It's a great pic. let's be thankful that there are so many great pics.
But what I like is the "Thumb Middle" It is so present, so real.
dt
t 09:27 PM 7/9/2008, you wrote:
There are so many things to appreciate and
wonder about in this painting. The hands look so
natural you can see the chord he's playing (a
Gmaj chord on an E lute? It could be a C chord
but it appears he's playing the 6th course w/
his right hand). Maybe he's listening to hear if
the strings are in tune --a test chord? Or I
wonder if the painter started to capture the
player's boredom from having to sit for too long.
I love the fact that a table is being used and
his hands look so relaxed that we hardly notice
that his elbow is at chin-height! There's a
lesson for us here but we should probably take it w/ a grain of salt.
Despite many of the proportions being very good
the lute does seem to confuse the artist a
little. The lute shell just below his throat
seems a little off and there are other lute
parts that "wander". This really isn't important
but the width of the neck leads may lead one
down the garden path. I think, in order for the
left hand to appear more natural, the artist has
narrowed the neck, perhaps unconsciously which,
in turn, leads to the pegbox walls becoming
parallel. (Are there any other references to a square/rectangular pegbox?)
It all leads me to wonder if there are two
artists at work here: the body parts are almost
too competent compared to the lifeless table
top, background and stringbox. Is there a
symbolic relationship between the headdress and
the lace? Are they an actual trio of musicians
or is the composition contrived to be a more allegorical presentation?
One thing is certain: he was someone's favorite
lutenist. My apologies for all the questions and
conjectures. If anyone could offer more clues, I'd appreciate it.
Sean
On Jul 9, 2008, at 12:00 PM, G. Crona wrote:
There was more detail if you look at the left hand.
G.
----- Original Message ----- From: "JarosÅaw Lipski" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Lute'" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:35 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: El Gordo
It looks like the painter didn't care to show double strings, or the player
used single strings omitting every second peg.
Best
JL
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