The full size painting is 117 x 162 cm so the HG must be pretty small
although I haven't seen the actual painting.
There's a fairly large image at
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd254/lukeprog/018Bruegel-TriumphOfDeath.jpg
It enlarges to around half life size with a click of the mouse so the actual
size of the HG would be about 8cm - 3".
Would it be called a guitar-shaped flat-back?
Possibly too standard to "stand out"?
I can't see any keys so it really IS a left handed HG (and looking at the
playing arm, that seems to be turning it anti-clockwise as well)!
I think the depth of the body would make the wheel stick out of the bottom
of the instrument though :) - it's very thin.
I'll watch the replies with interest.
Colin Hill
that may be too small to see enough detail?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Kacalanos" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <hg@hurdygurdy.com>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 9:16 PM
Subject: [HG] Bruegel the Elder's hg
I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up with all the
emails on the list, so forgive me if this question has
been answered already.
I see quite a lot of hg makers basing the physical
appearance of their hgs on instruments seen in the
paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. That's all well and
good, but why don't I see any hgs based on the one in
the painting "The Triumph of Death" from 1562 by
Bruegel the Elder? (AKA Brueghel) Here's a link:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Thetriumphofdeath.jpg
The hg in this rather busy picture is in the lower
left corner, being played left-handed by the skeleton
riding on the cartload of skulls. There isn't a lot of
detail in this web picture, but I have a better
picture in a book, and I imagine the original is more
detailed than the reproduction in my book.
I asked this same question a while ago, but I think
the discussion got sidetracked into some other topic.
Melissa the Loud
