Artists–Y

Fernando [or Hernando] Yáñez [Yez] de la Almedina

Spanish painter of supposedly Morisco origin who went to Italy to study art, in the process becoming familiar with the work of Leonardo da Vinci; upon his return to Spain, he collaborated with Hernando de los Llanos in painting twelve panels of the Life of the Virgin for the main altarpiece of Valencia cathedral; he is amongst the most important of Spanish Renaissance painters; born Almedina (c.1475), died Valencia (1536).

  • Two Angel Musicians Playing Flute and Lute (1506), silverpoint with gouache wash on paper, 15.5 × 16.0 cm, Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina (c.1475-1536). Website: Website: Lute Iconography RI-1494 (2023, col.) Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Inv. 11677, Recto. Sketches of two angel musicians. One plays a lute, the other a pipe. The later seems to hint at a window/labium, and the player’s hands seem well positioned for recorder playing.

Asher ben Yitzhaq [Isaac]

Jewish scribe, illuminator and owner of a small Ashkenazic siddur or daily prayer book produced in Germany, now in the Bodleian Libray; active late 15th century.

  • Siddur: [Piper] (1471), illumination on parchment, Asher ben Yitzhaq (15th century). Oxford: Bodleian Library, MS Oppenheim 776. Ref. Anonymous (2009: 6-7). One of 33 illuminations a number of which illustrate musicians, including singers and players of lute, waisted fiddles and pipes. A man wearing red breeches and a blue jerkin plays a cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder). A window/labium and seven finger holes are visible, and the instrument has a flared bell.
  • Siddur: [Musicians] (1471), illumination on parchment, Asher ben Yitzhaq (15th century). Oxford: Bodleian Library, MS Oppenheim 776. Ref. Anonymous (2009: 6-7). One of 33 illuminations a number of which illustrate musicians, including singers and players of lutes, waisted fiddles and pipes. Against an organic background of red swirls, musicians depicted in monochrome play lutes and cylindrical pipes (possibly duct flutes) on which several finger holes are visible, but no window/labium.

Jan Thomas van Yperen [Ieperen]

Flemish painter and engraver active in Antwerp and at the Habsburg court in Vienna; a pupil of Rubens who painted very much in the crowded and bucolic style of his master which he adapted to the small context of cabinet paintings, though he also made large-scale paintings and mezzotints; born Ypres (1617), died Vienna (1678).

  • Bacchanal, Jan Thomas van Yperen (1617-1678). Caen: Musée des Beaux Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).  In a forest clearing, a crowd of people are enjoying an orgy. Some desport themselves in a variety of erotic poses whilst others dance to music provided by a bagpiper and a man playing a tenor-sized pipe which could be a recorder, but the mouthpiece is obscured by the large beard and moustache of the player, an oldish man, so no window/labium is visible. The right hand is uppermost with finger two lifted. Four holes show beneath the fingers of the lower (left) hand. They are not quite in line being on a curve to the offset little-finger hole. Towards the bell there is a gentle flare, and the bell end itself is protected by a metal ring (not a band or sleeve). The bore opening is visible, rather small, suggesting most of the flare is external. Putti dance in the air above and one has got stuck in a tree. Another version is currently offered for sale by Auktionshause Wendl, Rudolstadt (March 2015) – see below.
  • Bacchanal, oil on canvas, 84 × 138 cm, Jan Thomas van Yperen (1617-1678) or Jan Wilders. Rudolstadt: Auktionshaus Wendl, Auction 81, Lot 4495, 7 March 2015.] Ref. Website: Flickr (2014, col.) In a forest clearing, a crowd of people are enjoying an orgy. Some disport themselves in a variety of erotic poses whilst others dance to music provided by a bagpiper and a man playing a tenor-sized pipe which could be a recorder, but the mouthpiece is obscured by the large beard and moustache of the player, an oldish man, so no window/labium is visible. The right hand is uppermost with finger two lifted. Four holes show beneath the fingers of the lower (left) hand. They are not quite in line being on a curve to the offset little-finger hole. Towards the bell there is a gentle flare, and the bell end itself is protected by a metal ring (not a band or sleeve). The bore opening is visible, rather small, suggesting most of the flare is external.  Putti dance in the air above and one has got stuck in a tree.There is another version in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Caen – see above.
  • Triumph of Bacchus  (c. 1650), canvas over board, 79.5 × 116.5 cm, Thomas van Yperen (1617-1678).  Buenos Aires: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Inv. 2487. Ref. Website: Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) A throng of bacchantes processes around a steep, wooded hillside. In the lead of the main group are musicians playing tambourine, bagpipe and a conical pipe which could be a recorder, though the details are obscured by the elderly player’s beard and no window/labium is visible. Possibly identical to the Bacchanal in Caen, for which see above.
  • Pan and Syrinx, oil on canvas, 105 × 136 cm, Jan Thomas van Yperen (1617-1678). Sibiu/Hermannstadt (Romania): Muzeul National Brukenthal. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008); Website: CODART (2008). At the left centre a personage, probably Pan, plays a pipe about soprano length. The figures are too small for any detail, and the instrument being played with two hands is little more than ‘one stroke of paint’ which could be intended to represent a recorder.

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