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The Music Lesson
(Baroque Europe )
Longhi was a successful painter of upper-class life in Venice, and he specialized in stylish interiors. His scenes of the amusements of the wealthy often possess a touch of humor, sometimes mirroring the satires so popular in Venetian theater of the time. In this scene, an elderly music teacher takes advantage of the interruption caused by servants to squeeze the hand of his young pupil in front of the pianoforte. The little dog, a traditional symbol of faithfulness, with its raised paw, mirrors his gesture, almost as a parody of the old man's furtive expression of desire.
For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 452, p. 564.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1909 [mode of acquisition unknown] [in Walters catalogues as Voltaire chez la Princesse de Condé, French School, eighteenth century]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2009-2010 | Venice in Canaletto's Age. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. |
| 1996 | Tiepolo Unveiled: The Restoration of a Masterpiece. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1993-1994 | Pietro Longhi. Museo Correr, Venice. |
| 1986 | Giuseppe Maria Crespi and the Emergence of Genre Painting in Italy. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 12/3/1965 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; other |
| 2/1/1986 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated |
| 8/1/1992 | Treatment | repaired |
| 11/1/1993 | Treatment | examined for loan; cleaned; repaired; loss compensation; other |
| 12/1/1993 | Treatment | cleaned; mounted |
Geographies
Italy, Venice (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H: 17 9/16 x W: 22 11/16 x D: 1/16 in. (44.6 x 57.6 x 0.2 cm); Framed H with no build-up: 21 1/2 x W: 26 1/2 x D: 1 3/4 in. (54.61 x 67.31 x 4.45 cm); Framed H with hanger on top of frame: 22 in. (55.88 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, before 1909
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.397