The Musicians
1597 · Oil on canvas · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Caravaggio (1571–1610)
- Year
- 1597
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 92.1 × 118.4 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Movement
- Baroque
Four boys in loose classical draperies tune a lute, read music, hold a cornett and, at the far left with wings and a quiver, pick grapes: a concert being prepared, with Cupid as its presiding spirit. Caravaggio painted it around 1597 for Cardinal del Monte, a passionate musician, soon after entering his household, and the lute player at the centre is thought to be his companion Mario Minniti, while the boy with the cornett looking out at the viewer may be the painter himself. The picture was long lost, turned up in England in 1952 and was bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1952; it had suffered and was heavily restored. Its warm flesh, white cloth and red silk make it the gentlest of his early works, an allegory of music that is also a portrait of a circle of friends.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Four boys in white and red tuning lutes and reading music in warm ochre light, for a music room, living room or study at 24×18 in black. Cream, olive or deep red walls suit the warmth; pair it with The Lute Player.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Baroque painting
- Era
- 16th century (1597)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, study or library, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×18. Prints at 16×12, 24×18 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Musicians in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Musicians painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
