumpeting angel and putti; beside her a putto sings from a part book. Various instruments are littered about including an organ, timbrel, oboes, viol and a turned baroque three-piece recorder. This is a pastiche: the central figure of Music and the singing putto, and the collection of instruments on the ground are from Mignard’s St Cecilia playing the Harp (1691). This design was used again for the title pages of the first editions of Handel’s Tamerlane (1724), Alexander (1726), Scipio (?1726), Admetus (1727) and  Rodelinda (c. 1728) – see below.
  • Title Page: Tamerlane (sic.), Handel (1724), engraving, 29 × 22 cm, printed and sold by John Cluer (?-1728), London. Loc. Halle: Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle, Inv. X 83 -T (2021, col.)  Ref. Smith (1960).
  • Title Page: Alexander (sic.), Handel (1726), engraving, printed and sold by John Cluer (?-1728), London. Loc. London: British Museum; Paris: Bibiothèque Nationale, Department of Music. Ref. Mirimonde (1974: 182, pl. 142); Fraenkel (1968: pl. 153); Archiv Moeck; Paris RIdIM (1999). For description see above.
  • Title Page: Scipio (sic.), Handel (?1726), engraving, 29 × 22 cm, printed and sold by John Cluer (?-1728), London. Loc. Halle: Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle, Inv. X 83 -T (2021, col.)  Ref. Smith (1960). For description see above.
  • Title Page: Admetus (sic.), Handel (1727), engraving, 29 × 22 cm, printed and sold by John Cluer (?-1728), London. Loc. Halle: Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle, Inv. X 073 -T (2021, col.)  Ref. Smith (1960) For description see above.
  • Title Page: Rodelinda (sic.), Handel (c. 1728), engraving by John Cluer, (?-1728), London. Loc. London: Foundling Museum. For description see above.

Charles Nicolas Cochin, the younger

French engraving, lettering artist and illustrator; in addition to creating independent drawings, he produced numerous designs for paintings and sculptures, and illustrated more than two hundred books; employed by an agency of King Louis XV to create commemorative prints for every birth, marriage, and funeral at court; later made curator of the royal drawings collection, and given lodgings in the Louvre; born Paris (1715), died Paris (1790).

  • Telemachus Entertaining Shepherds by Playing the Flute (1773), drawing, 21.0 × 31.8 cm, Charles Nicolas Cochin, the younger (1715–1790). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Inv. RF 14881. Ref. Joconde Website (2007, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Telemachus was the son of Odysseus and Penelope in Greek mythology whose story is told in the Iliad and Odyssey. In this picture Telemachus sits on a pile of rocks in front of a temple playing his pipe (which could be an oboe or possibly a recorder), surrounded by enraptured shepherds and shepherdesses and their animals. Cochin’s image may have been inspired by Francois Fénelon’s Les aventures de Télémaque (1699) which was amongst the most read literary work of the 18th century.

Hieronymous Cock

Netherlandish painter active in Antwerp; born ca 1510, died 1570; son of Jan Wellens de Cock (died ca 1526). See also Frans Floris.

  • Hearing (ca 1560–1570), painting, Hieronymous Cock (ca. 1510-1570). Location unknown. Ref. Munich RIdM (1999: Ngm 811). A personification of hearing stands in a landscape playing a lute and surrounded by musical instruments littered around her on the ground. Amongst the latter are a harp, viol, flute, double pipes and a recorder with a flared bell. There is also a copperplate version (see below).
  • Hearing (ca 1560-1570), copperplate engraving, Hieronymous Cock (ca. 1510–1570). Nuremburg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, HB 27178. Ref. Munich RIdM (1999); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Includes a recorder. Copied from an original painting (see above).

Jan Wellens [Wellen] de Cock

Netherlandish painter, active in Antwerp; a shadowy figure, noteworthy as one of the earliest followers of Bosch; his penchant seems to have been for small pictures of hermits and saints in weird landscapes; active from 1506 to before ca 1529; father of painters Matthys (ca 1509–1548) and Hieronymus (ca 1510–1570).

  • The Temptation of St Anthony (ca 1520), oil on panel, 60.0 × 45.5 cm, Jan Wellens de Cock (op. 1506–a. 1529). Madrid: Museo ThyssenBornemisza, Inv. 93 (1928.5). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). depicts Saint Anthony during his retreat to the desert where he was tempted by the Devil. The saint is shown kneeling in an attitude of prayer and wearing a monk’s habit. On his right, a group of naked women who stand out for their luminous pallor represent carnal temptation. They display themselves to the saint, covered only by a thin veil that reveals their bodies. While the scene alludes to Saint Anthony’s chastity, it is certainly not devoid of erotic connotations. The landscape in which the episode is set evokes a fantastical universe with imaginary animals that lie in wait for Anthony and recalls the work of Hieronymous Bosch. A winged devil sits in the4 fork of a tree playing what in most respects looks exactly like a recorder. It has a bell end of the Virdung design, and the hand and finger positions are correct, left hand lower with outstretched little finger. The mouthpiece end of the instrument, however, is the devil’s own nose!

Jean Cocteau

French artist and writer, who made his name widely known in poetry, fiction, film, ballet, painting, and opera; his works reflect the influence of surrealism, psychoanalysis, cubism, Catholic Religion, and the use of opium; he was a promoter of avant-garde styles and fashions; born Paris (1889), died Milly, near Paris (1963).

  • Faun Playing a Flute (1959), pastel, Jean Cocteau (1889–1963). Location unknown: Auctioned 17 March 2000 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, 20th Century (2002, col.) The head of a wild-haired faun holds to his mouth a short conical pipe with five (possibly six) finger holes visible but no window/labium.
  • Faun Playing a Flute (1959), mixed media, 27 × 21 cm, Jean Cocteau (1889–1963). Location unknown: Claeys Gallery (2009, col.) A faun with enormous ears sits playing a stylised conical pipe – clearly a duct flute, given the title.

Pieter Jacobz. Codde

Dutch painter of small, cheerful pictures of officers, carousing in guard-rooms or dissolute ladies and gentleman enjoying themselves, as well as portraits, genre scenes and history paintings; born Amsterdam (1599), died Amsterdam (1678).

  • Merry Company with Masked Dancers (1636), 50.0 × 76.5 cm, Pieter Jacobz. Codde (1599–1678). The Hague: Mauritshuis, Inv. 392. Ref. Bernt (1948, 1: pl. 187); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Lute Iconography LI-927 (2023, col.) In this merry company, people are eating, drinking and making music. In the middle of the room, a woman in a fashionable black dress is dancing with a man wearing a Venetian mask and a fool’s costume. His two companions on the left are masked as well. A man beside a woman lutenist plays a slender, cylindrical soprano recorder, right hand lowermost. All the fingers (including the little finger) of his lower hand are lifted showing holes four, five and six (seven is not visible). The window/labium is not visible. There is a short bell flare with a possible incised ring. He plays from the side of his mouth, perhaps to avoid the lutenist’s arm. Nearby, leaning against a table is a beautifully painted cello, and on the floor are a lute, a violin and a book of music dated 1636.
  • Pallas Athena with the Muses, Pieter Jacobz. Codde (1599–1678). Bremen: Kunsthalle. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BMkh 23); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). No instruments are played or held, but there is a pile of instruments on the ground at the bottom right of the picture. Four of these are woodwind instruments, including a cylindrical alto recorder.
  • Musical Gathering (1678), oil on panel, 47.0 × 69.9 cm, Pieter Jacobz. Codde (1599–1678). Nottingham: Castle Museum, Inv. NCM 1904-89. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999); Website (Blog): It’s About Time (2014, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-3270 (2023, col.) Identical to the above. Musicians seated around a table sing and play violin, lute and a cylindrical slightly flared-bell pipe with no visible window/labium or finger holes, though the left hand little finger position suggests a recorder. On the left a man and two women are conversing. On the floor before the table are a cittern, a cello and another lute.
  • Musical Gathering (c. 1633), oil on oak panel, 32.5 × 41.3, Pieter Jacobz. Codde (1599–1678). Frankfurt: Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Inv. SG 509. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Fsm 18); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1338 (2023, col.) A group of two men, three women and one androgyne sing and play music together around a table. One of the men and two women sing, a man in large black hat sits on the table playing a large baroque lute. An unusual looking person wearing a cape and a very strange hat plays a slender cyldindrical pipe, probably a recorder but no details are visible. The remaining woman has her back to us but is probably singing.

Pieter Coecke (Cock; Coeck; Coeke; Kock; Koecke) van Aelst [van Alost]

Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, weaver and designer of woodcuts, stained glass and tapestries; commissioned by Pope Leo X to make a series of tapestries illustrating the Acts of the Apostles from cartoons produced between 1514 and 1516 by Raphael (1483–1520), worked in Antwerp and Brussels; born Aelst [now Aalst] (1502), died Brussels (1556).

  • The Seven Deadly Sins: The Triumph of Lust (1540–1550), cartoon of tapestry (also known as the Tapestry of the Dance), Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1520–1556). Brussels: Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis. Ref. D’Hulst (1967: 203–212); A. Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.). Lust rides on a chariot drawn by a seven-headed monster. In one hand she holds high her cup of abominations; in the other is a mirror. At her feet lies a lute. The side of her chariot is decorated with musical instruments – a lyre, a Renaissance fiddle crossed with its bow, two crossed shawms tied with a ribbon and two duct flutes (flageolets or recorders, one with six holes visible) tied with ribbons.
  • The Seven Deadly Sins: The Triumph of Lust (ca 1542–1544), tapestry of wool, silk, and gilt metal-wrapped thread, 459 × 832 cm, designed (ca 1532-1533) by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1520–1556). Woven in Brussels (ca 1542–1544). Madrid: Palacio Real. Ref. Exhibition, Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY (2002). The Triumph of Lust is one of four surviving tapestries from a set purchased by Mary of Hungary in 1544. Lust rides on a chariot drawn by a seven-headed monster. In one hand she holds high her cup of abominations; in the other is a mirror. At her feet lies a lute. The side of her chariot is decorated with musical instruments – a lyre, a Renaissance fiddle crossed with its bow, two crossed shawms tied with a ribbon and two duct flutes (flageolets or recorders, one with six holes visible) tied with ribbons.

Marcellus [Marcellis] Coffermans [Koffermans, Koffermaker, Helmon]

Netherlandish artist, a Master in the Antwerp painters’ guild since 1549; his small paintings of religious subjects were used mainly for export, and many ended up in Spain due to trade relations at that time; he took his inspiration primarily from the works of artists active two or three generations before him; born Helmond (1524), died Antwerp (1581).

  • Virgin and Child with Joseph and Angels, oil on wood, 16 × 13 cm (panel only), copy (18-19th century) after ? Marcellus Coffermans (1524-1581). York: York Art Gallery, YOARG 744. Ref. Rasmussen, Lute (2001); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1452 (2023, col.) Watched by Joseph, who writes in a book, Mary holds her child in her lap as he is entertained by three winged putti one of whom holds a parrot, another plays a lute and a third a duct-flute, quite possibly a recorder. Rasmusen notes that the putti are the reverse of the putti in Mabuse’s Virgin and Child (Palermo).
  • Virgin of Belén (1560), oil and gold leaf on panel, 102 × 74 cm, Marcellus Coffermans (1524-1581). Detail. Seville: Iglesia de la Annunciatión. The Virgin nurses the Child, a golden crescent at her feet, surrounded by angel musicians who sing and play harp, lute, fiddle, triangle (with jingle rings), and a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder). One angels offers the Virgin a vase of lowers. Above, two angels crown her.
  • Nativity, Marcellus Coffermans (1524-1581). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Mary and Joseph a cow, a donkey and four small angels worship the infant Jesus. Two of the angels play lute and a slender pipe with a strongly flared bell respectively. The pipe seems to have a hint of a window/labium and might represent a recorder. A shawm would be out of place here.

Evert (also Edward/Edwaert/Edwart/Evaert/) [Pietersz.] Collier (Colÿer/Collyer/Colyer/Kollier/Coleyn etc.)

Evert Collier was a Dutch painter, possibly of English descent. His works include vanitas still-lifes and trompes l’oeil, but also domestic scenes, portraits and religious subjects. He painted in excess of 70 still-lifes with musical content including many examples in which a literary text is also placed within the display inviting the viewer to look beneath the surface for a deeper meaning. He was born in Breda (ca 1640) and died in ? London (1708).

  • Vanitas (1662), oil on canvas, 166.3 × 136.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Christies, Live Auction 10392, Old Master and British Paintings Day Sale, 9 December 2015, Lot 149; formerly London: Christies, Sale 7294, Old Master Pictures, 7 December 2006, Lot 28; formerly on loan to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (1989-); auctioned in New York by Christies, Important Old Master Paintings, 25 May 1999, Lot 10. Ref. Beyer et al. (1992, 6: 263); Legêne (1994: 103–104, colour illustration); Legêne (1995: 107); Grijp (1998: 38, no. 6, fig. 68, detail); Bouterse (2001); Gabrius Data Bank (2004, col.); Artfact (2004); Rasmussen (2007, Bagpipe); Website: Lute Iconography LI-374 (2023, col.); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography, bsip326 (2022, col.) An early work by Collier, the format and size of the painting are unique, suggesting that it may have been a specific commission or possibly produced for a special occasion. The only other paintings of similarly large size are also early works, and there is a marked difference in the high quality of these paintings compared to many of the later works of a smaller format, some of which have the appearance of studio assistance. A similarly composed painting by Collier, signed and also dated 1662, of horizontal format (102.5 × 132.0 cm), is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Inv. A3471). The present painting depicts a globe, a casket of jewels and medallions, books (including a theological tome open at a chapter headed JERUSALEM), a hurdy-gurdy, a bagpipe, a lute, a violin, a silver tazza, a roemer, a nautilus shell, a shawm, a globe, a print with a self-portrait of the artist and a musical score on a draped table, a curtain with tasseled drapes above. A slip of paper tucked between the pages of a Bible is inscribed VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS. There are two recorders of renaissance style: one is a tenor with a metal-sheathed beak, the foot hidden beneath a book; the other is possibly a basset (standing on top of the hurdy-gurdy) with a fontanelle and swallow-tail key. The musical score is a copy of Questa dolce sirena from Jacob van Eyck’s Der fluyten lusthof (1644–ca 1655), presumably relating to the temptations of the Sirens. Similar instruments to the tenor recorder are depicted by van Steenwijk, Vermuelen and Vliet.
  • Young Man Fitting Shoes on a Young Woman in an Elegant Interior (ca 1670), panel, 37.5 × 43.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Galerie Koller, Zurich, 16 March 2005, Lot 3063. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000024136 (2010, col.) In an elegant interior, a young man kneels before a finely dressed young woman as he places a shoe on her foot. She holds the other shoe in her hand. Behind her is a long table on which all sorts of items are cluttered. On a stool in the foreground is an open ? music book across which lies a pipe, possibly a recorder.
  • Vanitas (1691), oil on linen, 77 × 65 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Tarn: Private Collection; exhibited Castres: Musée Goya, 1956 Cat. 12..  Ref. Moeck (1983: front cover, col.); Early Music 16(3): 333 (1988); Moeck, Celle: Tibia – Musikbilder auf Postkarten, Series 3, Nr 4 – Ed. Moeck Nr. 11103 (1987, col.); Francone et al. (1996: 33, fig. 20); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000152724 (2010, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1395 (2023, col.) On a draped table are a lute, oboe & guitar, a book open at a page inscribed MUSICA LETITIA COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM from beneath which the head of a baroque recorder (with ivory mounts) projects, a compass, a globe, an hour-glass, and an open score of a Menuet.
  • Vanitas: Allegory of Art, Evert Collier (ca 1640 – ? 1710). Location unknown: Private collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 33, fig. 20, b&w); Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003). On a shelf are a book with a ticket, another open at a page inscribed MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM, an open score of a Menuet, a violin and bow, an oboe (with an elaborate ivory ferrule on the foot-joint), and a turned baroque recorder with ivory beak and ferrule only the head and first two finger holes of which are visible.
  • Letter Rack (ca 1698), oil on canvas, Evart Collier (fl. 1640-1707). Adelaide: Art Gallery of South Australia. A still-life showing a letter rack with letters, scissors, quill, wax, combs music (a Menuet, perfectly legible), and a 4-holed flageolet (not a recorder) with ivory mounts.
  • Vanitas / A Miscellany of Musical Instruments (after 1702), 97 × 123 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640 – ? 1710). Location unknown: auctioned Galerie St Lucas, Vienna (1973). Ref. Crawford Sale, Christie’s (11 October 1946); Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, Auction Catalogue (1973/4: 22); Rasmussen & Huene (1982: 35, fig 11, b&w – caption in error); Leppert (1988: 144); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000184459 (2010, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Rasmussen (2007, Bagpipe). On a draped table lie a globe, a elaborately decorated nautilus cup, a ornamental glass goblet, a plate of peaches, a book with a ticket reading MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM, a watch, a book open at a chapter entitled “The Geographical Grammar by PAT. GORDON MA and Fellows of the ROYAL SOCIETY for the Right Honourable THOMAS Earl of Coventry”, an open music book, an oboe only the foot of which is visible, a violin and bow, a bassoon, a bagpipe, and a baroque-style recorder with ivory mounts, made of wood stained to imitate tortoise shell (only the head and centre joint visible. This work has been attributed to Cornelis Brize (1622 – 1670/1679+). Gordon’s Geographical Grammar was first published ca 1702, which suggests a forward date for this painting.
  • Self Portrait with Vanitas (1684), oil on canvas, 35.5 × 30.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640 – 1708). Honolulu: Museum of Art; formerly Recklinghausen: Private collection; sold at Maastricht 2006 to Johnny Van Haeften; auctioned Sotheby’s (London), 8 December 2005, Lot 124 (sold). Ref. Bernt (1970, 1: 247); Grijp (198: 37); Fischer (1972: 95-97, pl., b&w); Fischer (1975: 70); Vroom (1980, II: 44). Griffioen (1988: 438-439; 1991: 64-65, fig. 3.9, b&w); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2006); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 114151 (2010, col.); Website: Web Gallery of Art (2022, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-486 (2023, col.); Lasocki (2023: 118). The artist sits at a draped table on which are scattered a skull, a cap (with a light blue feather), a globe, books (one open), a smoking pipe, a taper (lit), a goblet, and three instruments including a violin (with a broken top string), the head and body of a one-piece recorder (of which the maker’s mark is visible), and the body of a transverse flute, showing six finger holes and a metal ferrule at the foot. The artist holds in one hand his palette and in the other a portrait sketch of a woman (probably one of his deceased wives, or the one who was alive at the time, portrayed together with himself to intimate the brevity of life for both of them, as seen on the piece of paper sticking out of a book: VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA). Slipping off the table underneath the violin and recorder is a book of music open at a page headed ‘TANNEKEN by Jacob van EYCK’, a reference to the biblical Onan who practiced coitus intereruptus in refusal to fulfill his obligation of levirate marriage with Tamar.
  • Vanitas (1664), oil on canvas, 50.9 × 60.4 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Leiden: Museum de Lakenhal, Inv. 237. Ref. Exhibition Catalogue: Mens en Muziek, Dordrechts Museum (1957: No. 12); Bergström (1970: 9); Museum de Lakenhal, Catalogue (1984: pl. 96); Haak (1996: 437, pl. 958); Jongh (1982: 15, #40); Exhibition catalogue: Still Life in the Age of Rembrandt, Auckland (1982); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 7253 (2010, col.); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website, Bibliopolis: Images (2007 , col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3180 (2023-col.) On a draped table are astronomical and terrestrial globes, a purse, a watch, two open books, an open copy of the song-book Cupidoos Lust-hof [Cupid’s Pleasure Garden] from 1662, a music book, a violin and bow and an alto-sized renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, the foot hidden beneath one of the books. A ticket attached to the terrestrial globe reads VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS. The left-hand book is Flavius Josephus’s Van die Joetsche oorloghe, ende Destructie van Jerusalem [The Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusalem], probably from 1553, the other is Eerste weeck der scheppinghe des werrelts [First Week of the Creation of the World] by Du Bartas from 1622.
  • Vanitas (? 1685–1689), oil on panel, 28.5 × 23.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, London, 3 July 1996, Lot 122. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 0000198976 (2010, col.) On a draped table are an hourglass, a terrestrial globe, a purse, papers, a book open at a chapter headed “Beschrijvinghe vande vermaerde Stadt AMSTERDAM”, a skull, a pamphlet with cover reading “E. Collijer. fe:”, a shawm or oboe (only the foot visible), a flute with a brass ferrule at the foot, and an alto renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the upper part visible.
  • Vanitas (? 1685–1689), oil on panel, 25 × 24 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Galerie d’Art St Honoré, Paris, 6 June 2005. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000198668 (2014, col.) On a draped table are a skull, a terrestrial globe, books – one open at a chapter headed “Beschrijvinghe van ROMEN”, a ticket reading FINIS. CORONAT OPUS, a flute with a metal ferrule at the foot, and an alto renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the upper part visible.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas. 100.4 × 124.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: sold Sotheby’s, 12 December 2002, Lot. 157. Ref. Website: Storm Fine Arts (2001, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 55492 & 189045 (2010, col.) A candlestick, musical instruments, books including Rider Cardanus’ The British Merlin (an almanac issued from 1656 until at least 1830) which is open at a page headed open at a chapter entitled “A Description of the WORLD”, an open jewellery casket, a watch-glass, a terrestrial globe, a musical score and a print of Van Dyck’s Self Portrait, all on a table. A ticket reads VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA. The musical instruments are a violin and a baroque boxwood recorder with ivory mounts and beak.
  • Vanitas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Madrid: Antique Fair, auction (a. 1993). Ref. Auction Catalogue (1993, col.); Letter: Beryl Kenya de Pascual to Ruth van Baak Griffioen (1993). On a table with a drape lie jumbled together an ornate goblet, hourglass, skull (upper part only), books, music, a watch, a globe, a lute, violin, and a flared-bell recorder only the body and foot of which are visible. Although only six finger holes are visible, the lowermost is offset for the little finger.
  • Vanitas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Munich: Bernheimer (dealer). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, 36578 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A still-life with a globe, an open book, a lute and a recorder. Only the head of the recorder is visible, encased in a brass sheath
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 98.0 × 129.7 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: Sotheby’s (London), 17 December 1998, Lot 39 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image BON19032, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 57337 (2010, col.) Beneath what looks like a draped orange and white flag, astrological and terrestrial globes, travel and music books, a letter with a wax seal, a writing set, a watch, an hourglass, a shawm (or oboe), a violin, a lute, and the head of renaissance recorder with a metal sheath covering the beak and one finger hole visible. One of the books is open at a map of the world; the other at a chapter entitled HOLLANDT.
  • Vanitas, oil painting, 62.5 × 75 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Bonhams, Adams Collection, Part III – Important Early European Works of Art, Sculpture and Maiolica, 22 February 1996, Lot 342. Ref. Artfact (2003). Still life, peaches on pewter dish, nautilus cup, recorder.
  • Vanitas (1693), oil on panel, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Locality unknown: formerly sold by Lord Carrington, London, 4 May 1951. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, Negative 902703; Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). Signed “E. Collier fec. Ano 1693)”. On a draped table before a column lie a terrestrial globe, a score a closed book, books (one of which is open at a chapter entitled A COLLECTION OF EMBLEMS ANCIENT AND MODERNE), various papers, a shawm (of which only the foot and lower body are visible), a flute (with brass ferrule at foot) and, projecting from underneath the books, a renaissance-style recorder with a brass-sheathed beak, the window/labium and two finger holes clearly visible. A ticket between the pages of one of the books reads VANITAS. Another, behind the globe, reads VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA. Auctioned 10 July 1998, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w). On a draped ledge lie an open book, a money bag, an hourglass, a terrestrial globe, a lute and a renaissance-style recorder. The recorder is partially hidden underneath the lute and only the beak and brass-sheathed head can be seen. Auctioned 31 October 1997, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas (>1684), oil on canvas, 60.0 × 72.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Sotheby’s, Meadway Films, Ltd., 24 November 1971, Lot 153; Schickman Galleries; New York: Sotheby’s, Important Old Master Painting, 11 January 1996, Lot 71 (unsold); New York: Sotheby’s, 22 May 1997, Lot 82 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w); Artfacts (2003); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriches Documentatie 9568 (2010, col.) On a table lie books books by classical authors (Pliny, Aesop and Cicero), music, a violin and a baroque style recorder with an ivory beak, mid-joint retaining ring and foot ring, and an exceptionally flared bell. A book is open at chapter headed APOLOGY FOR ZOSIMUS. Above the recorder a ticket reads “Vita Brevis, Ars Longa”. The inclusion of the book at the center of the composition suggests a date for the present picture. An English edition of Joannes Leunvlaviuss’ Apology for Zosimus … was published in 1684, and it seems likely that the present work would date to after its publication.
  • Still-life, painting on lacquered wood, oval, 33 × 28 cm, Rossi ? after Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Torrino: Matteo Nenna. Ref. eBay (Italy), item /201394181592 (August 2015, col.) On a table are a violin, a baroque recorder a sheet of music and two books, one closed, the other open at chapter headed APOLOGY FOR ZOSIMUS. A ticket held by the pages of the closed book reads “Vita Brevis, Ars Longa”. The inclusion of the book at the center of the composition suggests a date for the present picture. An English edition of Joannes Leunvlaviuss’ Apology for Zosimus … was published in 1684, and it seems likely that the present work would date to after its publication. This gives every appearance of being a crudely painted pastiche based on the Collier Vanitas auctioned at New York: Sotheby’s, 22 May 1997, Lot 82 (see above).
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 28.5 × 23.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Sothebys, Sale 3 July 1996, Lot 122. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriches Documentatie 6077 (2010, col.) On a draped table lie an hourglass, a terrestrial globe, a money bag, an open book, a watch, a manuscript (signed E. Collier), the bell of shawm (projecting from behind the glboe), a transverse flute with brass ferrule at foot (propped up on the frame of the globe), and a recorder with a brass- sheathed beak, the window/labium and first finger hole visible. Auctioned 3 July 1996, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w). On a table are a decorated nautilus shell cup, an ornate pewter dish with grapes, cut peaches and cherries, and a ? medallion draped over the head and upper body of a baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts. Auctioned 22 February 1996, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 34.9 × 26 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Rafael Valls Gallery. Ref. Haynes (1988: 333, fig. 20, b&w); Woodmansterne Publications: card; Rowland-Jones (2000b: fig., b&w); Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image RAF81429, col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriches Documentatie 7441 (2010, col.) Scattered on a drapped table are a globe, a printed book of music by Jacob van Eyck, books, and musical instruments including a shawm, a transverse flute with a metal ferrule at foot standing on the back of a lute, and a baroque recorder in a light wood (? box) projecting from under lute. One of the books is open at a chapter headed LEYDEN. Auctioned 8 December 1995, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w). On a draped table lie books, an hourglass, a violin and bow, and a baroque recorder with ivory head ferrules and foot ring. The book is open at a page with the motto MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM. Auctioned 19 October 1995, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 43.7 × 33.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Christie’s 1995, lot 1019. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A violin, a recorder, a lute, books, a musical manuscript … Not seen. Possibly a copy.
  • Vanitas (1662), oil on canvas, 95.3 × 75.6 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Private Collection. Ref. Sotheby’s, New York, Lot 168A, 24 January 2002; Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 36578 (2010, col.) A vanitas still-life with a globe, an hourglass, a pouch, books, sheet music, a lute and a recorder on a draped table. Only the head of the recorder is visible which has a brass-sheathed beak. One of the earliest known works by Collier amongst a select group of vanitas paintings, dated from 1662. During this period he was working in Leiden. All four works by Collier dated 1662 are signed Kollier and it was not until his move to London in the 1690s that he began to sign his works Collier.
  • Vanitas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) On a bench lie a violin, a metal teapot, a metal bowl, a quill in an ink-stand, books, an open music book, and a baroque recorder with an ivory beak and what may be an ornate silver ferrule (the body and foot are hidden behind the teapot).
  • Vanitas (1660s–early 1670s), oil on panel, 41.3 × 52.4 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Christie’s, Sale 6202, Old Master Pictures, 29 October 1999, Lot 38 (sold). Ref. Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Web site: The Great Bass Viol (2004, col.); Vroom (1980, 2); Legêne (1995: 119, pl. 7); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 62012 (2010, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-372 (2023, col.) Signed “E. Colyer1690”. On a bench lie an hourglass, a skull underneath which is a ticket reading MEMENTO MORI, a terrestrial globe, a book open at a chapter headed ‘Belchrnbinghe der STADT ROOMEN’, a watch, an open music book, a handbill which reads MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM, a lute, a bassoon, a violin and bow, an oboe, and a hand-fluyt. The beak, window/labium, seven finger holes (the last offset to the player’s right), and a slightly flared bell with incised decorative rings are clearly depicted.
  • Still Life with a Volume of Wither’s `Emblemes’ (1696), oil on canvas, 83.8 × 107.9 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Tate Gallery, Inv. No. 5916. Ref. Tate Gallery Website (2002); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, photo no. L.39602; Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: Lute Iconography LI-368 (2023, col.) A cello leans against a draped bench on which lie an open copy of Wither’s Emblemes, an open music book, a watch, a compass, an ornate chalice, a lute, a violin, a cittern, a shawm, a bow, a flute and an alto/tenor-sized recorder with a brass-sheathed beak, the window/labium and first three finger holes of which are clearly depicted. In the background are a skull and an urn beneath which hangs a piece of paper on which the “VANITAS . . .” motto is printed. On a smaller table in the foreground are a decorated pewter cup and some fruit.
  • Vanitas (1680), oil on canvas, 83.0 × 71.3 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: auctioned by Sotheby’s. Ref. Auction catalogue, (?date: 162); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table lie a terrestrial globe, an hourglass, a book with a ticket reading OMNIA VINCIT AMOR, a tied bundle of papers with a ticket reading VANITAS, a copy of Rider Cardanus’ The British Merlin (an almanac issued from 1656 until at least 1830) which is open at a page headed open at a chapter headed “A Description of the WORLD”, an open music book (which seems quite legible), a watch, a violin, an oboe (only the bell of which can be seen), and a baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts the head and upper body of which stick out from underneath the pile. However, there is something very peculiar about this recorder. Instead of a window/labium it has the embouchure hole of a transverse flute! Otherwise it is identical to a Vanitas of unknown location (see below).
  • Vanitas (1694), oil on canvas, 76.2 × 63.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Sotheby’s (London), Old Master and British Paintings Day Sale, 14 December 2014, Lot 170; formerly Sotheby’s (London),  Anonymous Sale (Property from a Corporate Collection), 5 July 2007, Lot 148. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 64631 (2010, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1396 (2023, col.) On a draped table lie a terrestrial globe turned to the Pacific ocean, books including Rider Cardanus’ The British Merlin (an almanac issued from 1656 until at least 1830) which is open at a page headed “A Description of the WORLD”, a music book, a shawm, an upturned lute, a baroque alto recorder with ivory ferrule (only the head-joint visible), and tickets reading VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA and “vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas”, and an engraved portrait of Augustus Caeser II.
  • Vanitas (1702), 82.5 × 71.2 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: ex Lord Brownlow, auctioned 14/12/1984; auctioned 10/12/2004 (sold). Ref. Auction catalogue (1984 – pl. 223); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) On a draped table lie a terrestrial globe, an hourglass, a book with a ticket reading OMNIA VINCIT AMOR, a tied bundle of papers with a ticket reading VANITAS, a book open at a chapter headed “A Description of the WORLD”, an open music book (which seems quite legible), a watch, a violin, an oboe (only the bell of which can be seen), and a baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts the head and upper body of which stick out from underneath the pile. Apart from its window / labium this painting is identical to a Vanitas auctioned by Sothebys, London (see above). A recreation of this (or a painting very much like it) is available from Prestige Fine Art
  • Vanitas (1662), oil on panel, 98.5 × 78.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Signed and dated. Milan: Bigli. Ref. Bigli (2014, col.) Signed ‘Kollier’ and dated by the artist. On a table covered by an embroidered cloth lie a terrestrial globe, papers, books, a lute, the bell of a shawm, and a recorder. Only the head of the latter can be seen projecting from beneath the lute. Its beak appears to be metal-sheathed, and there may be a maker’s mark below the window/labium. An open book at the center of the painting is a treatise on Islam. This painting needs renovation. Despite the monochromatic cast (due to an earlier varnishing), this painting is in excellent condition. It is currently for sale.
  • Vanitas: Vita brevis ars longa (1684), 77 × 64 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). The Hague: Gemeentemuseum, Inv./cat.nr Sch. 17. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, illustration 14460 (2014, b&w); Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Signed “E. Colÿer. Anno 1684” On a draped table are piled a globe, papers, books, one of which is open at a chapter headed DOMINICUS OMNIA, the top part of a skull, a shawm (foot only visible), a flute with a metal ferrule at the foot, a violin, and a hand-fluyt the foot of which lies beneath the jaw of the skull. The beak of the recorder is metal-sheathed; a maker’s mark below the window/labium may be legible. A ticket beside the skull reads VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA.
  • Vanitas (1680), oil on canvas, 86.0 × 68.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Van Marle, de Sille & Baan, Rotterdam, 28 January 1942, Lot 101. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000168400; Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). Signed “E. Colyer” and dated 1680. On a draped table are piled a globe, a elaborately decorated nautilus shell, a watch, an hourglass, a purse, papers, books (one open at a chapter headed AMSTERDAM), a shawm (only the foot of which is visible), a lute, a flute with a brass ferrule at the foot (perched on the globe), and a recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the head of which is visible.
  • Vanitas (1692), oil on panel, 36 × 28.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Sotheby’s Sale L06034, Old Master Paintings, 7 December 2006, Lot 147. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 188706 (1010, col.) Collier was active in Leiden between 1667 and 1693. On a draped table are a globe, an hour-glass, a book open at a page headed BESCHRIJVINGHE van ROMEN, and a score, together with a shawm, a lute, a flute, and a recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the head and upper body of which are visible. A maker’s mark can be seen immediately below the window. Below the book and score is a ticket reading HAEC MEA VOLUPTAS … Another very similar composition, also signed and dated 1692, was sold in London by Christie’s, 8 December 1995, Lot 206.
  • Vanitas (1692), oil on canvas, 44.0 × 34.8 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Johnny van Haeften Gallery; Zürich: David Koetser; shown at TEFAF, Maastricht, March 1990 and March 1991; auctioned Koller Galerie, Zürich, 13-18 November 1989, Lot 5013. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 113633 (2010, col.); Bridgeman Art Library (2002: Image JVH56649, col.); Blouin Art Sales Index (2017-col.) Collier was active in Leiden between 1667 and 1693. On a draped table are an elaborately decorated nautilus, a globe, books, one open at a chapter headed “Sefehrn dinghe van ROMEN” which  probably refers to the story of the Seven Sages of Rome, a jewelry casket, a medallion, a watch, a flute with a brass ferrule, an alto renaissance-style recorder with a brass sheathed beak, and a ticket reading NEMO ANTE MORTEM BEATUS DICI POTEST (Nobody can be called happy before his death), said to be the answer of Solon, the Athenian wise man, who was asked by the Lydian king Croesus if because of his wealth he was the happiest man on earth.
  • Vanitas (1695), oil on canvas, 75.0 × 61.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, London, 11 July 1979, Lot 211. Ref. Sotheby’s Negative Nr. 011384 (1979); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 111407 (2010, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). Signed “E. Collier” and dated 1695. On a draped table are a violin, a watch, a pearl necklace, an hourglass, boxes, papers, books (one open at a chapter entitled The Young Lovers ENQUIRY), a ticket projecting from a closed book reading HAECMA VOLUPTAS, another ticket reading MEMENTO MORI, a violin, a lute, a shawm (only the foot is visible) and a tenor-sized baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts and a wide foot.
  • Vanitas (1702), oil on canvas, 36.2 × 30.8 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). New York: Christie’s, 26 January 2012 Lot 264. Ref. Website: Rijksbureau vor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Image 1001159792 (2016, col.) On a cloth-covered table are a globe, an hourglass, some rolled sheets of music, a notebook, a copy of Rider Cardanus’ The British Merlin (an almanac issued from 1656 until at least 1830) which is open at a page headed “A Description of the WORLD”, a ticket reading VITA BREVIS ARTS LONGA”, a lute, a shawm and a baroque recorder. Only the head and upper body of the recorder are visible but it is unmistakable with its lavish ivory beak and ferrule.
  • Vanitas (1693–1706), oil on canvas, 37.0 × 30.4 cm, Edwaert Collier (ca 1649–1708). Location unknown: Sotheby’s (London) Sale L07034, Lot 188, 6 December 2007. Ref. Website: Sotheby’s (2007, col.) On a table draped with a green cloth with a fringe are books, manuscripts, an alto recorder, a lute, a violin, an hourglass, a compass. The recorder is of baroque form with an ivory ferrule on the head joint and lies beneath a book open at a page headed “The Young Lover’s ENQUIRY”. The latter, also known as “The Bachelor’s Question to Cupid”, is a traditional English ballad and suggests that Collier painted this work during his period in London, between the years 1693 and 1706. Inscribed on a note projecting out from a closed book lower left the words VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA. Projecting from another closed book centre right is a note bearing the word VANITAS.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 71.6 × 60.6 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708 ). London: Sotheby’s, Sale L11034, Old Masters and British Paintings Day Sale, 7 July 2011, Lot 259; formerly property of Mrs G.M. Cumberlege-Ware, auctioned Christies, London, 11 March 1983, Lot 101. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, Image bsip165 (2022, col.)  On a bench are a globe, papers, a ticket reading VANITAS, a book open at a page reading MUSICA LABORUM DULCE LEVAMEN, an open music book (probably legible), a violin and bow, and an alto-sized recorder with ivory beak and mounts and a wide foot.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 35.6 × 30.2 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Glens Falls, New York: The Hyde Collection Art Museum, 971.12. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a skull, a glass of wine, a candlestick and candle, a globe, a smoking pipe, a closed book with tickets reading MEMENTO MORI and VITA BREVIS ARS LONGA, an open book, an open music book (tenor part), a violin, and a three-piece baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts and an unusually wide foot.
  • Vanitas, 22.5 × 18.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Stockholm, 11 December 1935. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are an hourglass, a globe, a purse, boxes, a music book, a note (illegible in photocopy), a spear with bunting, a lute, a shawm (only the bell of which is visible), a violin and bow, and a renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak. Below the window/labium of the recorder a maker’s mark is visible; the lower body and foot are hidden beneath the lute. The illegible note is signed “E.K.”
  • Vanitas, 30.0 × 24.8 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Leipzig: Museum der Bildenden Künste, Inv. Nr. 1486. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 1000276961 (2011, col. & b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm. 2011). On a draped table are a globe, an ornamental nautilus shell, a bust, a skull (upper part), a watch, a sword, a book open at a chapter headed BREDA, an open music book (bass part, legible), and a tenor recorder of which only the upper part is visible, the window/labium and first two finger holes clearly depicted and possibly a maker’s mark. Two tickets read SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI and FINIS CORONAT OPUS. Arnold den Teuling, who has seen the original, doubts whether there is a maker’s mark, and yet one seems to be present in the otherwise very clear b&w reproduction in the Rijksbureau database.
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 24 × 21 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: sold F. Muller & Co., Amsterdam, 25 October 1927, Lot 15. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Ilustration 0000170342 (2010, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a globe, an ornamental nautilus shell, a bust, a goblet tipped on its side, a book open at a chapter headed BREDA, a portrait of a man smoking, a sheet of music (legible), a lute, a transverse flute and a hand-fluyt with a metal-sheathed beak.
  • Vanitas, 80 × 63 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: sold Copenhagen 1965. Ref. Gammelbo (1960: 201); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a globe, books, a glass goblet with a peeled lemon in it, an open music book (legible), a lute, oboe, violin and bow and a baroque recorder with ivory mounts only the head and upper body of which project from underneath the violin.
  • Vanitas (1663), oil on canvas, 110.3 × 91.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: sold Christies, London, 13 December 1991. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000198999 (2010, col.); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are an ornate chalice, a globe, the upper part of a skull, a glass goblet, a box of jewels, a book (one open), an hourglass, a nautilus shell, a watch, a vase of flowers, papers, an open book of music, a violin and bow, two shawms (one with only the foot visible; the other with part of the body and foot visible), and two recorders one of which is leaning upright against the flower vase, the other of which is lying on the bottom right of the table and has a metal-sheathed beak. A ticket protruding from a book above the latter recorder reads VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS. The title page of a pamphlet at the bottom centre reads CUPIDOOS LUST-HOF, or AMSTERDAMZE SOMER-VREUGT [hereinafter illegible]. The last is Cupidoos lusthof ende amoureuse boogaert (Cupid’s Pleasure Garden and Amorous Orchard) an emblem book with songs and music first published in Amsterdam in 1613.
  • Vanitas, 113.2 × 99 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Bonn: Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Inv. No. 52.89. Ref. Rehinisches Landesmuseum, Catalogue (1982: 145); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: gallica (2011, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-484 (2023, col.) On a table lie a globe, a statue of a naked woman on a pedestal, a nautilus goblet, a human cranium, a pearl necklace, a portrait (of the patron, perhaps), an open picture book, an open music book, a lute and a renaissance-style recorder only the head of which can be seen. Bubbles float above.
  • Vanitas (? ca 1690), oil on panel, 30 × 25 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Leo Spik, Berlin, 13 March 1958, Lot 122. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000167637 (2019, col.) On a draped table are an hourglass, a watch, a globe, a purse, a rolled document, an open book at a chapter entitled SCHILDERKUNTZE, a ticket with an illegible motto, a portrait of a man (perhaps the patron), an oboe, lute, a flute, an alto or tenor renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the upper part visible.
  • Vanitas (1661–1665), oil on panel, 49.5 × 67.2 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Christies, London, 8 July 1977, Lot 52. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000152722 (2010, b&w); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a globe, an hourglass, a highly decorated nautilus cup, two books, one open at a chapter headed LEYDEN, the other with a ticket reading VANITAS VANITA TUM ET OMNIA VANITA, a watch, a necklace, a violin, a lute, and a renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, the foot hidden beneath the open book.
  • Vanitas (1696), oil on canvas, 100.3 × 122.6 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Christies, London, 7 July 1989, Lot 6. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 111466 (2010, col.); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a sword, a casket with jewels, an hourglass, a watch, a highly ornamented chalice, a globe, books (one open at the title paged which reads “The Famous and Memorable Works of JOSEPHUS A MAN OF MUCH HONOUR AND LEARNING AMONG THE JEWS”, another closed with a motto reading HAEC MEA VOLUPTAS …), an open music book (legible), a portrait (of the patron, perhaps), a violin and bow, and a turned baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts, the lower body and foot hidden underneath the books.
  • Vanitas, 76 × 62 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned ? dealer, Rome, 23 May 1989, No. 190. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Corbis Image Library, Image X001662 (2003, col.); globalgallery.com (2006, col.) On a draped table are an hourglass, an ornate vase, books, a scallop shell, papers, a ?powder-horn, a skull and cross-bones, a violin, a shawm (only the foot of which is visible), a baroque recorder with ivory mounts, the upper head out of frame. A ticket under the vase reads VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS; another under the skull and crossbones reads MEMENTO MORI.
  • Vanitas (1662–1708), 32.5 × 26.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Netherlands: Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000152723 (2019, col.); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table are a globe, two books (one open at a chapter entitled STADT ROMEN), a sheet of music, a shawm (only the foot visible) and a renaissance-style recorder with a metal-sheathed beak, only the head and upper body of which are visible. A ticket from underneath the books reads VITA BREVEIS ARS LONGA.
  • Still Life with Flute (1695), oil on canvas, 73.7 × 61.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Charlotte (N. Carolina): Mint Museum of Art, Inv. 1963.15. Ref. Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2007 & 2009). Painted in London two years after Collier’s arrival in London in 1693. On a table lie an open book titled ‘Description of LONDON’ with others behind concerning ‘Plato’ and ‘Aristotle’ on the spines. To the left is the belly of a lute. A violin crosses the centre and behind it is its bow, only the end of which is visible. An alto recorder lies across the front, under the violin and across an open book of music. The music notation is interesting. The left-hand page (overhanging) is clearly titled ‘The Grenaders March’ (sic.) and is exactly the same notation apart from two notes as the ‘Grenadeers March’ or ‘Grenadiers March’ (two different spellings in different editions of Playford), which first appears in the 1686 edition. Although it is definitely ‘real’ notation it is as yet unidentified. The partially visible notation on the right-hand page has a partial title ‘The Trumpet…’ Notes from Pring (loc. cit.)
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Van Marle & Bignell, The Hague (a. 1940). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 111422. On a cloth-covered table are books, one open at a page headed MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM, an open music book, a violin and bow, an oboe, and a baroque alto recorder with ivory beak and mounts, only the head visible.
  • Vanitas (1670), oil on canvas, 66 × 85 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Paris: Galerie Delvaille; auctioned Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 14 November 1988, Lot 207. Ref. Conaissance des Arts (May 1989: 142). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000199026 (2014, col.) On a table draped with a green cloth are many different kinds of shell, a book open at a page headed VYTLEGGINGE EN SIN-GEVENDE VERCLARING, from the Metamorphoses of Ovid, a ticket which reads VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS, a sheet of music, and an alto renaissance-style recorder the foot of which is out of view. A maker’s mark can be seen on the recorder.
  • Vanitas (1689), oil on canvas, 39.5 × 32.0 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Johnny Van Haeften, exhibited at TEFAF, Maastricht, March 2001; auctioned Sotheby’s, Ludwigsburg, 9-14 October 2000, Lot 332. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000199026 (2010, col.) On a draped table are an hourglass, an ornate goblet, a globe, a roll of paper, a book open at a chapter headed BESCHRIJVINGHE VAN ENGELANDT, a ticket reading VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS, a pamphlet with a soft cover, a lute, a flute, and an alto renaissance-style recorder with a metal sheathed beak, only the head of which is visible.
  • Vanitas, oil on panel, 89.5 × 64.1 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Bath: Dyrham Park. Ref. Website: National Trust Collections (2012, col.) On a draped table are a statue of an antique athlete, a globe, a pouch, an open book open at a chapter entitled HAERLEM, a sword, a pocket watch, an hourglass, a printed portrait a ? flute (only the foot visible) and a renaissance-style recorder, only the head and first two finger holes of which are visible. A maker’s mark can be seen below the window/labium of the recorder.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, circle of Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Christies, 13 December 2003, Lot 101. Ref. Artfacts (2003). Books, an hour glass, a recorder, a lute, a musical score, and a skull and cross bones. Signed (?) ‘RChandler’ (centre right) and inscribed and dated ‘Memento Mori, 1695.’
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 43.7 × 33 cm, circle of Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 19 October 1995, Lot 402. Ref. Artfacts (2003). A violin, a recorder, books, a musical manuscript and an hourglass on a draped table.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 59.6 × 71.1 cm, follower of Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Christie’s, London, Anonymous Sale, Lot 30, February 1988; Christie’s, New York, The House Sale (Sale 1273), Lot 30, 30 September–1 October 2003. Coins, an overturned hour-glass, an urn, a skull, a candle, books, a violin and bow, a baroque alto recorder with ivory beak and mounts, and a score lie on a table. When offered at Christie’s in 1988, the work was sold with a certificate dated 12 September 1987 by Professor Ingvar Bergström as by Evert Collier. The beak of the recorder is very unusually shaped, narrowing markedly below the mouthpiece before flaring out again. Otherwise this instrument bears a strong resemblance to one depicted in several of Collier’s other paintings. An identical painting auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2004 was attributed to a follower of Pieter Gerritsz. van Roestraten. However, the dimensions of the two paintings are slightly different. Both paintings are attributed to Collier here.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 60.3 × 71.4 cm, follower of Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: Auctioned Sotheby’s, London (Olympia), Lot 295, 20 April 2004. Coins, an overturned hour-glass, an urn, a skull, a candle, books, a violin and bow, a baroque alto recorder with ivory beak and mounts, and a score lie on a table. The beak of the recorder is very unusually shaped, narrowing markedly below the mouthpiece before flaring out again. Otherwise this instrument bears a strong resemblance to one depicted in several of Collier’s other paintings. Sotheby’s London attribute this painting to a follower of Pieter Gerritsz. van Roestraten. However, an identical painting auctioned most recently by Christies, New York, in 2003 was attributed to Collier. The dimensions of the two paintings are slightly different. Both paintings are attributed to Collier here.
  • Vanitas (1701), painting, 71.1 × 60.3 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned 07/12/2005 (sold) Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A violin, a baroque alto recorder with ivory beak and mounts, books, a scroll and music with a globe on a marble ledge. The foot and most of the body of the instrument are hidden behind the violin. Rather crudely executed.
  • Vanitas (1702), oil on panel, 74.0 × 61.5 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Madrid: Ansorena, Old Masters Paintings, S. XIX Paintings & Decorative Arts, Lot 161,  20 May 2020. On a table are scattered a terrestial globe, an hourglass, a pocket watch, a lute, a shawm and a baroque recorder with ivory beak and ferrule (only the head and upper body visible), a copy of Rider Cardanus’ The British Merlin (an almanac issued from 1656 until at least 1830) which is open at a page headed open at a chapter headed “A Description of the WORLD”, and a notebook with the artist’s name written on the cover.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: offered for sale by Galleria Delft, Barcelona, (2000–2006). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000153922 (2010, col.) On a table lie a globe, a jewellery casket, a decorated nautilus shell, an urn, a crown, a watch, an open book, a violin and a baroque recorder with ivory sheathed beak. In the left foreground is a stack of books, on top of which are a tankard, grapes, and a wineglass; a bass viol leans against it.
  • Vanitas, painting, Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a draped table are an hourglass, a guttering candle, books, bones, a document with a seal, a dish with a watch in it, a glass goblet overturned, some playing cards, a lute and an alto-sized cylindrical recorder the beak, window/labium, three finger holes and briefly flared foot clearly visible.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 76 × 63 cm, follower of Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, Olympia, Old Masters (WO5718) – 1 November 2005 Lot 72. Ref. Website: artnet.com (2015, col.) On a draped table lie a globe, books (including one open), papers, a violin, and an alto baroque recorder with an ivory beak and ferrule on the head-joint.
  • Vanitas still life with allegory of the downfall of Jan van Leiden, (late 17th century), oil on canvas, 113.2 × 99.0 cm,  attributed to Evert Collier (ca 1640–1708) . Bonn: Rheinisches Landesmuseum, 52.89. Ref. RKD: Image 0000198988. On a table is a jumble of vanitas objects, amongst them a globe, a statuette of Venus, a human skull (cranium) on top of a book, an engraved portrait, a nautilus shell, a candlestick, someprinted music, an open book, a violin, a lute and a recorder only the head of which can be seen with its distinctive beak and window/labium. the engraved portrait (presumably of Jan van Leiden, 1509–1536) is by Heinrich Aldegrever, dated 1536. The sculpture depicts Venus as an allegory of architecture, after the original by Giovanni da Bologna in the Museo Nazionale del Barghello, Florence. Jan van Leiden was a Dutch Anabaptist leader who declared himself King of the Germany city of Münster and was was tortured to death in that city’s central marketplace on 22 January 1536.
  • Vanitas, oil on canvas, 80.3 x 63.2 cm, Evert Collier (ca 1642-1708). London: Sothebys, Master Paintings, 21 October 2022, Lot 25. An array of musical instruments, a printed volume open at a page that reads MUSICA LETITIÆ COMES MEDICINA DOLORUM (Music is a companion in pleasure and a balm in sorrow), an open music book, and a globe. The instruments are a violin and bow, an oboe with only the foot visible with an ivory ferrule decorated with black dots, and a baroque recorder with only the head joint and upper body visible with an ivory-sleeved mouthpiece and ferrule.

John Collier [Tim Bobbin, pseudonym] (1708-1786)

English painter, engraver, caricaturist and satirical poet in the Lancashire dialect, musician, historian and village school master of Milnrow near Rochdale; he styled himself as the Lancashire Hogarth; born Urmston (1708), died Rochdale (1786).

  • Pictorial monogram (1767), engraving, John Collier (1708–1786). Ref. Kenworthy (1965: 250). Tim Bobbin was a Lancashire dialect writer and village school master of Milnrow, near Rochdale. There, according to a memoir in an 1862 edition of his works, “at leisure hours he amused himself by lessons in the art of drawing, and in playing upon the hautboy and English flute, and soon became such a proficient as to be qualified to instruct others in these amusing and ornamental arts.” In Tim Bobbin’s satirical proclamation (January 1767) dispensing charity to the poor, every gift is so hedged round with conditions that the final outlay is nil. It is signed with four symbols, namely a bird, an ant, a recorder and the monogram ‘LS’ in a circle and thus was probably directed at Robin Entwistle, member of a local land-owning family. The recorder leaves no doubt as to the identity of Bobbin’s ‘flute’.Tom Bobbin’s tombstone in Rochdale is inscribed with an epitaph which he is said to have written himself twenty minutes before he died. An earlier epitaph by himself published in his Collected Works (1786) reads as follows:

    A yard beneath this heavy stone,
    Lies Jack-of-all-trades, good at none.
    A weaver first, and then school-master;
    A scrivener next; next poetaster.
    A painter, graver, and a fluter.
    And fame doth whisper, a C––r;
    An author, Carver, and hedge-clark:
    E whoo-woo-whoo, whot whofoo wark!
    He’s left um aw, to lie ith dark!

Jean Colombe [Columbe]

French illuminator, who completed the famous Trés Riches Heures manuscript commenced by the Limburg brothers; born 1440, died ?1493; brother of the sculptor Michel Colombe (ca 1430–ca 1513) .

  • Book of Hours of Louis de Laval: Coronation of the Virgin (late 15th century), miniature, Jean Colombe (1440–? 1493). Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, Département des manuscrits, Latin 920, f. 147v. Ref. Website: gallica (2013, col.) Christ crowns the Virgin before an audience of angel and seraphim. In the front ranks of angels five play instruments, namely organetto, gittern and three pipes (probably duct-flutes, possibly recorders). Two of the latter are played right hand uppermost, the third left hand uppermost. This striking Book of Hours, created ca 1470–1475 and continued between 1485–1489, was presented by Louis de Laval Seigneur de Chatillon (one of the greatest bibliophiles of his day) to Anne of France, Duchess of Bourbon. A recent facsimile has been published as Libro de Horas de Luis de Laval facsimile edition, by Siloé, Burgos (2013).
  • Book of Hours of Louis de Laval: Christ and the Virgin (late 15th century), miniature, Jean Colombe (1440–? 1493). Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, Département des manuscrits, Latin 920, f. 177v.. Ref. Michel et al. (1958-1961: 712, pl. 1); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Website: gallica (2014, col.) Christ and the Virgin seated are flanked by soldiers, prelates and others. Behind them are angels and seraphim. Before them are a host of angels in numerous ranks, the front one of which comprises six musicians playing organetto, 2 gitterns, and three narrowly flared recorders with distinctly flared bells (in each the window/labium and a number of finger holes are clear). One of the latter is played right hand uppermost, another left hand uppermost, the third obscured. This striking Book of Hours, created c.1470-1475 and continued between 1485-1489, was presented by Louis de Laval Seigneur de Chatillon (one of the greatest bibliophiles of his day) to Anne of France, Duchess of Bourbon. A recent facsimile has been published as Libro de Horas de Luis de Laval facsimile edition, by Siloé, Burgos (2013).
  • Très Riches Heures of John Duke of Berry, f.158r: Christmas Mass (1485–1490), illumination, Jean Colombe (1440–? 1493). Ref. Early Music (1990, August: 363, pl., b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Wikimedia Commons (2005, col.) Shows Christmas Mass in a private chapel, almost certainly the ‘Sainte-Chapelle’ of the Duke’s palace at Bourges. At the very centre of the illumination, a rather rough looking character emerges from behind a curtain and leers at the two comely at the young women reading from their prayer-books seated in the foreground nearby. His presence during the service is enigmatic: in his left hand he holds what appears to be a recorder. Perhaps there had been a semi-dramatic interlude with this man representing a shepherd. Or is it a symbol of the sin of lust in our midst, even in the Duke’s private chapel during Christmas Mass?

Angelo-Michele Colonna & Agostino Mitelli

Italian artists Colonna (1600–1687) and Mitelli (1609–1660) were the leading specialists in quadratura (the pictorial extension of a wall, a form of illusionist painting), virtually monopolising such commissions throughout Italy; by training a large school in their decorative style, they lay the foundation for its development in the 18th century.

  • [Musicians Balcony], quadratura mural, Angelo-Michele Colonna (1600–1687) & Agostino Mitelli (1609–1660). Sassuolo: Palazio Estense. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). One of four murals of ‘balconies’ – two each with singers and instrumentalists. Here, men play bass trombone, violin, cello and a conical recorder of tenor size, the window/labium and finger holes and positions clearly depicted.

Paulus de Collonia (14th century), German

  • Coronation of the Virgin (ca 1389), bronze relief, Paulus de Collonia (14th century). Detail. Guadelupe (Estramadure, Spain): Monastery of Nuestra Señore de Guadelupe, portal, door panel. Ref. Fabbri (?date: vol. 8, p. 14, fig., b&w); Zaniol (1984, November: 4); Enciclopedia dell’Arte Medievale (1996, VII: 127); Rowland-Jones (1999c: 13, fig. 4, b&w). “Another recorder almost identical to this [ie, that illustrated by Padre Serra] appears in the bas-relief decorating the portal of a monastery in Guadeloupe, in Spain, which dates from the Fourteenth Century. This portal, also includes four other instruments” (Zaniol, loc. cit.) Mary and the Christ-child sit enthroned surrounded by angel musicians who play organetto, harp, lute, fiddle and duct flute with a window/labium and slightly oblique and flared bell. The player of the later has all four fingers of both hands on the instrument which may represent a recorder. The doors are inscribed “Paulus de Collonia” and “Alleman fecit” [made by a German]. “The bronze doors were installed at the end of the 14th century, possibly around 1389, the date given for the completion of the increasingly lavish monastery church, after which attention moved to building the cloister (1389–1405). The doors, possibly ordered from Cologne (this is just a guess), could have been a final sumptuous finish to the façade of the church. If the work belongs roughly to the last two decades of the 14th century this matches the dating of the Pere Serra Tortosa altarpiece” (Rowland-Jones 1999, pers. comm.)
  • Nativity (ca 1389), bronze relief, Paulus de Collonia (14th century). Detail. Guadelupe: Monastery of Nuestra Señore de Guadelupe, portal, door panel. Ref. Enciclopedia dell’Arte Medievale (1996, VII: 127); Rowland-Jones (1999, pers. comm.) The Holy Family are visited by two shepherds, one of whom grasps a flared-bell duct flute in one hand below which four finger holes are clearly visible and two indentations which seem to indicate paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand. Thus this instrument is highly likely to represent a recorder. The doors are inscribed “Paulus de Collonia” and “Alleman fecit” [made by a German]. “The bronze doors were installed at the end of the 14th century, possibly around 1389, the date given for the completion of the increasingly lavish monastery church, after which attention moved to building the cloister (1389–405). The doors, possibly ordered from Cologne (this is just a guess), could have been a final sumptuous finish to the façade of the church. If the work belongs roughly to the last two decades of the 14th century this matches the dating of the Pere Serra Tortosa altarpiece” (Rowland-Jones 1999, pers. comm.)

Michele di Luca dei Coltellini [Cortellini]

Italian painter of religious works of great fervour; also collaborated with his sons Alessandro, Galasso and Baldassarre, who were maskmakers; born Ferrara (ca 1480), died after 1543.

  • Coronation of the Virgin, ceiling fresco, Michele di Luca dei Coltellini (ca 1480–p. 1543). Ferrara: Chiesa de Santa Maria della Consolazione, dome. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999, detail). Angels on the wing play straight trumpets, crumhorn and a long cylindrical duct flute. The beak of the latter is quite clearly depicted, and its size and the disposition of the player’s fingers seems to point to a recorder rather than a flageolet. Others play lute, fiddles, viols, viola da mano, harp and tambourines.

Johann Amos Comenius [Komensky, Jan Amos Komenský]

Czech teacher, educator, and writer; he served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica Magna; Comenius was approached to be the first President of Harvard University, but declined this honour; born Nivnice, Moravia (1592), died Amsterdam (1670).

  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus, … Musical Instruments (1658), woodcut by Jonás Bubenka (1650–1705) after Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670). Ref. Stanislaw & Volek (1977: 139, pl. 140). Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The World in Pictures), first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was possibly the most renowned and most widely circulated and translated of school textbooks in the 16th and 17th centuries. No. 24 (in table) is probably a recorder (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) Stanislaw & Volek (1977: pl. 143) also show a pen and ink drawing of musical instruments from 1680. Of these flettna looks like a recorder, but it has only six holes with a marked beak and flare (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus … C. Musical Instruments, (1659: 204–205), print, Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670). Ref. Matthew Dart (pers. comm., 2010). Orbis Sensualium Pictus [The World in Pictures], first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was probably the most renowned and most widely circulated of school textbooks. This illustration comes from the first Latin and English edition published in 1659. It depicts a room full of musical instruments, amongst them triangle (with jingle rings), bagpipe, trumpets, lute, pandora, lyre, organ, viol, harp, drum, kettle-drums, psaltery, hammered dulcimer, pellet bell, jews’ harp, rattle, timbrel, virginals, shawm, cornetto, and a slightly conical duct flute (probably a recorder).
  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus … C. Musical Instruments, (1669: 204), print, Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670). Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3200 (2023). Orbis Sensualium Pictus [The World in Pictures], first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was probably the most renowned and most widely circulated of school textbooks. This illustration comes from the Latin, German, Hungarian and Czech edition published in 1669. It depicts a room full of musical instruments, amongst them triangle (with jingle rings), bagpipe, trumpets, lute, pandora, lyre, organ, viol, harp, drum, kettle-drums, psaltery, hammered dulcimer, pellet bell, jews’ harp, rattle, timbrel, virginals, shawm, cornetto, and a slightly conical duct flute (probably a recorder).
  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus … C. Klangspiele, (1678: 204–205), print, Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670). Ref. Website: Kinderboeken’s Gallery (2010, col.) Orbis Sensualium Pictus [The World in Pictures], first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was probably the most renowned and most widely circulated of school textbooks in the 16th and 17th centuries. This illustration, from a Latin and German edition published in 1678, depicts a room full of musical instruments, amongst them triangle (with jingle rings), bagpipe, trumpets, lute, pandora, lyre, organ, viol, harp, drum, kettle-drums, psaltery, hammered dulcimer, pellet bell, jews harp, rattle, timbrel, virginals, shawm, cornetto, and a slightly conical duct flute (probably a recorder).
  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus … CXXXI. Tibiarius. Der Pfeiffen-Macher, (1754: 394), print, Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670). Moeck, Celle: Christmas postcard (undated). Orbis Sensualium Pictus [The World in Pictures], first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was probably the most renowned and most widely circulated of school textbooks  in the 16th and 17th centuries. This illustration from a 1754 edition depicts an instrument-maker’s atelier. One craftsman works at a foot-powered lathe; another discuss the merits of a flute with a customer. On and beside a table before the last two are displayed a bassoon, an oboe, a three-piece capped-reed instrument of some kind, and a turned baroque recorder.
  • Orbis Sensualium Pictus … CIII. Musical Instruments, (1777: 126–127), print, Johann Amos Comenius 1592–1670). Ref. Google Books (2010). Orbis Sensualium Pictus [The World in Pictures], first published in Latin and German in Nuremburg in 1658, was probably the most renowned and most widely circulated of school textbooks  in the 16th and 17th centuries. This illustration comes from the Latin and English edition in a translation by Charles Hoole first published in London in 1772. It depicts a table on and around which are many musical instruments, amongst them organ, harp, triangle (with jingle rings), trumpets, hurdy-gurdy, cittern, lute, viol, violin, shawm, psaltery, hammered dulcimer, clavichord, bagpipe, bell, jews harp, kettle drums, cornetto, and a duct flute (probably a recorder).

Étienne Compardel [Compardelle]

French painter, miniaturist and designer whose works include manuscript illumination, portraits, figures on plans and maps, naval subjects and medical curiosities; op. 1666–1694.

  • Plans des forêts, bois et buissons du département de la grande maistrise des eaues et forests de l’Isle de France, Brie, Perche, Picardie et Pays reconquisMaistrise de Chavlny (1668), coloured engraving, 72.5 × 52.5 cm, Étienne Compardel (op. 1666–1694).  Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département Cartes et Plans, GE DD-4728 (RES). Website: gallica (2015: vue 134, col.) Table with floral border headed by a rural scene with cattle and, on either side, a shepherd holding a staff in the crook of his arms and playing a clearly depicted flared-bell recorder, the beak, window/labium, finger holes and flared bell of which are all clearly depicted. This bound volume comprises maps and entabulations of many details of the various estates surveyed during the reformation of the royal forests. It abounds with naturalistic illustrations of villages and castles, many of which are recognizable. And the maps and tables are framed with motifs painted in miniature, depicting scenes with rustic characters, mythological or legendary subjects and animals and several musicians. Amongst the latter are bagpipers, oboists and bell-ringers. The  maps were made by Charmoule, and the text engraved by E. Damoiselet.

Pere Compte

Spanish engineer and architect; born and died Valencia (m. 1506).

  • [Pipe & Tabor Player] (1493-1506), stone carving, Pere Compte (m. 1506). Valencia: Lonja de mercaderes o de la seda. Refs: Centre for Music Documentation (CMD), Madrid; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Wilfried Praet (pers. comm., 2010). “This carving in 15th century flamboyant Gothic style shows a pipe and drum. The instrument is not a tabor pipe, however. It is damaged at the lip so there is no sign of a reed or window/labium, but beneath the head of the instrument a large ring stands proud of its circumference, followed by two finger holes and another similar large ring, followed by one finger hole, the player’s left hand holding the instrument, and a pair of offset holes close to the flared bell end” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
  • [Piper], stone relief vault bos, Pere Compte (m. 1506). Valencia: Lonja de mercaderes o de la seda. Refs: Centre for Music Documentation (CMD), Madrid; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Wilfried Praet (pers. comm., 2010. “The instrument is within a hooded support under one of the carved ceiling beams of the maritime law court in the Lonja. A man holds a tenor recorder with a clear beak and window/labium, and possibly seven (or even eight) holes. The holes are slightly obscured by the fingers of the upper, right, hand, which is followed by one clear hole, then the left hand with all fingers down, followed by another clear hole and two smaller holes out of line at the turn of the body of the instrument as it expands into a wide and heavy bell end” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Charles Compton

British artist and civil servant; born 1828, died 1884.

  • A Young Boy with a Recorder (1851), oil on canvas, 62 × 52 cm, Charles Compton (1828–1884). London: Bonhams, Oils and Frames, 14 November 2000, Lot 127. Ref. Website: artfact (2003). A young man half-length holds a recorder only the head and upper body of which are visible.

Cima da Conegliano [Giovanni Battista]

Italian painter, named after the town of his birth; known for his quiet devotional scenes, often in landscape settings, in the manner of Giovanni Bellini; sometimes called ‘the poor man’s Bellini’, but because of his calm and weighty figures he was also known in the 18th century as ‘the Venetian Mascaccio’; born Conegliano (ca 1459), died Conegliano (ca 1459–1517/18).

  • Nativity (1509), oil on panel, 300 × 185 cm, Cima da Conegliano (ca 1459–1517/18). Venice: Chiesa dei Carmine. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2010, col.) A particularly beautiful painting depicting the Holy Family with shepherds and Saints paying homage to the Christ Child in his wicker crib in the foreground. In the background is a landscape with mountains, a castle, a shepherd and a child with a dog and sheep. The shepherd plays a slender, cylindrical tenor-size duct flute left hand lowermost, window/labium clear, and two finger holes below the lower hand. The child sleeps at his feet on the grass with a similar instrument of alto-size (with a flange at the bell-end) under his hand.
  • Coronation of the Virgin, (1510–1517), Cima da Conegliano (ca 1459–1517/18). Rome: Collezione Patrizi. Ref. Website: Fondazione Zeri (2016, b&w). Seated on a wide arced throne, Jesus crowns Mary. On the steps below the throne two putti play lute and viola d’arco. Winged heads hover above and four angels play slender flared-bell pipes, possibly recorders.

Gillis van Coninxloo [Koningsloo]

Netherlandish painter and draughtsman; his works include tapestry cartoons and panoramic landscapes populated by biblical or mythological personages; born Antwerp (1544, died 1607.

  • Landscape with the Judgement of Midas, Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607). ? Location. Ref. Website: Greek Mythology Link (2002, col.). This painting depicts the musical contest between Apollo and Pan. Apollo stands playing an improbable-looking harp; Pan sits holding a flared-bell pipe with a bulbous beak, most likely the pirouette of a shawm rather than a recorder. Midas, already sprouting asses ears, points in approval to Pan; Timolus indicates that he declares Apollo the victor. A naked female figure with her back to us and her arm around a clad male figure has cast another, larger shawm aside. To the left of Apollo are group of men and women, one of the later with a large drum. The landscape here is similar but different in many respects to that in Coninxloo’s painting of the same subject noted below.
  • Landscape with the Judgement of Midas, Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607). Ref. Website: Art-prints-on-demand.com (2011, col.) ? Location. This painting depicts the musical contest between Apollo and Pan. Apollo stands playing an improbable-looking harp; Pan sits holding a flared-bell pipe with a bulbous beak, most likely the pirouette of a shawm rather than a recorder. Midas, already sprouting asses ears, points in approval to Pan; Timolus indicates that he declares Apollo the victor. A naked female figure with her back to us and her arm around a clad male figure has cast another, larger shawm aside. To the left of Apollo are group of men and women, one of the later with a large drum. To the right of the picture, others figures seem to be hiding amongst the rocks. The landscape here is similar but different in many respects to that in Coninxloo’s painting of the same subject noted above.
  • Landscape with the Judgement of Midas, engraving by Nicolas de Bruyn (1571–1656) after Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Depicts the musical contest between Apollo and Pan. Apollo stands playing an improbable-looking harp; Pan sits holding a flared-bell pipe with a bulbous beak, most likely the pirouette of a shawm rather than a recorder. Midas, already sprouting asses ears, points in approval to Pan; Timolus indicates that he declares Apollo the victor. A naked female figure with her back to us and her arm around a clad male figure has cast another, larger shawm aside. To the left of Apollo are group of men and women, one of the later with a large drum.

Bernardino dei Conti

Italian painter mainly of portraits and to a lesser extent, religious compositions; he was a follower of Zenale,  and was one of the main figures in the circle of late quattrocento Milanese artists inspired by Leonardo da Vinci who arrived in Milan in c.1482–1483,  but little is known of his life or works; born Castelseprio (1465), died Pavia ( 1525)

  • Madonna and Child Surrounded by Musical Angels,  oil on panel, 195  × 168 cm, Bernardino dei Conti (1465–1525.  Italy: Private Collection. Ref. Website: flickriver, gytismenomyletojas (2021, col.) Mary nurses her baby whilst entertained by four angel musicians playing viola da braccio, lute and two slender soprao- and alto-sized recorders with slightly flared bells. The window/labium of both recorders is clearly indicated, and fingerholes for the little fingers of the lowermost hand are visible. The depiction of Mary is particularly beautiful and it has been suggested that it owes something to Leondardo’s Madonna Litta (Hermitage) and Madonna of the Rocks (Louvre & National Gallery, London).

Benjamin Cooke

English music publisher based in Covent Garden whose production included a seminal edition of the collected works of Arcangelo Corelli in study scores comprising all five books of sonatas and the twelve concerti grossi; active from 1726 to 1743.

  • Title Page: Directions for Playing on the Flute (London, 1735), Benjamin Cooke (op. 1726–1743). Detail. Ref. Vinquist (1974: 58, 211–212, fig. 3-2). Pirated by Rutherford (ca 1760) and by Longman & Broderip (1779–1798), whose title page includes a mirror copy of Cooke’s frontispiece (Welch 1911/1961: 82–83, fig 41). A young man sits at a half table on which his music is propped up on a folding stand playing a three-piece, turned baroque recorder; his tutor leans over his shoulder, pointing to the score.

Juan de Coorduba

Flemish-born artist; active from 1665, died Vienna (1702).

  • Vanitas (1665), 56.5 × 68 cm, Juan de Coorduba (fl. 1665–1702). The Hague: Collection Hans Hungeling. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). On a table lie playing cards, books, a music score, papers, a watch, a skull, a globe, an hour-glass, a kit (pochette) and a recorder, the head of which pokes out form beneath some crumpled paper. The maker’s mark is clearly visible.

Adriaen [Adrian] Coorte

Dutch painter of still-lifes, including increasingly complicated representations of flowers, fruit, vegetables and shells; born ? Middelburg (? 1660), died ? Middelburg (after 1707).

  • Vanitas (1686), oil on panel, 50.1 × 41.4 cm, Adriaen Coorte (? 1660–p. 1707). Location unknown: offered for sale by Sammlung Silvano Lodi, Munich, 6-4 November 1969; Sothebys, Sale L08033, 9 July 2008, Lot 34. Ref. Apollo, November: cxiii (1969, b&w); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2005); Website: Sothebys (2008, col.); Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000180711 (2014, col.) On a shelf are scattered an hourglass, a flowering stalk of dried grass, papers, a book, the top part of a skull, an unusual two-tiered tray (each tier with a pouring lip), and a shell behind which can be seen the head of a ? soprano recorder. Painted in 1686, this is the first of only five vanitas still-lifes by Adriaen Coorte, each of which was executed in consecutive years (in 1686, 1687 and 1688). Unlike most artists of the vanitas still-life Coorte does not rely on textual references to convey his message but expresses himself purely through the language of painting and, although he includes here the usual references to death (with the skull, recorder and empty conch shell, as well as to life’s transience (in the hourglass), the sombre tone is permeated by a sense of hope through the ear of corn, an emblem of the Resurrection.

Alexander Coosemans

Flemish artist; painted Pronk still-lifes, still-lifes with flowers and fruit, vanitas still-lifes and still-lifes in the open; there are also a few still-lifes with cartouches adorned with garlands of fruit and flowers; born and died Antwerp (1627–1689).

  • Still-life (1645–1665), oil on panel, 82 × 118 cm, Alexander Coosemans (1627–1689). Munich: Schloss Schleißheim: Gemäldegallerie. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 0000038180 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2001); Munich RIdIM, Mstag – 140 (2013, b&w). A still-life with fruit, glass-work and musical instruments in a landscape. Includes a violin and the lower part of a tenor recorder with a slight bell flare. Three in-line finger holes are visible plus an offset hole for the little finger of the lower-most hand.

Gonzales Coques [Coquez]

Flemish specialist in small-scale, fashionable genre painting and portraiture; born 1614/18, died 1684.

  • The Painter in his Studio, Gonzales Coques (1614/18–1684). Schwerin: Staatliches Museum. Ref. Bernt (1970, 1: 258); Leppert (1977: 36). Portrait of the artist holding a violin, with a musician playing a cittern. A lute, harpsichord, viol and recorder lie unused on the floor with fruit and a dog.
  • The Painter in his Studio (1650), oil painting, 82 × 65 cm, Gonzales Coques (1614/18–1684). Schwerin: Staatliches Museum. Ref. van Dijck & Koopman (1987: no. 140, b&w); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Before a window, the painter sits playing a cittern before a landscape on an easel. At his feet lies a chest against which leans a cylindrical recorder, and a dog noses at a basket of fruit. In the foreground, to the right, stands a bass viol; behind it, another man sits at a harpsichord, a woman standing beside him.
  • The Young Scholar and his Wife (1640), oil on canvas, 41.0 × 59.5 cm, Gonzales Coques (1614/18–1684). Kassel: Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, GK 151. Ref. Munich RIdIM, Kksg – 13 (2013, b&w); Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) In a richly furnished interior a young scholar sits at a table on the left with a book. On the right, his wife stands playing on a harpsichord. The inside of the opened lid is painted with the contest between Apollo and Pan: Apollo with his violin, Pan with his pipe (a recorder or shawm).

Joannes [Johannes, Johan] de Cordua

Flemish-born artist, mostly active in Vienna where he was recorded as a court painter (1677) and worked for the Bishop of Freysing; best known for his still-lifes, although later in his career he produced a number of portraits and genre scenes; born Brussels (1630), died Wenen (ca 1702).

  • Vanitas Still-life, oil on canvas, 65.5 × 54.0 cm, Joannes de Cordua (1630–ca 1702). Amsterdam: Douwes Fine Art (1960). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Docmentatie, Illustation  0000038111  (2010, b&w). On a draped table are a bust, books, music, a candlestick, a globe, a skull, papers, a large rebec, and a hand-fluyt, perfectly depicted with beak, window/labium, all finger holes and a maker’s mark all clearly visible.
  • Vanitas, canvas, 41.5 × 54 cm, Joannes de Cordua (1630–ca 1702). Paris: Étude Tajan, Sale 8835, 26 March 2008, Lot 42. On a table are an hour-glass, a shell, spikes of wheat, a candlestick, a sheet of music, and an open book on which sits the upper part of a skull. Sticking out from underneath the skull can be seen the lower part of a recorder, the flared foot and five finger holes of which can be seen. Soap bubbles float above.

Michel II Corneille the Younger (1641-1708), French

The most successful member of a French family of artists; a prolific painter and engraver who concentrated on religious pictures for both private and ecclesiastical patrons; born Paris (1642), died Paris (1708); son of Michel Corneille I, brother of Jean-Baptiste Corneille.

  • Pastorale, ink drawing, 25.0 × 21.2 cm, Michel II Corneille the Younger (1642–1708). Paris: Louvre, Print Collection, Inv. 25592. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A shepherd in a dress and with a puffed up hat, stands on a rise overlooking a town playing his flared-bell pipe which could be a recorder.
  • Pastorale, ink drawing, 26.9 × 34.5 cm, Michel II Corneille the Younger (1642–1708). Paris: Louvre, Print Collection, Inv. 25615RF. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Amidst hilly countryside, a swineherd in a wide-brimmed hat sits beneath a tree watching his pigs and playing a long conical pipe which could be a recorder.

Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem

Dutch painter and draughtsman who became city painter of Haarlem and received numerous commissions from the town corporation; besides conventional religious and mythological subjects, he produced a few portraits as well as kitchen scenes and still-lifes; born and died Haarlem (1562–1638).

  • Landscape, oil on canvas, Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (1562–1638). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) An extensive landscape with a peasant woman reading a paper as a traveller stands by and a shepherd boy plays on a slender flared pipe, possibly a duct flute.
  • A Company Making Music and Carousing in an Interior, oil on canvas, Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (1562–1638). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) Around a table seven men eat, drink and play music. One, a singer, holds an open music book; one has a bagpipe under his arm; one holds an alto-sized cylindrical pipe with his thumb outstretched as it might be on a recorder, but no details of the instrument are visible.

(Jean-Baptiste-)Camille Corot

French realist painter, draughtsman and printmaker; his works are mainly landscapes and arcadian scenes, though later in his career he also turned to figure painting and portraits; his output was prolific and he has been said to be the most forged of painters; born and died Paris (1796–1875).

  • Young Woman Playing a Tambourine and a Young Shepherd Playing a Flute, oil on panel, Camille Corot (1796–1875). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) A pendant pair. A young woman in a flowing dress plays stands atop a pedestal playing a tambourine. She faces a naked man standing on a pedestal and leaning against a tree-trunk who plays a flared-bell pipe, possibly a recorder. Both seem far too crudely painted for Corot.

(Antonio Allegri da) Correggio

Italian Renaissance painter of the school of Parma whose innovations in depicting space, movement, and supernatural lighting effects anticipated the Baroque style; his paintings are characterised by vehemence, sensuality and technical boldness; active in Correggio and Parma; born and died Correggio (1489/94–1534).

  • Study for Allegory of Vice, red chalk on paper, 27.3 x 19.5 cm, Correggio (ca 1489/94–1534). London: British Museum, Inv. 1895,0915.736. Ref. Royalton-Kisch et al. (1996: 81, pl. 34). The three Furies seated on rocks beneath a tree torment a bearded shepherd. Tisiphone blows a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) in the man’s ear.
  • Allegory of Vice (ca 1530), gouache on canvas, 142.0 × 85.5 cm, Correggio (ca 1489-1534). Paris: Louvre, Inv 5927 000PE024816. Ref. Gowing (1987: 153, col.); Joconde Website (1999); Legêne (2005: 327); Lasocki (2023: 119); Website: Royal Collection Trust (2023, col.) The two allegories, Allegory of Virtue and Allegory of Vice, were painted to complete the decoration of Isabella d’Este’s studiolo in the Palazzo Ducale of Mantua. Here, a bearded man who is tied to a tree is tortured by three female figures. In the foreground is a grinning boy. The man has been identified variously as a personification of Vice; or as Silenus (possibly from Virgil’s Eclogues 6, where the sleeping silen is tied up by the shepherds Chromi and Marsillo and forced to sing by them and the nymph Egle); or as Vulcan. He was identified as the satyr Marsyas by the writer of the Gonzaga collection inventory of 1542, presumably because he is in the early stages of being skinned alive. However, taking the simplest path, perhaps he represents a conflation of all these figures. It can clearly be seen that the three women are the Furies (Erinyes/Dirae) of classical Greek/Roman mythology, easily recognised by the snakes in their hair. Their number is usually left indeterminate, but the sisters Alecto, Tisiphone, and Malea are often named. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants—and to punish such crimes by hounding the culprits relentlessly and tormenting them to madness. The bearded man is obviously a shepherd whose unattended flock can be seen grazing in the distance. Alecto torments him with hands full of snakes (perhaps for the slothful neglect of his flock); Malea (recognizable from her blood-stained cloak and the serpent around her waist) has started to flay him alive, starting at his left ankle (perhaps indicating his hubris by analogy with Marsyas, who was flayed alive by Apollo); and Tisiphone blows a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) in his ear (perhaps indicating his lechery, but also echoing the association with Marsyas). The grinning boy in the foreground holding a bunch of grapes reminds us of Bacchus and Silenus, echoing both the man’s sensual nature and hinting at his consequent ritual insanity.
  • Allegory of Vice (1676), engraving, 45.7 × 26.8 cm, by Etienne Picart (1632–1721) after Correggio (ca 1489–1534). London: British Museum: Inv. 1837,0408.285; Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. p.183.7-1. Princeton, Princeton University Library, Graphic Arts Collection, Inv. GC077. A fair copy of the original. See above. A caption below describes the sensual man as enchanted by lust, bound by bad habit, and tormented by conscience:

    Image de l’homme sensuel, enchanté par la volupt
    par la mauwaise habitude, et tourmenté par la synderese.


    Icon hominis mollis, quem mulcet voluptas,
    ligat prawa consuetudo, cruciat synderisis.
  • Assumption of the Virgin (1526–1530), fresco, cupola ceiling, Correggio (ca 1489/94–1534). Detail. Parma: Cattedrale, cupola. Refs. Website: Carol Gerten-Jacson’s Virtual Art Machine; Smyth (1997: front cover, col.) Angelic musicians play cylindrical pipes, fiddle and tambourine. Only one of the pipers uses a finger position suggestive of a recorder. Recorder-like instruments are used as design devices in frescoes on ceiling and nave aisles, some curved to fit their position in the designs. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
  • Leda and the Swan (c 1531–1532), oil on canvas, 152 × 191 cm, Correggio (ca 1489/94–1534). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemaldegalerie. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Leda is playing in the stream with her maidens, and receives the embrace of Zeus (in the form of a swan). Its decidedly voluptuous treatment so incensed the pious zeal of Louis, son of the Regent at Paris, that he attacked it with a knife and cut off Leda’s head. The present head therefore is not Correggio’s but a restoration by Jakob Schlesingen (1792–1885). Three angel-musicians play rather softly drawn instruments (details unclear) which include lyre, cornetto and a short ? duct flute which is roughly cylindrical and quite fat, like the cherub (winged putto) playing it, right hand lowermost. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Cornelisz. van Amsterdam – see Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

Cornelius [Cornelio] Cort [ Kort or van Hoorn] – see Frans Floris de Vriendt

North Netherlandish engraver and draughtsman, active in Flanders and Italy; developed a bold and strongly modelled sculptural style of engraving, particularly successful in reproducing the Italianate figure compositions of Frans Floris (after whom he engraved more than 50 prints) and compositions by Maarten van Heemskerck, Andrea del Sarto, Rogier van der Weyden and others; born Hoorn, near Alkmaar (1533), died Rome (before 1578).

Pietro (Berretini) da Cortona

Italian draughtsman, architect, painter, and decorator, an outstanding exponent of the Roman Baroque style who painted frescoes and easel-pictures on religious, mythological and allegorical themes; his fresco decorations set a standard for European Baroque painting until they were eclipsed by Giambattista Tiepolo’s works and those of other Venetian masters of the 18th century; as an architect Cortona was less influential; born Cortona (1596), died Rome (1669).

  • The Seasons: The Silver Age (1637–1640), fresco Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669). Florence: Pitti Palace, Sala della Stufa. Ref. Lloyd et al. (1979: 164, pl. 5, col.) The second in a series of frescoes illustrating the Ages of Man described by the ancient poet Hesiod in his poem Works and Days. In the silver age Zeus reduced the spring, and reconstructed the year into four seasons, so that men for the first time sought the shelter of houses and had to labor to supply their food.  In the background of Cortona’s fresco of The Silver Age,  a couple are killing a sheep. In the foreground another couple are enjoying some fruit — and each other’s company: he is crowned with a laurel wreath, she wears a crown. Two infants are beside them, one munching on some grapes, the other playing with a dog. In the middle ground left a man is bringing home a freshly slaughtered kangaroo, and another drives a cow. On the right a group of young women are amusing themselves around a well: one holds out a pipe with a flared bell (possibly a recorder) for a young boy to blow.
  • Faustulus Returns Romulus and Remus to Lorentia (1643), oil on canvas, 251 × 265 cm, Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 111. Ref. Lallement & Devaux (1996: 241). Faustulus returns one of the children to their mother, Lorentia. The image includes  a wind instrument, possibly a recorder belonging to one of the herdsmen, lying at the foot of one of the children suckling at the she-wolf in the background, on the banks of the river Tiber.

Francesco del Cossa

Italian painter of religious and allegorical subjects who, with Cosimo Tura, co-founded a new school of painting at Padua and exercised a profound influence on the course of Bolognese painting; born in Ferrara (ca 1435) and died Bologna (ca 1477).

  • April: the Triumph of Venus (1470), fresco, Francesco del Cossa (1435–1477). Detail. Ferrara: Palazzo Schifanoia, Salone dei Mesi. Ref. Mirimonde (1977: 163, pl. 97, b&w); Winternitz (1979: 49–50, pl. 6a, b&w); Moeck (1984: April, detail, col.); Moeck, Celle: Tibia – Musikbilder auf Postkarten, Series 2, Nr 4, Ed. Moeck Nr 11101 (col.); Rasmussen & Huene 1982: 31, b&w); Recorder Magazine 8 (11): cover (1986); Rowland-Jones (1997c, 1: 14, detail, b&w;  1999e: 4, fig. 2, detail, b&w; 2002d); Hijmans (2005: 222); Ausoni (2009: 40-41, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-303 (2023, col.); Lasocki (2023: 43-4). A complex allegorical scene in which two young women hold lutes and a third holds two alto recorders. The symbolism of the instruments mirrors the scene of seduction enacted at their feet. Venus presides over the month of April, arriving on a barge pulled by two swans. Her husband, Mars, has armed himself in readiness for the battle season, but she has chained him up in obeisance to more important duties, for she stands for courtship, love, marriage, fecundity and regeneration, the latter represented by the ubiquitous rabbits. The left bank charmingly shows the processes of courtship – meeting, talking together, and the first kiss, surrounded by vegetation consisting of myrtle and pomegranates, both plants affiliated with Venus and symbolizing fertility. A far more advanced stage of love-making is seen at the centre of the circle of onlookers on the right, some just conversing as at a wedding reception. At least one of the ladies holding lutes is pregnant, and there are rabbits galore. But the couple are about to be married, for the woman at the bottom right of the picture is making a coronet of myrtle for the bride. The groom already wears one, betokening conjugal fidelity, and a myrtle bush thrives behind them both. Myrtle is sacred to Venus, and symbolises marriage for it is sweetly scented and ‘like love, is ever blooming’. Amongst the circle of onlookers a man embraces two women and, alone of all the figures in this fresco, he looks directly out at us, questioningly. One of his companions holds a lute – perhaps she regards marriage primarily in terms of raising a family. The other girl clutches two recorders of the most up-to-date design, the right-hand one being slightly larger, and they are in close proximity to the leaves of the myrtle bush. Perhaps she gives her priority to harmony in marriage and love for her husband. Opposite her, the other woman with a lute holds her left hand in a gesture, a warning perhaps. You can explore the entire Salone dei Mesi with Google Street View here.
  • May: The Triumph of Apollo, Francesco del Cossa (1435–1477) and Cosimo Tura (1430–1495). Ferrara: Palazzo Schifanoia. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2011, col.): Lasocki (2023: 44). Steered by a young woman, horses drag a highly decorated cart carrying Apollo (god of light, music, hunting, healing, poetry and prophecy) triumphant, holding his bow. Across the stream behind him is a crowd of naked children. In the background a group of women sing to an accompaniment of a lute. Beneath, in the underworld, Apollo variously plays his pipe to one of the poor souls who dwell there, heals a patient, and strives forth as a hunter with his bow and arrows, turning his back on darkness where two putti try desperately to prevent the rays of the sun from shining. The pipe is a long cylindrical recorder with a flared bell; the window/labium is shown, and the lowermost finger hole is offset.
  • The Muse Euterpe wood, 105.0 × 38.7 cm, Francesco del Cossa (1435–1477). Budapest: Szépmúvészeti Muzeum, Inv. 1143. Ref. Sauerlandt (1920: 53, b&w; as Angel with a Flute); Bridgeman Library of Art (2002: Image BAL53504, col.) Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) stands on a plinth in front of a hill playing a narrow, slightly tapering recorder with inflated cheeks. A companion piece by Cossa in the same museum (Inv. 1144) depicts The Muse Melpomene (Muse of tragedy).

Antonio Cossetti

Italian intarsiatore; born Vicenza (ca 1674), died Ancona (1754).

  • Intarsia with musical instruments (1744), Antonio Cossetti (ca 1674–1754). Bologna: Basilica di San Domenico, choir. Ref. Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). A viola da braccio  is crossed with a bow and a flared duct flute (probably a recorder) upside down, the beak and window/labium clearly depicted, and the bell opening wide with a bead and thin walls.

Jan Joost van Cossiau

Flemish-born landscape painter and engraver who spent much of his career in Frankfut am Main; known for his Italianate landscapes which usually include people, and also often buildings and cattle, as well as potraits; born near Breda (c.1660), died Mainz (1732).

  • Girl with a Flute, drawing, an Joost van Cossiau (c.1660-1732). Boston: Fogg Museum, Inv. 1898.573. Ref. RIdIM, Record 5662. Half-length portrait of a wealthy lady with jewelry, a flower in her hair, and a fur cloak, holding a small duct flute (probably a rustic flageolet rather than a recorder) in her right hand. The window/labium and four finger-holes are visible beneath her fingers, but there is room for one more.

Jan Cossiers [Coetsiers or Cotsiers] or possibly Simon Cossiers (early 17th century)

Flemish painter and draughtsman; his early works were Caravaggesque genre scenes and he later specialized in histories and religious and mythological subjects; born and died Antwerp (1600–1671).

  • Vanitas, Jan Cossiers (1600–1671) or possibly Simon Cossiers (early 17th century). Bremen: Kunsthalle, 597-1952/11. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BMkh 26). A still-life with various objects scattered on a table including a decorated pitcher, a smoking pipe, a pack of playing cards, a skull, documents, a drawing, a sword, an hour-glass, a wooden container and a flared-bell, choke-bore soprano recorder only the lower body and foot of which are visible including the offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand. An infant held by an old woman in the print is playing a small cylindrical whistle of some kind.
  • Man with a Recorder, painting, attributed to Jan Cossiers (1600–1671). Location unknown; formerly Sotheby’s, London. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0001060 (2009, b&w). Seated in a leather-strapped chair a smiling man in a feathered hat and slashed jerkin holds an alto-sized flared-bell recorder, perfectly depicted.

Lorenzo Costa

Italian painter of the school of Ferrara-Bologna, notable as one of the first Ferrarese artists to adopt a soft, atmospheric style of painting which he applied to subjects of Court history and religion; born Ferrara (ca 1460), died Mantua (1535).

  • Assumption of the Virgin (1480–1485), panel, 250 × 172 cm, Lorenzo Costa (ca 1460-1535). Bologna: Pinacoteca Nazionale, Inv. 10034; formerly in Abbaziale di S. Maria Assunta di Monteveglio. Ref. Website: flicker, Alessandro Calzolaro’s photostream (2015, col.); Wilfried Praet (pers. comm. 2017). The Virgin’s feet are lifted up by two angels, while angel putto, in four groups, play music to her left and right, and a pair of angels hold a crown above her head. Instruments played by the musical angel-putti (three in each group): Bottom left, long trumpet lute, cymbals; Upper left, one not playing, one playing a small ? harp, the other a narrow cylindrical duct flute (left hand lowermost); Lower right, long trumpet, viola da braccio and ? portative organ; Upper right, one not playing, one a dulcimer, one a narrow cylindrical duct flute (left hand lowermost). The duct flutes are probably recorders, but no holes or window/labium are visible on the soprano, and only possibly on the alto. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000)
  • Virgin and Child Enthroned with the Family of Giovanni II Bentivoglio (1488), paint on canvas, Lorenzo Costa (ca 1460–1535). Bologna: Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore. Ref. Bacchelli & Raimondi (1964: fig. 41); Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Website: Wikipedia (2011, col.) Putti perched on the top of the throne play lute and cylindrical pipe probably a duct flute.
  • Concert, wood, 95.3 × 75.6 cm, attributed to Lorenzo Costa (ca 1460–1535). London: National Gallery. Ref. Haward (1945: 10, pl. 4, col.); Hindley (1971: pl. 15, col.); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Hijmans (2005: 222); Ausoni (2009: 282, col.) Formerly attributed to Ercole Roberti (1430–1496). Depicts three singers – a woman and two men. One of the latter accompanies on the lute. On a table in front of them lie a small, cylindrical duct flute with a kit (pochette) and a music book.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds with Angels (ca 1499), attributed to Lorenzo Costa (ca 1460–1535) London: National Gallery 3105. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999); Englera (2005, col.) “It teems with groups of musical angels, several of whom seem to by playing duct flutes which could be recorders.” Mary and one of the shepherds kneel before the Christ-child flanked by two standing shepherds. Above them, two angels blow long straight trumpets. The central group is surrounded by a frame of angel musicians who sing and play in groups of three. Amongst the many instruments are fiddles, lutes, psalteries, timbrels, rebecs, and any number of pipes. Some of the latter are shawms or trumpets, but others may represent duct flutes (flageolets or recorders). A heavenly host surveys the scene from on high.
  • Virgin and Child with Saints (1550), oil on canvas, 167.6 × 73.0 cm, Lorenzo Costa (ca 1460–1535). London: National Gallery, NG 629.1. This is the central panel of an altarpiece that is thought to have been on the high altar of the Oratory of San Pietro in Vincoli, Faenza. It shows the Virgin and Child with four angels. The reliefs on the Virgin’s throne represent (left) the Presentation in the Temple and (right) the Marriage of the Virgin. On each side of a divided predella sit two putti, one playing a lute, the other playing a cylindrical duct flute, left hand uppermost. Other sections of the altarpiece depict Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist. There was also originally a separate horizontal panel on top, with a painting of the dead Christ supported by angels.

Luis Pereira da Costa

Portuguese woodcarver and decorator; 18th century.

  • Decorative panel (1727), carved wood, Luis Pereira da Costa (18th century). Porto: Sé Cathedral, frontal panel in the balcony across the console of the organ. Ref. Azevedo (1972: 41 & pl. 8- b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). The organ case was completed in 1727. The panel is a long rectangle with an open book and three circular garlands in the centre, surrounded on both sides with musical instruments, all in bas-relief (wood, or plaster on wood), all in white. The instruments include horn, two trumpets, panpipes, ? flute (only the head end visible), and the head ends, side by side, of two late baroque-style alto recorders, but the rest of the recorders are occluded by the trophy-style arrangement. There is also a small duct flute with four finger holes, probably a French flageolet; and there are a number of unidentifiable wind instruments. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Adam de Coster

Flemish Caravagesque artist; born Mecheln (1586), died Antwerp (1643).

  • Boy Playing a Recorder, oil on linen, 114 × 79 cm, Adam de Coster (1586-1643). Würzburg: Martin von Wagner Museum, Inv. F369 (K’331). Ref. Wagner (1986: 48, no. 78, b&w); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2001). A boy in a slashed jacket and a plumed hat plays a one-piece flared recorder right hand uppermost by candlelight reading from a manuscript that lies with a violin on the table before him.

David Coster

Dutch illustrator and engraver who worked for a time in The Hague; fl. 1713–52.

  • Frontispiece to Nouveau Recueil de Chansons Choisies (Tome Premier, Quatrieme Edition), published by Jean Neaulme (1735): Trophy of Musical Instruments, engraving, D. Coster (fl. 1713–52). Venice: Fondazione Uogo e Olga Levi, Biblioteca Gianni Milner. Ref. LP record cover: Hotteterre ‘le Romain’, Deuxième Livre de Pièces pour la Flute Travèrsière, Oeuvre Ve, Iakov 10 812 (1979); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). A garland of musical instruments including violin, syrinx (fipple kind), lute, trumpets, cornetto, horn, flute and two three-piece baroque recorders, one complete and very clearly depicted, the other partly hidden under a sheet of music, only the foot and lower part of the centre-joint visible. There is also a flare (alight!), a faggot (bundle of sticks), an elaborate bow and arrow, and a goblet.

Hendrick Coster [Koster or Coster Hendryck]

Dutch painter working mainly in Arnehm who specialised in portraits and possibly also in genre paintings and bird still-lifes; born Arnem (1610–1620), died Groningen (1665).

  • Musical Children in Candlelight (1659), 73 × 67 cm, Hendrick Coster (1610/1620–1665). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum. Ref. Bernt (1969, 1: 264); Munich RIdIM (1999); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A boy sings with music; a little girl behind him plays a duct flute (possibly a recorder, but lower half occluded).

Juan Sánchez Cotán

Spanish Baroque painter, a pioneer of realism in Spain. His still-lifes, also called bodegónes, were painted in an austere style, especially when compared to similar works in Netherlands and Italy; in later life he became a monk and his paintings focused almost exclusively on religious subjects; born Orgaz (1560), died Granada (1627).

  • The Vision of Saint Francis (1620), painting, Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627). Seville: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, Sacristria de Los Cálices. Beneath Jesus and Mary, enthroned, St Francis stands with his arms outstretched, palms upwards, displaying the stigmata which he was the first saint to receive. Beside him, musicians sing and play bass viol and cornetto. On the ground beneath the violist’s left foot are an open book of music and a pipe, very possibly a recorder, only the flared bell and lower body of which can be seen, with four finger holes visible.

Francesco Zaganelli da Cotignola – see Francesco Zaganelli

Jean Cousin II

French artist whose works are inextricably confused with those of his father; born ? Sens (ca 1522), died ? Paris (ca 1594); son of Jean Cousin I (ca 1500–ca 1560).

  • Landscape with Mythological Figure / Allegory of Spring, pen & brown ink, and violet wash, over a black chalk sketch, Jean Cousin II (ca 1522–ca 1594). St Petersberg: Hermitage. Ref. Exhibition, French Drawings and Paintings from the Hermitage: Poussin to Picasso, Hermitage Rooms, Somserset House London (2001–2002); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “At the centre a seated middle-aged man, like Virgil’s Tityrus leaning against a tree (but here it is an oak), plays a cylindrical alto recorder, left hand lowermost, all fingers on. Nevertheless, an offset little finger hole is visible just before the instrument’s very slight bell flare. A smudgy mark in the expected area could represent a window/labium. In the allegory the recorder is given prominence as other characters in a very crowded composition are looking at the player” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Jacques-François Courtin

French painter who was particularly adept at translating genre scenes based on Dutch Golden Age examples into a contemporary setting through the use of staging and costume; also known for his paintings of religious and historical themes and portraits; also a copyist; born Sens (1672) died Paris (1752).

  • The Music Lesson, oil on canvas, 110.0 × 91.5 cm, follower of Jacques-François Courtin (1672–1752). New York & California: Bonham’s, Sale 19224 – European Paintings, 26 Oct 2011, Lot 20. A woman, her eyes cast upwards, conducts from a music book open on her lap. Behind her a young man plays a transverse flute with ivory mounts, and another plays a baroque tenor recorder, also with ivory beak and mounts. A young girl sits by her side, her eyes wide open with amazement!
  • The Little Concert, oil on canvas,  atelier of Jacques-François Courtin (1672–1752). Ref. Website: artnet (2014, col.) An elegantly dressed young woman plays a guitar, a young man holds a violin to his shoulder pointing with his bow to a score held over a table by one of two children in front of him. The other child holds a turned baroque recorder of soprano/alto size. On the table are a cushion and a lute, face down. In front of the table is a bass viol. Another lad peeps out from behind a drape in the background. An almost identical painting auctioned on 3 October 2001 by Dorotheum, Vienna, with the title Musizierende Gesellschaft [Musical Gathering] was attributed to Johann Heinrich Tischbein I (1722–1789), and very similar paintings have been attributed to Jean Raoux (1677–1734) and other unknown imitators of that artist.
  • Concert, oil on canvas, 115 × 89 cm, atelier of Jacques-François Courtin (1672–1752). Ref. Website: artnet (2014, col.) An elegantly dressed young woman plays a guitar, a young man holds a violin to his shoulder pointing with his bow to a score held over a table by one of two children in front of him. The other child holds a turned baroque recorder of soprano/alto size. Beside the table is a bass viol. This is a smaller version of The Little Concert (see below).
  • Children Making Music, oil on canvas, ? atelier of Jacques-François Courtin (1672–1752). Location unknown: Auctioned 5 July 2000 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, col.) A crude version of The Little Concert misattributed to Philip Mercier (1689–1760).
  • L’amant Complaisant [The Complacent Lover], engraving on watermarked laid paper, image 25.3 × 20.2 cm, sheet 30.2 × 20.3 cm, by Michel Aubert (French, 1704–1757) after a painting by Jacques-Francois Courtin (French, 1672-1752). Boston: Fogg Art Museum, Accn R3757; USA: Aspire Auctions, Fine Art & Antiques Auction, March 2013, Lot 83. A young woman plays a soprano-sized flageolet to a small bird perched on the hand of another woman with pearls in her hair and on her wrist. A verse below reads:

    Le Maitre et l’oiseau sexercent de leur mieux
    Pour pouvoir charmer cette Belle
    Quel’un sestimeroit, ainsi que l’autre heureux
    Si’l pouvoir comme luy badiner avec elle

Robert Couturier

French sculptor and art teacher; born Angoulême, Charente (1905); died 2008. In 2005 Couturier had a retrospective exhibition of his work celebrating his 100 years birthday at the Musée Maillol in Paris.

  • The Flute-player (ca 1960), sculpture, bronze with a brown patina, 55 × 11 × 11 cm, Robert Couturier (1905–2008). Location unknown: sold Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, 29 October 1990. Ref. Gazzette H.D. 38 (1990: 88, Lot. 97); Paris RIdIM (2000). A stylized figure of a man playing a cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder.
  • Satyr Playing the Flute (2005),  sculpture, bronze with a brown patina, Robert Couturier (1905–2008).  Paris: Musée Maillol. Ref. Website: Horvatland – The Third Millenium – Sculpture – Robert Couturier (2005, b&w). A stylized figure of a satyr playing a cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder.

David Cowles

US artist living in Rochester; known for his Picasso-like caricatures and pop-music record covers.

  • Cover: American Recorder 38 (5): Untitled (1997), David Cowles (contemporary). A stylised recorder, plate and wine bottle.

Arthur Coy

Nineteenth-century British watercolourist.

  • A Young Boy and Girl, the Boy Playing a Recorder (early 19th century), watercolour, Arthur Coy (19th century). London: Chiswick Auctions, Antique Sale 4 June 2013, Lot 14. Watched by his younger sister, a smartly dressed young lad sitting before a  table covered in music holds what appears to be an English flageolet. The instruments is of baroque design, soprano-sized in two parts and made of a white material, the bell flared into a thin foot. The beak is bulbous and extended into a short blow-pipe. The thumb hole (if there is one) and all finger holes are covered.

Antoine Coypel

French painter and interior decorator, strongly influenced by the theatre, an important influence in encouraging the Baroque style in French art; born and died Paris (1661–1722); son of painter Nöel Coypel (1628–1707).

  • Allegory of Music, (c.1684), oil on canvas, 98 × 152 cm, Antoine Coypel (1661–1722). New York: Sotheby’s, Master Paintings, Part 1, 19 January 2015, Lot 87 (sold). Ref. Website, artnet.com (2015); Wikimedia Commons (2015). A portrait of Mme de Maintenon with the natural children of Louis XIV, one of seven panels depicting the arts and sciences commissioned by Charles Perrault for the ceiling of his Cabinet des Beaux-Artsin the Hôtel Perrault, rue Neuve des Bons Enfants, Paris.  Although the ceiling has been dated between 1680 and 1683, it is thought that the paintings were never installed; the building was destroyed in 1685.The Allegory of Music follows the general scheme of the other seven paintings of the arts and sciences. In the centre of the composition is an attractive woman playing a lyre surrounded by five children, one playing a perfectly depicted baroque recorder (with ivory beak, foot and mounts), another a lute and a third a harpsichord.  Behind them is a curtain, which is lifted at the left to reveal an actual stage set with figures in antique armour and an orchestra below. It is notable that while the children are all playing modern instruments, the woman is playing a lyre of the type found in antiquity, seemingly incompatible with Perrault’s modernist viewpoint.  At the top centre of the instrument is the head of Phoebus Apollo from which rays of the sun stream forth; this clear portrayal of the Sun God is clearly a reference to the Louis XIV, the Sun King.  The King had had five children with his mistress Mme. de Montespan but beginning in 1679 their relationship had begun to deteriorate.  By 1680 she was in disgrace.  Louis then gave the children into the care of Mme. de Maintenon, his new favourite.  They would have been about the same ages as the children depicted here, and Mme. de Maintenon would have overseen their education, musical as well as literary.  Given the long tradition for the making of music to signify emotional harmony, including them all in an Allegory of Music would have made iconographic as well as historical sense. The remainder of the composition enlarges on the virtues of modern music.  In the left corner is a stack of large volumes with the names of contemporary composers or librettists on the spines:  Charpentier, Moliere, Oudot and Jean-Baptiste Lully.  The last was a particular hero of Perrault’s who specifically cites him in his description of the Allegory of Music. Although he refers to opera by Lully, there is very little in the action on the stage seen at the far left that allows us to identify a specific work.  It is perhaps more likely that Coypel was inspired by the contemporary livrets that included more generic illustrations of the operas in question
  • Allegory of Music (1690), copper engraving (in reverse) by Gérard Edelinck (1640-1707) after Antoine Coypel (1661–1722). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NMG Orn 6657:1–16; Cliché Giraudon L. 19063. Ref. Mirimonde (1975: fig. 21); Pottier (1992: 39, pl. XXV); Archiv Moeck; Paris RIdIM (1999); Sidén (2001: 27, fig. 6, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2969 (2023). Printed by Jacques Chereau (1694-1776), as a vignette in Charles Perrault’s (1628-1703) work Le Cabinet des Beaux-Arts ou Recueil d’Estampes gravées d’apres les Tableaux d’un plafond où les beaux Arts sont representés (1690). Copy of a ceiling decoration commissioned by Charles Perrault (ca 1681/4). See entry above for further details.
  • [? Title], drawing, chalk on paper, Antoine Coypel (1661–1722). Salisbury: Wilton House, south Ante-Library. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. (2016). Includes ” a small winged angel playing an alto size recorder.  It has a very slightly flared bell end with close to the rim, what must be a tuning hole.”

Nöel Coypel [called Coypel le Poussin]

French painter who was heavily influenced by Pousin; he was employed on the large decorative schemes of Louis XIV, notably at Versailles, and was director of the French Academy in Rome (1672-76) and then director of the Académie Royale in Paris (1695); born and died Paris (1628–1707); father of painters Antoine (1661–1722) and Nöel-Nicolas (1690–1734).

  • Bacchanal, painting, Nöel Coypel (1628–1707). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Two men and two women dance wildly to music played by a man on a ? trumpet, a man on a ?cornetto and a woman on a conical pipe seen end on, possibly a recorder if the gallica indexing is accurate.

Dirck (Petersz.) Crabeth

Netherlandish stained glass and tapestry designer; active Gouda (1520), died Gouda (1574).

  • St Paul (1543), stained glass window, studio of Dirck Crabeth (op. 1520–m. 1574). Paris: Musée d’Arts Decoratifs. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). One of two large windows with multiple rectangular panels, done in grisaille and silver stain (i.e. yellow) for a house in Leiden, illustrating the stories of Samuel and of Paul. The scenes are set within decorations of animals and young male putti, some with musical instruments. In the panel representing St Paul preaching in the synagogue on the nature of God, a near-naked young putto (without wings) holds two duct flutes (probably recorders) in his left hand and, in his right hand, holds another to his mouth. The latter pipe is of tenor size. It has an offset little finger hole and slight bell flare with a tuning hole in the bell end. The other pipes are held centrally, crossed, and are rather obscured by the young man’s hand and arm, but are both of alto size without bell flare. One has curved over beak, seen from an angle underneath (no thumb hole is visible, however). The other shows the lower body with three, perhaps four finger holes in line; then, beyond the hand just enough of the head end to show the same beaked mouthpiece and a very evident window/labium. These pipes are very probably intended to be recorders. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth II

Dutch painter from a family of artists; worked in the Caravaggesque style; born and died Gouda (ca 1594–1644); grandson of Wouter Crabeth I. (op. 1599–1589)

  • Concert, 132 × 170 cm, Wouter Pietersz Crabeth II (ca 1594–1644). Paris: Guy Darrieutort. Ref. Nicolson (1979, 2: fig. 138); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). A man viewed in side profile plays a cylindrical recorder, another plays a lute, and a young woman plays a guitar.
  • Pastoral Scene, 87 × 70 cm, Wouter Pietersz Crabeth II (ca 1594–1644). Antwerp: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Cat. 5. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 105); Griffioen (1988: 438–439, b&w); Institute Royal du Patrimonie Artistique / Koninklijk Instituut voor hef Kunstpatrimonium (IRPA/KIK), Brussels (2007); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0001084 (2009, b&w). A young shepherd plays a small shawm to a shepherdess in a floral hat and with a lamb in her lap. The pirouette is clearly depicted and a tuning hole in the bell can be seen, both typical features of shawms rather than recorders.
  • [Portrait of a Musician], 86 × 67 cm, Wouter Pietersz Crabeth II (ca 1594–1644). Location unknown: auctioned in Keulen (near Haarlem), 12–4 June 1980, No. 171. Ref. Slatkes (1981-82, 2/3: 172, attributed to Reyer Janzoon. van Blommendael (op. 1662 – m. 1675); Hoyer (1992: 108, no. 26); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). A well dressed man in a plumed hat sits at a bench with an open music book before him holding an alto-sized recorder seen in side profile, the beak of which is metal-sheathed.

Joos van Craesbeeck [Craesbeke, Craesbeek]

Flemish painter known for his portraits of peasants and genre scenes; born Neerlinter (? 1605/6), died Brussels (1654/61).

  • Gathering of Rhetoricians, oil on wood panel, 74 × 105 cm, Joos van Craesbeeck (? 1605/6–1654/61). Brussels: Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, Cat. 121, Inv. 3462. Ref. Leppert (1977: 41, pl. XXXIV, b&w). Rhetoricians are assembled in a garden, possibly for a contest. Amongst the instruments are lutes, rebec, viol, virginals, and a recorder (according to Leppert, loc. cit). Perhaps one needs to have been there to spot the latter!
  • The Clarinet [sic.] Player, Joos van Craesbeeck (? 1605/6–1654/61). Private collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Depicts a group of quite well dressed peasants in a small garden outside a cottage. A young woman sitting at a table plays a wave profile alto recorder (not a clarinet), right hand lowermost. All her fingers are on the instrument with the exception of the little fingers, but the characteristic offset lowermost finger holes are clearly visible as are the small but clear window/labium and beak. A man sitting with her at the table leans on his elbow, listening intently.
  • The Lute Concert (ca 1650), oil on panel, 30 × 23 cm, Joos van Craesbeeck (? 1605/6– 1654/61). Vienna: Palais Liechtenstein, Inv.-No. GE476. Ref. Kräftner (2004: 127, col.); Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007). Two seated women, one of them with her back turned, entertains a cavalier by playing the lute. An elderly couple appear to be singing along as best they can and encouraging the lutenist but, even so, the graceless gallant being serenaded is already asleep at the table. On a plain wall behind is a small framed picture of an old, bearded man and, hanging on the wall to the right, is a soprano-sized duct flute with a window/labium and perhaps six (or possibly seven) finger holes, the lowermost doubled. It is very slightly outwardly conical and has a decorative ring at the very slightly flared bell-end. The instrument could have a crude symbolic purpose! The slumped cavalier hasn’t even touched his glass full of wine. He certainly doesn’t respond to the woman’s lute-music.
  • The Lute Player, Joos van Craesbeeck (?1605/6–1654/61). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w, as The Mandoline Player). Sitting at a table with some books and music on it, a man tunes his lute (not a mandolin). Behind him, another man leans sleepily on one arm, holding a hybrid flute/recorder in the other hand. The latter instrument has the embouchure hole of a flute and the window/labium of a recorder! Although much later than this painting, an illustration by Robert Benard (1734–p. 1785) in the Encyclopedia of Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1751–1772), depicts just such an instrument (see here). It is not a flute, but a recorder, made in four pieces, which can be played by placing the lips around the hole and blowing directly into it, while holding the instrument on the side like a flute. The windway in the head joint sends the air stream towards the labium.
  • Merry Company, black chalk & watercolour, 16.0 × 13.5 cm, Joos van Craesbeeck (?1605/6 – 1654/61). London: Christies, Sale 3377, Old Master & Early British Drawings & Watercolours, 8 December 2011, Lot. 314. Two men sitting at a table are served by a woman who brings one of them a tankard of beer whilst he plays on a slender flared-bell pipe, possibly a recorder though no details of the beak, window/labium or finger holes are visible. The other man sings, holding a glass of wine in one and and waving the other as if counting time.

Lucas Cranach, the Elder (original name possibly Lucas Müller or Sunder)

German artist of considerable influence in the 16th century whose vast output includes altarpieces, court portraits and portraits, innumerable pictures of women–elongated female nudes and fashionably dressed ladies with titles from the Bible or mythology; active in southern Germany and Austria; born Cranach, now Kronach (1472), died Weimar (1553).

  • Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1504), oil on panel, 70.7 × 53.0 cm, Lucas I Cranach (1472–1553). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Schwarz (1967: pl. 3, col.); Oertel (1968: 35, pl. 12, b&w); Klessmann (1971: 92-93, pl., col.); Ember (1984: 20, fig. 4, b&w); Website: Web Gallery of Art (2019, col.) The Holy Family halt on the edge of a forest surrounded by putti and child angels, two of whom (a boy and a girl) hold small pipes (reed pipes or duct flutes), briefly flared at the bell. The girl appears to be singing. In each case the mouthpiece of the pipe is unusual and may represent the window and labium of a recorder, but could be interpreted as the channel and reed of a chalumeau-like instrument.
  • Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1509), woodcut, Lucas I Cranach (1472–1553). Ref. Schade (1974: pl. 20, 21 & 42); Rowland-Jones (1999: 127, fig 1). The Holy Family halt beneath an oak tree, though their stay can hardly be restful due to the fact that there are no less than 23 hyperactive putti in attendance, six of them perched on a branch above them. Of the latter, three squawk away on cylindrical duct flutes (probably recorders) whilst their companions sing from an open book. On another branch a particularly energetic putto blasts away on a straight trumpet whilst jumping up and down and flapping his wings!
  • The Mocking of Christ, (c. 1515–1520), oil on panel, 35.9 × 28 cm, Lucas I Cranach (1472–1553). London: Christies,  Live Auction 14772, 5 July 2018, Lot 13; from a French collection.  Ref. Koepplin (2018). This is the only autographed version of this composition by Lucas Cranach the Elder. After his arrest in Jerusalem and either just before or after his appearance before Caiphas, Christ was set upon by the Jews and subjected to various indignities. Cranach shows the various humiliations Christ suffered before his Crucifixion. The composition has been said to draw on Albrecht Dürer’s The Mocking of Christ  in a woodcut of c. 1508-11 that was included in his influential Small Passion print series (Koepplin 2018).  However, another depiction of this scene from Ecce Homo by Michael Astrapas and Eutychios (1315–1317/1318), which also includes a recorder, seems to hint at a much older tradition. Cranach’s painting conflates the various Gospel accounts given of the mocking of Christ, and shows him already dressed in a robe of royal purple, in which he was dressed before He was crowned with thorns. Each of the figures mocking Christ is given exaggerated, grotesque features, emphasising their sin in mocking Christ and heightening the humanity of Christ’s suffering. Described in Psalm 22 as “dogs . . . the assembly of the wicked”, each is engaged in a different form of mockery, from the man in the red hat who pokes his tongue out at Christ, while pulling a lock of his hair, to the two men who prepare some fouled water which another sprays into Christ’s face, and the Roman soldier who mocks the partially blindfolded Christ by putting a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in his lips. A copy of this work is in the Castle Picture Gallery, Prague; another was auctioned by Lempertz, Cologne, in 2013.
  • The Mocking of Christ, painting on limewood, 42.0 × 28.5 cm, School of Lucas I Cranach (1472–1553). Prague: Obrazárna Pražského hradu [Prague Castle Picture Gallery], Inv. CZ_OPH_HS264. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1999: 128–129, fig. 4, b&w); Exhibited Maastricht: Bonnefanten Museum (2001); Liesbeth van der Sluijs (pers. comm., 2001). After his arrest in Jerusalem and either just before or after his appearance before Caiphas, Christ was set upon by the Jews and subjected to various indignities. Some began to spit on him, blindfolded him, and struck him with their fists. Here a Roman soldier mocks the partially blindfolded Christ by putting a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in his lips. Other tormentors blow a cow horn in one ear and bang a metal dish in the other, beat him with sticks, squirt him with an enormous syringe, and pull dreadful faces at him.
  • The Mocking of Christ, oil on panel, 41 × 27 cm., School of Lucas I Cranach (1472–1553). Cologne: Lempertz, Auction 1008, Paintings 15th–19th Century, 20 March 2013, Lot 5. After his arrest in Jerusalem and either just before or after his appearance before Caiphas, Christ was set upon by the Jews and subjected to various indignities. Some began to spit on him, blindfolded him, and struck him with their fists. Here a Roman soldier mocks the partially blindfolded Christ by putting a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in his lips.  The beak and window/labium are clearly depicted and the bore at the foot seems rather too large for a flageolet. Other tormentors blow a cow horn in one ear and bang a metal dish in the other, beat him with sticks, squirt him with an enormous syringe, and pull dreadful faces at him.

Walter Crane

British draughtsman, wood engraver, printmaker, painter and writer; considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child’s nursery motif that the genre of English children’s illustrated literature would exhibit in its developmental stages in the latter 19th century; he was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and produced an array of paintings, illustrations, children’s books, ceramic tiles, stained glass, plaster relief, textiles and other decorative arts; born Liverpool (1845), died Horsham (1915).

  • Shepherd (1898), Walter Crane (1845–1915). Ref. Edmund Spenser, The Shepheard’s Calendar, Harper & Bros, London & New York (1898: front cover). A shepherd with his dog and two sheep plays a slender, slightly conical, tenor-sized pipe (possibly a duct flute) with more finger holes than digits.
  • Party Invitation (1897), wood engraving printed in red ink, 19.5 × 14.0 cm, Walter Crane (1845–1915). London: British Museum, Inv. 1912,0930.32. Invitation to the 21st birthday party of the eldest son of Walter Crane on 6 May 1897, with image of a young man at left dancing and playing a recorder, and a young woman at right dancing and playing a tambourine in a meadow around a tree. Lettered at top within the image

    Richmond Hill

    Mr & Mrs Walter Crane
    at home 9.30
    Thursday May 6 1897
    to celebrate the 21st
    birthday of their eldest
    son
    Fancy dress
    Dancing

    and at bottom

    13 Holland St Kensington
    RSVP

    at lower left corner of image with ‘C’ encircling a small image of a bird, as a reference to ‘Crane’, and at lower right corner of sheet ‘P.T.O’. Verso inscribed in pen and ink ‘Ms W.A. Roper’. Not seen.

John Craxton (1922-2009)

English painter, print-maker, book and magazine illustrator and theatre designer who settled in Crete where he became British Honorary Consul; initially a neo-romantic  influenced by William Blake, Samuel Palmer, Graham Sutherland, Lucien Freud and Pablo Picasso, his later work became more formal, structured and decorative, although still expressing Romantic pastoral themes; born St John’s Wood, London (1922), died 2009.

  • Pastoral for P.W. (1948), oil on canvas, 204.5 × 262.5 cm., John Craxton RA (1922–2009. London: Tate Britain, ref. T03838. Ref. Website: Tate Britain. (2004, col.); Christina Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2014). The artist depicts himself in Cretan shepherds’ dress as a goat-herd, whence traditionally the pastoral pipe. The piper’s wrists and finger positions suggest that Craxton may have modelled the instrument on a recorder. This painting also celebrates the power of music; the goats are held in its thrall. The goats are also ‘capricious portraits’ of Craxton’s friends e.g. Lady Norton, who was a founding supporter of the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The dedicatee was Peter Watson, a collector of modern paintings who had supported Craxton and co-founded both the magazine Horizon and the ICA. Watson also paid for a studio for John Craxton, which he shared for a while with Lucian Freud.

Robert Crawford (contemporary), USA

  • Untitled, Robert Crawford (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder 42 (1), front cover, col. (2001). A woman plays a recorder in front of a window through which birds can be seen.

Louis Crépy (1680-1750) – see Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)

Benedetto Crespi [known as Bustino], Italian (17th century)

  • Annunciation, oil on canvas, 265 × 155 cm, Benedetto Crespi, Italian (17th century). Borgomanero: Confraternità del San Bartolomeo. Ref. Villa I Tatti ND619L6P582; Gregori et al. (1996: 148, 280, n. 76, b&w); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). The angel Gabriel addresses Mary; between them sits a small cat. Above the scene a band of angels play lutes, fiddle, harp, organetto, transverse flute, and an ambiguous pipe which may be a straight cornetto or a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder) of slender form with a slightly flared bell.

Daniele Crespi

Italian painter and draughtsman; the most original artist working in Milan in the 1620s, the first to break with the exaggerated manner of Lombard Mannerism and to develop an early Baroque style, distinguished by clarity of form and content, a fusion of Lombard and Emilian sources; born ?Milan (1597–1600), died Milan (1630).

  • Grotesque Heads, oil on canvas, 39.8 × 56.0 cm, Daniele Crespi (1597/1600–1630). Paris: Galerie Canesso (March 2001); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2001); Apollo (2001, 93: 61, no. 469, col.); Recorder Magazine 24(2): front cover (2004, col.) Depicts three grotesque peasants, one of whom plays a small, flared-bell recorder. This painting is currently for sale.

Giuseppe Maria Crespi [lo Spagnuolo]

Italian painter, draughtsman and printmaker whose religious and mythological works are distinguished by a free brushstroke and a painterly manner; also painted spirited genre scenes, which by their quality, content and quantity distinguish him as one of the first Italian painters of high standing to devote serious attention to the depiction of contemporary life; born and died Bologna (1665–1747).

  • Musicians (1710–1715), oil on canvas, 100.8 × 50.1 cm, Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665–1747). London: National Gallery, L882 (on loan from Sir Denis Mahon). One of three peasants, possibly shepherds, plays a lyre, his back to us; another plays a triangle (with rings); a third plays a flared bell recorder of tenor size the windway/labium of which is clearly depicted, but the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is kinked away from the instrument. Behind them are soldiers and riders.
  • Boy with a Recorder, oil on canvas, 61.9 × 49.4 cm, follower of Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665–1747). Buscott Park: The Faringdon Collection, Cat. No. 61. Ref. Merriman (1980: No. 212); Spike et al. (1986: 32, fig. 21). A youth sitting at a table leans on his elbow, his right hand holding a recorder (only the head of which is visible). His other hand turns a page of music before him. Engraved By Pietro Monaco for Algarotti, as Daviddo fuggitivo (see below). The pendant to this picture, of a Man Wearing a Helmet (thus making a pair, of the Active and Contemplative Life), is in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City (Merriman, loc. cit, No. 211).
  • Davidde Fuggitivo (1730–1750), engraving, 44.2 × 32.2 cm, Pietro Monaco (1707-1772), after Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665–1747). London: British Museum, 1865,0520.796; Venice: Private Collection. Ref. Wül (1996: 6, fig. 5). Said to be after an original oil painting by Crespi, assumed lost. However, the composition is identical to a painting auctioned by Sotheby’s in 1977 attributed to Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682-1754) and to what may be another copy auctioned by Sotheby’s, in 1964, bought by Lord Faringdon for the Faringdon Trustees (see above). A youth (David) with curly hair leans on his right elbow in the hand of which he grasps a flared-bell recorder, the curved windway, window/labium and bottom five finger holes (the last offset) are clearly depicted. In his left hand he holds a crumpled manuscript. A caption reads:

    Et declinavit David a facie eius (nempe Saul persequentis)

    which might be translated as

    And David made good his escape (from his persecutor, Saul)

Ortensio Crespi [‘il Cerano’]

Italian painter known in art history as ‘Il Cerano’ due to close professional connections to the town of Cerano; born Milan (1578), died before 1631; brother of the more famous Giovanni Battista Crespi (1573–1632); Both studied with their father, Raffaele Crespi (1537–?), also a painter.

  • St Cecilia (ca 1630), oil on canvas, 56.0 × 36.5 cm, Ortensio Crespi (1578–1631). Detail. Brescia: Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Inv. 292. Ref. Pinacoteca Civica “Tosio, Martinengo” (1927: 89); Dell’Acqua (1966, 1: 691); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2001); Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip395 (2022, col.) Looking heavenward, St Cecilia stands beside a chamber organ. At her feet lie a lute, a viol, three sackbuts, a cornetto and a soprano  recorder. The latter has a long beaked mouthpiece, a clearly depicted window/labium, and seven finger holes (the lowest possibly offset), and is shortly flared at the bell. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)

Domenico Cresti [‘il Cresti’, ‘il Passignano’, ‘il Passignani’ or ‘Passa Ognuno’]

Italian painter and frescoist whose works include religious subjects and portraits, including one of his friend, Galileo; although a Florentine by birth, he belongs to the Venetian school; his nick-name ‘Passa Ognuno’ is a reference to the rapidity of his painting as well as a play on the name of his birthplace; born Passignano (ca 1560), died Florence (ca 1636).

  • [Women and Putti], painted tondo, Domenico Cresti (ca 1560–1636). Florence: Palazzo Pitti, Sala della Prudenza. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). The putti play viola and triangle. One woman holds two flutes or recorders, extending outwards (one crossing the frame). Each has what could be a window/labium or possibly a not quite circular flute embouchure hole. The instruments are cylindrical, alto-sized, with three finger holes showing before the woman’s hand obscures the others. They have little or no beak, although a beak would hardly show from this face-on angle. A seated girl, and a girl with a violin, nearby, wear coronets of small flowers which could be myrtle, suggesting the harmony/marriage symbolism often associated with two recorders.

Donato Creti

Italian painter and draughtsman whose individual and poetic art represents the last significant expression of the classical/idealist strain in Bolognese painting; painted decorative frescoes, altarpieces and easel pictures for private collectors; his work is characterised by a perfected finesse of handling and poetic suggestiveness of situation and mood; he was a prolific draughtsman with a distinct personal manner, who drew for pleasure as well as to prepare his compositions, usually using a quill-pen and producing shadowing by hatching; born Cremona (1671), died Bologna (1749).

  • Glorification of St Bernard of Sienna (1710), canvas, 78 × 95 cm (oval), Donato Creti (1671–1749). Paris: Louvre, R.F. 1983-56. Ref. Lallement & Devaux (1996: 241). Wearing the habit of a Franciscan monk, Saint Bernardino (1380–1444) flies up toward Saint Francis, the Virgin, and Christ; and musical angels, including a pipe (recorder or oboe).
  • Jacob’s Ladder / Jacob’s Dream, oil on canvas, 308 × 197 cm, Donato Creti (1671–1749). Rome: Palazzo Corsini, Picture Gallery, Inv. 79. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Bridgeman Images (2022, col.) At bottom right Jacob sleeps and dreams. At mid-left an angel, who looks down towards another angel playing a perfectly drawn lute, holds a little bit away from his mouth, an unmistakably shaped baroque alto recorder (even though no window/labium or finger holes are visible). The player’s right hand is held uppermost with the third and fourth fingers lifted; the fingers of the left hand are similarly disposed. There are no other instruments.
  • Lady with Recorder and Panpipes [Euterpe] (18th-century), ? Donatino Creti (1671–1749). Boston: Collection of Friederich & Inge von Huene; formerly collection of Frans Brüggen. Ref. Early Music 7 (3): front cover, col. (1979); Burgess (2015: pl. 37, col.) A young woman with flowers in her hair holds a set of panpipes and a turned, baroque recorder only the head of which is visible. An inferior copy was auctioned ≤ 2000 (see below).
  • The Muse Euterpe, oil on canvas, oval, ? after Donatino Creti (1671–1749). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000, col.) A young woman with flowers in her hair holds a set of panpipes and a turned, baroque recorder only the head of which is visible. This seems identical (though of decidedly inferior quality) to Lady with Recorder and Panpipes in the private collection of Friederich & Inge von Huene (see above).
  • Dance of the Nymphs (ca 1724), Donato Creti(1671–1749). Rome: Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia. In the foreground a young man plays a lute and a boy fingers a narrowly conical pipe (possibly a recorder) watched by a young woman who lies on the ground with her back towards us. In an amphitheatre in the centre of the scene nymphs dance in a circle to the sound of a viol played by a young man sitting at the top of some rough-hewn steps. A second lutenist lies watching the dancers. In the background are other men and women provide an audience silhouetted against the surrounding hills.

Renato Cristiano

Contemporary Italian artist whose travels have taken him to France, Africa, West and South Asia, Sumatra and Java, finally settling in Bali for some years where he built studios in Putung and Manggis. He is among the most important expatriate artists working in Bali in the years after World War II and the struggle for Indonesian independence; Cristiano’s Balinese oeuvre has three loosely defined categories of work: the realistic works, which sought to capture the essence of Bali and its people; a group of works tracing their inspiration to Renaissance drawings and paintings; and the series of paintings with backgrounds containing gold and silver, reminiscent of Byzantine icon paintings. Born Rome (1926).

  • La suonatrice di flauto, Renato Cristiano (1926–). Rome: Fondazione Marino Piazzola. A young boy kneeling plays a slender cylindrical pipe, presumably a duct flute of some kind, though no details can be seen.
  • Fauno, Renato Cristiano (1926–). Rome: Fondazione Marino Piazzola. A technicoloured faun seated plays a slender cylindrical pipe, presumably a duct flute of some kind, though no details can be seen.
  • Fauni suonatori, Renato Cristiano (1926–). Rome: Fondazione Marino Piazzola. Three fauns standing play slender cylindrical pipes, presumably duct flutes of some kind, though no details can be seen.

Carlo Crivelli

Italian Renaissance painter of conservative Late Gothic decorative sensibility, who spent his early years in the Veneto, where he absorbed influences from the Vivarini, Squarcione and Mantegna; by 1458 he left the Veneto and was never to return; he spent most of the remainder of his career in the March of Ancona, where he developed a distinctive personal style that makes a contrast to his Venetian contemporary Giovanni Bellini; born Venice (ca 1430–1435), died in the Marche of Ancona, probably Ascoli Piceno (1530).

  • Virgin and Child , painting, ? atelier of Carlo Crivelli (ca 1435–1495) Location unknown. Ref. Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Musique, VM PHOT MIRI-9 (2011); Website: gallica (2011, b&w). The Virgin enthroned nurses the Holy Child on her lap. On each side are two musicians. Those on the left play lira da braccio and a slender cylindrical pipe. Those on the right play a lute and a slender cylindrical pipe with a slightly flared bell. Although details of the window/labium and finger holes are indiscernible in the photograph the disposition of the players’ fingers is consistent with recorder playing.

Jean Crokaert (op. 1768–1785), Dutch

  • Legend of St Rombout (1774), oil on canvas, Jean Crokaert (op. 1768–1785). Mechelen: Sint Romboutskathedral. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 34278 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). St Rombout of Malines was a 7th-century Irish missionary and possibly former bishop of Dublin. The saint helps a group of men, women and children escape. On the sidelines, a boy plays an alto or tenor pipe (probably a recorder), the details of which are unclear apart from the beaked mouthpiece.

Jean-Baptiste de Croziers (mid-17th century), French

  • Les Saints innocents ressucités par l’enfant Jesus (1654), painting on wood, Jean-Baptiste de Croziers (mid-17th century). Aix-en-Provence: Musé des Tapisseries. Ref. Pottier (1992: 70, pl. LVI, b&w); Pottier (1995: 141, pl. 17, b&w); Archiv Moeck. One of the infants holds a small, one-piece recorder; one beside him plays a guitar, others sing and play the fiddle. Some offer garlands; a sacrificed lamb lies at their feet.

Giovanni Antonio Cucchi

Italian painter active mainly in Milan and the Piedmont; his works depict mainly secular and mythological scenes; born Biella (1690), died Milan (1771).

  • Bacchic Scene, black chalk on yellowed white paper, 17.9 × 28.0 cm, Giovanni Antonio Cucchi (1690–1771). Milan: Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Accession No.: Cod F 233 Inf n 459. Ref. Barigozzi Brini & Bossaglia (1973: 333, cat. no. 24 & fig. 24); Website: Biblioteca Ambrosiana (1999). “Bacchus sits collapsed upon a draped rock, in the center. His left leg rests upon a goat, which is fed by a reclining infant. His left arm rests on a vat filled with grapes, and his head is tilted back. On the left sits a woman, her head turned to the right, playing cymbals. Pan stands, in the center background, and holds a flute or recorder. In the right background are trees and shrubs” (Biblioteca Ambrosiana (loc. cit.)

Jean Anotine Cuenot [John Cuenot]

English wood-carver and frame-maker, probably of French birth and a member of a family of sculptors, architects and engineers; born a. 1744,  died London (1762).

  • Trophy of Musical Instruments (1753–1756), carved wood, Jean Antoine Cuenot (a. 1744–m. 1762) London: Victoria & Albert Museum, Gallery 58. Ref. Fitz-Gerald (1973: frontispiece, col. & pl. 39, b&w); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2017, col.) Originally designed for Norfolk House, 31 St James Square, London, which was demolished in 1938. The Music Room was fortunately saved and re-erected in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The initial design may have been by Giovanni Battista Borra (1713–1720), the Piedmontese architect who spent a decade or so in England. All the carved woodwork in the Music Room appears to have been executed by Couenot. This trophy decorates a panel above a fireplace. It comprises a guitar, oboe, trumpet, pan-pipe, harp, flutes and the head of a baroque recorder with its characteristic beak seen in side-profile.

Pierre Culliford – see Peyo

Pedro [Pere] Cuquet

Spanish artist famous for his series of scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi in the Franciscan Convent in Barcelona; born Barcelona (ca 1595), died 1666.

  • Vision of St Felix, painting, Pedro Cuquet (ca 1595–1666). Location unknown. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). St Felix, enchained kneels with his arms outstretched. Behind him is a row of Roman soldiers. Above him are two cherubim (winged heads) and eight angels singing and playing harp, cornetto, lute and a slender pipe with a flared bell, possibly a recorder. St Felix was a little-known martyr buried on the Via Aurelia, Rome, who was for a long time mistakenly identified with Pope Felix I.

Francesco Curradi [Currado]

Italian painter and frescoist of the style described as Contra-Maniera or Counter-Mannerism; his works include altarpieces, church ceilings and small religious paintings in and around Florence; born and died Florence (1570–1661).

  • Adoration of the Shepherds (1590–1505), Francesco Curradi (1570–1661). Prato: Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). At the top of this painting, angels sing and play viol and harp. The older of two shepherds plays a bagpipe; the younger has a long cylindrical or slightly conical pipe with a tiny bell flare which could be a tenor recorder. The latter is played left-hand lowermost and with the fingers of both hands down, except the lower little finger which is lifted slightly in a poised position. The mouthpiece is beaked. The player’s cheeks and lips are relaxed. However, the instrument is in shadow and no further details are visible.

Paul Alfred de Curzon

French painter in various genres but best known for his landscapes; born Moulinet à Migné-Auxances (1820), died Paris (1895).

  • Le Joueur de Flûte [The Flute Player], 23.0 × 15.2 cm, Félix Bracquemond (1833–1914), after Paul Alfred de Curzon (1820–1895). Washington DC.: Library of Congress, Dayton Miller Collection, 0447/L. This etching, based on a painting by Alfred de Curzon originally titled Vue de Tivoli (View of Tivoli), represents a landscape near Rome painted in 1855. Curzon had previously made a charcoal of the same scene in 1853. The original painting was a small, vertical landscape, measuring ca 46 × 33 cm. A city is visible in the left distance, atop tall sheer rocks. In the foreground, at the right, is a mass of large trees on a knoll at the border of which a shepherd plays a nondescript pipe which could represent a flageolet or recorder.

Cornelis van Cuylenburgh II

Northern Netherlandish painter, draftsman, pastelist, watercolorist, decorative painter (of interiors), miniaturist, academy director; active in Utrecht, The Hague and Antwerp; his subjects include landscape, portraits, genre, interiors, nighttime paintings, animals, architecture, history and allegory; born Utrecht (1758), died The Hague (1827).

  • Portraits of Adrianus Hartevelt, his Wife Helena Johanna van Niel and their Children (1788), brush in grey and pink on paper, 34 × 47 cm, Cornelis van Cuylenburgh (1758–1827). Amsterdam: Glerum, Schilderijen, aquarellen & tekeningen door oude meesters, 9 May 2004, Lot 61. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration IB00119181 (2014, col.) Portraits (in ovals)  of Adrianus Hartevelt (1759–1827), his wife Helena Johanna van Niel (m. 1823) and their children Abraham Cornelis (1784–1850), Johanna Cecilia (1787–1854) and Maria Cornelia (1792–1846). The portraits are in grisaille. That of the youngest daughter (middle), Maria, was added later and pasted over the family crest. Trompe-l’oeil of a stone slab decorated with garlands of oak, with five oval portraits. Top center two turtledoves, a burning torch, roses and a quiver (symbolising love). In the ovals, from left to right are Abraham as a boy with dark hair,  wearing a flat white collar with an inverted rim, holding a duct flute (perhaps a recorder) in his left hand; Adrianus, balding with outstanding hair over his ears; Maria, in a skirt and shirt with a jabot, a bonnet over a lace cap and a a pleated collar, a rattle in her right hand; Helena, in a bouffant hairdo, wearing five short chains around her neck and a flat collar; Johanna, with a bow and a bunch of grapes in her left hand.

Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (also spelled Cuijp)

Dutch painter known for his peaceful landscapes of the Dutch countryside, distinguished for their poetic use of light and atmosphere; born and died Dordrecht (1620–1691); the son and probably the pupil of Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594–1651).

  • Countryside beside the Rhine: Cows in Pasture (ca 1650), oil on canvas, 170 × 229 cm, Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (1620–1691). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 1190. Ref. Joconde Website (1999); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). A shepherd sits on a rock playing his slender, slightly flared tenor- or alto-sized recorder, watched by two children and a number of cows. On a nearby hill stand several more shepherds and some sheep. In the distance, across the river, is the town of Dordrecht. All the recorder player’s fingers are down except for the little finger of the lower (right) hand close to which can be seen a finger hole, offset to the right.
  • [Title unknown], black chalk, Aelbert Cuyp (1620–1691). Berlin: Kupferstichkabinett (West). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 137). A young man in a brimmed hat sits on the ground playing a cylindrical recorder with a very slightly flared bell. The hole for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is clearly visible. Another similarly dressed man (possibly his teacher) conducts with a roll of paper.
  • Piping Shepherds (ca 1643–1644), oil on canvas, 90.8 × 119.4 cm, studio of Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (1620–1691). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 25.110.15. Ref. Reiss (1975: 86, pl. 51); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Constance Olds ex Amanda Pond (2002, pers. comm., b&w). Watched by their beasts and a small dog, two shepherds amuse themselves on a knoll at the edge of a river or lake. One, seated, plays the bagpipes; the other, standing, plays a flared-bell recorder of alto size. The recorder player’s fingers and thumb are in their correct positions, including the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand beneath which the offset finger hole is just visible. The right-hand part of this painting is identical to Cuyp’s Piping Herdsmen, Gabrius Data Bank (2001 – see below), although in the latter a metal ewer replaces the dog.
  • Piping Herdsmen, oil on canvas, Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (1620–1691). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, b&w.) A shepherd sits beneath a tree playing his bagpipes; another stands beside him playing an alto-sized pipe (probably a recorder) with a flared bell. A ewer and a stick and bundle before them. Their cattle provide an audience. Auctioned 4 April 1990, sold (Gabrius, loc. cit.) This is identical to the right-hand part of Cuyp’s Piping Shepherds, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (see above), although in the latter there is a dog in place of the ewer.
  • Piping Shepherd, near Leiden (ca 1645/50), 65 × 88 cm, studio of Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (1620–1691). Location unknown. Ref. Reiss (1975: 94, pl. 59); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). Watched by a shepherdess who stands behind him, a shepherd sits on a knoll in the shade of a tree playing an alto-sized recorder with a slightly flared bell. His fingers are placed perfectly for recorder-playing and the little finger of his lowermost (right) hand is crooked as if to cover its hole. A man on horseback rides along the road nearby, followed by a man with a pole over his arm; peasants are at work in the fields behind.
  • Landscape with Piping Herdsman (ca 1645–1650), Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (1620–1691). Dordrecht: Museum (City Art Gallery). Ref. Postcard, Dordrechts Museum (2001, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A shepherd sits on a knoll playing his alto recorder to two cows sheltered beneath an overhanging rock. He plays right-hand lowermost with his lowermost little finger beside beside an offset hole. All other fingers are covering their holes. The beak and window/labium are clearly depicted, though the latter is rather low set. The instrument has a gentle, fairly slight bell-flare.
  • Children in Pastoral Dress (ca 1645), 104 × 132 cm, attributed to Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (ca 1620–1691). ?Location. ?Ref. A boy wearing a cap and a narrow ruff plays a cylindrical alto recorder to his siblings who sit beneath a tree with some lambs. In the background are shepherds with their sheep, and the buildings of a village. The thumb of the recorder player is bent as for recorder playing and his cheeks are not inflated.

Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp

Dutch painter noted principally for paintings of biblical and genre scenes which use Rembrandtesque light and shadow effects; born and died Dordrecht (1612–1652); half-brother of Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594–1651).

  • Peasants in a Tavern, oil on oak panel, 53 × 76 cm, Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1612–1652). Budapest: Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, #3825. Ref. Mojzer (1967: pl. 20); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Web Gallery of Art (2003, col.) A group of carousing peasants are entertained by two of their number who play violin and a pipe which Griffioen lists as a soprano recorder. Identical to the Sibiu version, but the pipe is stouter and more crudely drawn.
  • Peasants in a Tavern, oil on oak panel, 50 × 75 cm, Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1612–1652). Sibiu/Hermannstadt (Romania): Muzeul National Brukenthal. Ref. Website: CODART (2008, col.) A group of carousing peasants are entertained by two of their number who play violin and a pipe. Identical to the Budapest version (see above), but the pipe is much more slender and cylindrical.
  • Peasants in a Tavern (ca 1635, oil on panel, 46.6 × 68.0 cm, Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1612–1652). Location unknown: offered for sale by Dr A. Wieg Fine Art, Amsterdam (pre-2009). Ref. Constance Scholten (pers. comm, 2009). A peasant sits on a box playing a violin. Opposite him another seated at a table holds a slender, cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder). Beside him a third peasant sings. Two more listen to the music. A couple converse in a corner of the room. A hooded figure sits in front of the fireplace with his back to the others.
  • Still-life with Musical Instruments and a Portrait, painting, Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1612–1652). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a table lie papers, notebooks, a portrait of someone’s face and a number of musical instruments which include a lute, a violin and bow, a shawm, a flute, and two recorders each of which is only partially visible. One of the recorders has a metal-sheathed beak, the other has a slightly flared foot. This work would seem unlikely to be by Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp who is known for his genre scenes; perhaps it is by his half-brother Jacob Geritsz Cuyp who is known to have painted still-lifes.

Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (also spelled Cuijp)

Dutch painter, best known for his portraits, born and died Dordrecht (1594–1651); half-brother of Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp, and father of Aelbert Jacobsz. Cuyp (ca 1620–1691)

  • Pastorale, oil on canvas, 118 × 168 cm, Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594–1651). Mountauban: Musée Ingres, Inv. 885.10. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 80); Reiss (1975: 85, pl. 50); Griffioen (1988: 438-439); Anthony Rowland-Jones (2008, pers. comm.) Surrounded by their beasts, a shepherd plays a soprano-sized pipe to a shepherdess who sits before him. An appreciative dog looks on. The pipe is cylindrical and the player’s thumb and fingers are in perfect recorder-playing position, right hand lowermost, and the thumb of the uppermost hand bent to sound the octave.
  • Young Girl with a Flute and a Goat, oil on canvas, 110 × 80 cm, follower of Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594–1651). Vienna: Dorotheum, Old Master Paintings 16 June 2011, Lot 223. A young boy or girl holding a small recorder sits beside two goats. The characteristic beak, window/labium and several finger holes and foot are all clearly visible.
  • Still-life with a Flute, Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594–1651). Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a bench are a jar, a book a clay smoking pipe, a crumpled letter, a roll of paper, portraits of a man and a woman, and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt.

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2024. Recorder Home Page: Artists–C. Last accessed 19 March 2024. https://www.recorderhomepage.net/recorder-iconography/artists-c/