Artists–S

De Sacy

• Still-life with Musical Instruments (1716), oil on canvas, 91 × 116 cm, De Sacy (fl. 1716-1716). Fontainebleau: Osenat, 30 January 2021, Lot 117. Ref. Bowed Strings Iconography Project bsip1342 (2022, col.) On a table draped with a green cloth lie open music books and musical instruments including alto and tenor recorders with ivory beaks, ferrules and feet, tenor and bass viols, and a walking stick. The artist seems to have been an obscure figure.

Daniel Sabater [Sabatier] y Salabert

Spanish sculptor and an impressionist and, later, surrealist painter; he worked in Madrid, Paris, Barcelona and South America; his subjects are many and varied including nudes, portraits, witchcraft and ghoulish figures, still-lifes, born Valencia (1888), died Barcelona (1951).

• The Magic Flute, oil on canvas, 45.7 × 55.9  cm, Daniel Sabater y Salabert (1888-1951). Madrid: Galería Fernando Duran, 16 April 1996, Lot 106. Ref. Website: artnet.com (2014-col.) A group of women watch in astonishment as a tortoise wearing a red hat dances to music provided by a man in a red cap and dotted robe who plays a long slender pipe. There are plenty of finger holes, but no sign of a window/labium.

Jan Sadeler

Flemish draughtsman, engraver and publisher who began work as a steel-chiseler or damascener but moved to Antwerp, where he was admitted to the Guild of St Luke in 1572 as a copperplate engraver; engraved illustrations after van den Broeck, Michiel Coxcie and Plantin; also collaborated with Marten de Vos; born Brussels (1550), died Venice (1600). See Marten de Vos.

Cornelis I Saftleven [Sachtleven or Zachtleven]

Dutch artist specialising in genre scenes painted in the manner of Brouwer; also known for his paintings of cattle and of animals which were dressed as people and anthropomorphised; born Gorinchem (1607), died Rotterdam (1681).

• Musicians, Cornelis I Saftleven (1607-1681). Torino: Galleria Luigi Carretto. Ref. Basso (1984, 3: 377); Paolo Biordi (pers. com., 2000). Five rustic musicians rehearse in a barn. One plays violin, one a transverse flute, one a trombone (held most awkwardly), and one a cello. One sits on an upturned tub conducting from a score, though his companions have no music; at his feet lie a bagpipe and a cylindrical alto recorder, the window/labium and seven finger holes of which are perfectly clear – the lowermost very near the slightly flared bell; a spoon and fork are threaded through a loop in his cap. A young lad drinks from a jug; a man in the background looks on, as does a hen at the window.
• Drinking Outside a Tavern, oil on panel, 67 × 90 cm, Cornelis I Saftleven (1607-1681). Stockholm: National Museum, NM 693. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2000). A rustic scene before a tavern. A boy standing on a balcony, a cat beside him, joins in the fun with a very small duct flute (possibly a recorder). The window/labium is visible before the boy’s upper (right) hand, and there is a slightly flared bell immediately below the lowermost little finger. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• A Flute Player, etching, 9 × 6 cm, Cornelis I Saftleven (1607-1681). Uppsala: Universitet Bibliotek, UBG 7012. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2000). A young man seated plays a long, thin, cylindrical duct flute, perhaps 100 cm long, with all fingers well into the bottom half of the instrument. One hole shows below the lower (left) hand and on the opposite side. The window/labium and beaded mouthpiece are clearly depicted. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Duet (ca 1635), Cornelis I Saftleven (1607-1681). Vienna: Gemäldergalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007). Two fairly elderly men play a violin and a pandora (or large cittern) without much apparent enjoyment! In the background, four other instruments; on the left, a bass viol with a bow tucked into it. On the right, are a table with a statue and a very clearly depicted transverse flute. Lying at a right angle to the flute is an ambiguous pipe which could be a tenor-sized recorder, as the left-hand end is slightly beaked. Unfortunately this instrument is black and also in the shadow of a lute just behind it. No details of finger holes or window/labium are discernible. In this company, however, it may well be intended to be a recorder. It is noteworthy that all the instruments shown are members of the ‘broken’ or ‘English’ consort. The normal smaller cittern and the pandora played as treble-bass plucked metal string pair, while the lute concentrated on divisions. The transverse flute and recorder are alternatives in a broken consort of the kind depicted here. Saftleven seems to have given precedence to the flute and putting in the poorly painted recorder could have been an afterthought.
• Allegory of Music, oil on panel, 41 × 36 cm, attributed to Cornelis I Saftleven (1607-1681). London: Sothebys, Sale W07725, Old Master Paintings,24 April 2007, Lot 484. Ref. Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip484 (2022, col.) Sold as one of a pendant pair, the other an Allegory of Taste. A man in a buttoned smock and a floppy hat plays a small violin with a circular soundhole. On the table before him are a music book, a small lute and a small duct-flute. Only the head and upper body of the latter is visible, but it is probably meant to represent a recorder.

Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani

Italian artist who played an important role in introducing the decorative art of the late Baroque to Florence; his works include frescoes, altarpieces and other religious subjects; born Florence (1660), died Florence (1731).

• The Four Elements: Air, tapestry from cartoons by Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (1660-1731). Florence: Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Sala della Carità (Royal Apartments). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Air, represented by Juno, has all four sides of its broad border decorated (like those in Versailles by Charles Lebrun) with musical wind instruments, including a basset recorder with a side-entering bocal with a mouthpiece end. There is a strengthening ring near the top and a broad metal band (? silver) fairly close to the unflared bell end, but leaving plenty of space for an incised decorative ring. Unfortunately all the finger holes (ie the body of the instrument) are behind the bag of a musette and other paraphernalia. At the top left corner of the border is a tenor recorder showing the underside of its beaked mouthpiece and windway entrance; it has three decorative rings near the head and four at the head/body joint. The body is cylindrical but the bell end is curiously shaped with a small but sudden flare. This is crossed with a partial view of another ? basset recorder with decorative rings, with four finger holes visible. Tucked away behind is (probably) a basset recorder, judging from the size of its foot, which does have a flared bell (and the usual baroque rings). The little-finger key is positioned to the player’s right hand, and two holes above it are visible. Behind a syrinx is the head and foot of a rather slender alto/tenor-sized recorder, the beak and windway entrance again seen from the underside.

Lorenzo & Jacopo Salimbeni [Salimbene]

Italian painters of religious frescoes in which it is difficult to distinguish the hand of Jacopo from that of Lorenzo, who is considered by some critics to have been the master; Lorenzo was born San Severino (1374), died San Severino (1420); Jacopo was active in Urbino and San Severino (of which he was a councillor) between 1416 and 1420.

• Coronation of the Virgin, Lorenzo Salimbeni (1374-1424) & Jacopo Salimbeni (op. 1416 – 1420). Luxembourg: Musée d’Histoire et d’Art. Ref. Brown (1988: #452 – b&w); Rowland-Jones (pers comm.) “Two angels hover in the air above the central figures, playing double recorder and recorder (or shawm)” (Brown, loc. cit.). The player’s left hand is uppermost; the right hand is at least a third the way up from the bell, which has little or no flare. Brown’s “recorder” is an unlikely but not impossible duct flute.

Cavaliere Tommaso (called Mao) Salini [Salinas or Solini]

Italian painter, an early Roman follower of Caravaggio against whom he subsequently gave hostile testimony during the 1603 judicial hearings of a lawsuit in which the artist Giovanni Baglione sued Caravaggio for libel; born ca 1575, died ca 1625.

• Boy with a Cat, oil on panel, 133 × 97 cm, Cavaliere Tommaso Salini (ca 1575 – ca 1625). Sevastapol: M. Kroshitsky Art Museum. Ref. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (1986: 80, pl. 26-col.); Villa I Tatti ND 611M37; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). A Caravagesque painting in which a young peasant boy crowned with a laurel wreath holds a rat by the tail in one hand and a cylindrical alto recorder (the window/labium and seven finger holes in line clearly visible) in the other. A cat looks expectantly up at the rat; a dog lies in the foreground. This painting uses the same model as Salini’s Shepherd … which also includes a recorder (see below).
• Shepherd Resting with his Flock (ca 1620), oil on canvas, Cavaliere Tommaso Salini (ca 1575 – ca 1625). Location unknown. Ref. Sotheby’s Sale, Catalogue: Old Master Paintings Sale MI0275, 29 May 2007, Milan, Lot 188. A reclining shepherd lad gazes at his flock of sheep watched by his dog, goat and donkey. He holds a tenor-sized cylindrical recorder, the window/labium clearly visible. This painting uses the same model as Salini’s Boy with a Cat (Sevastapol), which also includes a recorder.
• A Piping Shepherd Boy, (1620-1625), oil on canvas, 144.1 × 195.0 cm,  Tommaso Salini (1575-1625). London: Foundling Museum, Inv. FM78. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). With his right leg stretched out along the bottom of the picture, a young shepherd sits facing his dog. He holds an unambiguous soprano recorder to his lips in playing position. Several sheep and a donkey seem to be waiting for the music to begin. Presented to the Foundling Hospital by William Agnew in 1891. This painting probably refers to a scene from the Bible in which Jesus describes himself as the ‘Good Shepherd’ (John 10:11). The young shepherd here represents Christ, and the sheep represent his followers. The boy’s pose is copied from St Peter in Caravaggio’s Christ on the Mount of Olives, which was destroyed during a fire in Berlin in 1945. This painting has also been to attributed to Pier Francesco Mola (1612-1666).

Bernard Salomon [known as “Le Petit Bernard”]

French woodcut designer; foremost designer for the publisher Jean de Tournes of Lyon; illustrator of religious and classical books, emblem books, and travel books, born ca 1506-1520, died ca 1561-1570).

• Saulsaye, éclogue de la vie solitaire by Maurice Scève (ca 1500 – ca 1564), published by J. de Tournes (1547, leaf A 2r): Shepherds, With a View of Lyons and the Summit of Fourvières in the Background, woodcut, Bernard Salomon (ca 1506/20 – ca 1561/70). Ref. Mortimer (1998, 1: 598, no. 485); Rasmussen (2002, Bagpipe); Website: gallica (2014). Two shepherds sit across the river from the city of Lyons, their dogs and sheep around them. One shepherd holds a bagpipe, the other has a soprano-sized duct flute (possibly a recorder) tucked in the back of his belt. Saulsaye … was a pastoral poem by French musician and poet Maurice Scève.
• Metamorphose figurée: Mercury and Argus (printed by Jean de Tournes, Lyons, 1557), woodcut, Bernard Salomon (ca 1506/20 – ca 1561/70). Glasgow: University Library, Sp Coll BD1-g.27. Ref. Kinney & Styron (2016). Beneath a tree, Argus nods whilst Mercury seated opposite him plays a slender cylindrical pipe. The latter is very likely a recorder since the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand is crooked to cover its hole, and a shadow appears to represent a window/labium. The cycle of 178 woodcuts produced by Bernard Salomon for a French (and Dutch) simplified Ovid, the Metamorphose figurée, were used as a springboard for woodcuts by other Renaissance illustrators of Ovid, notably Virgil Solis.

Humphry Salter (1680-1772), English

English music publisher and editor who ‘carefully composed and gathered’ the music for one of the earliest English recorder tutors, The Genteel Companion, which he co-published with Richard Hunt in 1683. “At the Lute in St Paul’s Church-Yard”, London, Salter published music alone or in conjunction with Alexander Livingston, Henry Playford, John Walsh, John Young and others until at least 1704; by his own account, he was something of an eccentric: he desired to “lye under under the stone steps at the west end of St Paul’s” with his flageolet, which he had played for over 40 years; he even penned his own epitaph; born 1680, died 1772 (Salter 2000).

Here lies Humphrey Salter
who never did deserve a halter.
A rattle he was from his cradle;
From his whimsical brain
more nonsense there came
Than did from the builders of Babel.

• Frontispiece, The Genteel Companion: Lessons for the Recorder (1683), print, Humphry Salter (1680-1772). London:  British Museum, Library. Ref. Welch (1911/1961: 73-77, fig. 34; 114-115, fig 53); Linde (1991: 61); Vinquist (1974: 160-161); Thomson (1974: 42, 73, fig. 12); Rowland-Jones (2004b, front & back covers). A gentleman in periwig, buttoned coat, lace cravat, ruffles, breeches, stockings and shoes plays a baroque recorder whilst his elegantly attired lady teacher beats time for him; another instrument lies on the table between them. Used again “as the frontispiece to a book of instructions and lessons … published about the year 1700” (Hawkins 1776), minus the lady (repr. Rowland-Jones, loc. cit., title page).

Franz Caspar Sambach

German draftsman and painter of religious subjects, many in grisaille; active in Poland and Austria as well as his native Germany; he became professor of architecture at the Vienna Academy in 1762 and director of painting at the same academy in 1772. born Breslau (1715), died Vienna (1795).

• Murals (1749-1750), fresco, Franz Caspar Sambach (1715-1795). Székesfehérvár (SW of Budapest): Nepomuki Szent Jánosró (St John’s Church). Ref. János (2011: 76-77, pl. 17 & 18-b&w). In one fresco a baroque recorder hangs upside down from a nail in a pillar; in another the feet of two recorders are seen behind a sheet of music and a violin in what looks like a musical trophy.

Hugues Sambin

French wood-carver, designer, architect and engineer; a maître-menuisier, his involvement in the construction of the château of Fontainebleau explains the strong Mannerist influence in all his work; born Gray (ca 1515/1520), died Dijon (1601); son of the wood-carver Mammès Sambin.

• Walnut dresser, panel:  Musicians (mid-16th century), overall dimensions 151.5 cm × 129.5 cm × 49.0 cm, in the style of Hugues Sambin (1515/20-1601/02). Cleveland: Museum of Art, 1942.606. Ref. Ford (1991: #140). In the left door panel, the central figure is a seated woman playing a lute (8 courses) between two putti (one in each upper corner of the door) each playing an instrument … The first putto (upper left corner) plays a small lute (? mandola). Behind him appear the neck of a lute, the end of an unidentified wind instrument, part of an S-shaped trumpet, the body of a violin (4 strings, f-holes), the top of a recorder, and the neck of a violin. The putto in the upper right plays a small harp … Behind him appear the bell and curved body portion of an S-shaped trumpet, a rebec, a violin (body and most of the fingerboard), the top[s] of two recorders, and the end of an unidentified wind instrument” (Ford, loc. cit.) Many more musical instruments appear in the decoration of this piece.

Marco San Martino

Italian printmaker, born 1680.

• Shepherdess with a Pipe (c. 1650), print, 11.2 × 16.7 cm, Marco San Martino (b.1680). New York: Public Library; New York: Metoprolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 2012.136.304. Ref. Beck & Roth (1965: pl. 28); Website: artnet.com (2015). A bucolic scene in which two rustics rest on a hillside with their animals. A shepherdess plays a crudely drawn pipe (possibly a recorder since all fingers of her lower (right) hand are covering their holes. Her companion has his back to her.

Erhard Sanssdorffer

German frescoist; fl. 1546.

• [Untitled], fresco, Erhard Sanssdorffer (ca 1546). Büdingen: Grafenschloss. Ref. Salmen (1976, 3: 4); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Three blacksmiths hammer at an anvil in the open air. In front of them, musicians sing and play flute, lute, viol, regal, vielle, trombone, and a cylindrical recorder of alto/tenor size the window/labium of which is clearly visible.

Francesco (di Giralomo) da Santacroce

Italian sculptor and painter who produced copies of the works of the great contemporary masters for sale to sometimes quite discerning clients; born Venice(1516), died Venice 1584; son of the painter Girolamo da Santa Croce (1480/5-1556), with whom he is easily confused.

• Coronation of the Virgin, Francesco da Santacroce (1516-1584). Padua: Museo Civico, agli Frenitani. The Virgin and Child are surrounded by angels and putti, many playing musical instruments including drum, fiddle, lute and several pipes. At the bottom left a putto holds a long, narrow alto-sized duct flute (window area clear) with an abrupt flare at the bell end, no finger holes showing. A putto at the centre right plays an alto duct flute with a fingering position suggestive of the recorder; the window is just visible as well as two upper holes and two lower holes, and there is a strong bell flare. At the bottom right a putto plays a tenor duct flute the window of which is just visible as well as four holes and a longer bell flare, but the left arm is outstretched to the lower holes. A young male angel next to a lutenist plays a tenor-sized recorder, the window of which is just visible; the fingering position and five holes can be seen; the instrument widens to the bell-end which is slightly obscured.
• Banquet (c.1540), tempera on olive-wood panel, 49.5 × 51.0 cm, Francesco da Santacroce ((1516–1584). Maastricht: Bonnefantenmuseum, Inv. 1003895. Ref. Rijksbureau Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 57654 (2010-b&w). Four elegant men and three women sit around a circular dining table. They are served by a waiter and entertained by eight satyrs each playing musical instruments. Two play viole da braccio, one plucks a lute, five blow SATTB-sized slender duct-flutes with flared bells which appear to be recorders. The musicians all have horns, beards, furry legs, hooves, and tails. A most unusual painting! On long-term loan from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, this work was recovered from Germany after the Second World War. It is currently under the administration of the Dutch State, and awaits restitution to the rightful owners or their heirs.

Girolamo da Santacroce

Italian sculptor and painter who modelled himself on Giorgione and Titian and produced copies of the works of these and other contemporary masters for sale to discerning clients; born Santa Croce near Bergamo (1480-1485), died Venice (1556); father of the painter Francesco da Santacroce (1516-1584), with whom he is easily confused.

• St Thomas Becket Enthroned, with Angelic Musicians, Girolamo da Santacroce (1480/5-1556). Venice: Chiesa di San Silvestro. Ref. Website: Archiv für Künst und Gescichte, Berlin. Ref. CD: Captain Humes Poeticall Musicke, Vol. 1, Les Voix Humaines, Naxos 8.554125 (1996, cover, detail – col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-406 (2023, col.) Musicians seated on the steps at the foot of the throne play vielle, lute and a cylindrical recorder played with the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand down.
• Nativity, panel, 54 × 71 cm, Girolano da Santacroce (1480/5-1556). Florence: Luigi Crass, Via Santo Spirito, 25, Firenze. Ref. Catalogue of the Biennale of Antiquaires, Florence (1965); Paris RIdIM (2000). Around the Christ-child Mary, Joseph, a cow and a rabbit are gathered. Wise men approach from the right; angel putti proclaim the event from the clouds above; to the left are two shepherds, one of whom sits holding in one hand a slender, flared-bell duct flute with a clearly depicted window/labium.
• The Young Mercury Stealing from Apollo’s Herd (1530), oil on canvas, 107 × 103 cm, Girolamo da Santacroce (1480/5-1556). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. SK-A-3966. On the edge of a forest in a hilly pasture, behind the back of a Apollo (disguised as a shepherd), who is playing an alto-sized recorder with a flared bell, Mercury (as a child) rustles a calf from the herd. Not far off, a young lad seems to be sounding the alarm. In the distance is a walled town.

Giovanni Santi [Sanzio]

Italian artist and poet at the court of Federigo Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino; born Colbordolo, Pesaro (?1435), died 1494; father of Raphael (1483-1520).

• Sacra Conversazione, tempera & oil on panel, 225 × 215 cm, Giovanni Santi (?1435-1494). Frontino (Pesaro): Chiesa dei Frati Minori,  capella Oliva. Ref. Varese (1994: 161); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2002); Website: la Repubblica.it (2015-col.) Mary and the Christ-child enthroned are surrounded by Saints and entertained by two groups of musical angels who play bagpipe, pipe & tabor, tambourine (with jingle rings) on the left, and fiddle, harp, and a duct flute (probably a recorder) on the right. The duct flute is narrowly conical and the window/labium and three finger holes for the uppermost (right) hand are visible. The fingers of the lower hand appear to be covering their holes, but the foot of the instrument is out of sight behind a nearby putto’s left wing (green). This instrument appears to be identical to that depicted more clearly in Santi’s Angel Musicians, Cagli (see below).
• Angel Musicians, Giovanni Santi (?1435-1494). Cagli (Pesaro): Chiesa di San Domenico, Cappella Tiranni. Ref. Varese (1994: 213); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2002). Two winged putti standing on clouds play rebec and a narrowly conical recorder, seemingly identical to that depicted in Santi’s Sacra Conversazione, Frontino (see above), although 7 finger holes are visible here, and the foot is slightly flared.

Santi di Tito

Italian painter of the Late-Mannerist or proto-Baroque style, sometimes referred to as Contra-Maniera or Counter-Mannerism; born Borgo San Sepolcro, Arezzo (1536), died Florence (1603).

• Musical Angels, fresco, Santi di Tito (1536-1603). Florence: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo). Ref. German Institute, Florence; Website: Alinari archives (2015-col.); Website: Lute Iconography Database, Image LI-1975 (2023, col.)  Amongst the pillars and arches, an angel weaves a wreath whilst others play lute, two vielles and two slender, cylindrical pipes, possibly recorders.

Dirck (Dircksz.) Santvoort [Zantvoort]

Dutch painter of society portraits and a few religious compositions; born Amsterdam (1610/1611), died Amsterdam (1680); son of the painter Dirck (Pietersz.) Bontepaert; brother of the landscape painter Pieter (Dircksz.) Santvoort (1603-1635).

• Portrait of Elizabeth Spiegel, 1639–, oil on wood, 62.7 × 49.5 cm, Dirck Santvoort (1610/11-1680). Cleveland: Museum of Art, 75.81. Ref. Ford (1991, #184: 40, fig. 184); Archiv Moeck; Wind (1997: vol. 3, cover – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A young girl with a strangely adult face holds a one-piece soprano recorder with a flared bell, covering all but the bottom and the second-from-bottom finger holes. The bottom hole is in line with the others and not offset. “The note played on on the recorder – E-flat (or in German) Es – supports the … identification of the subject as Elizabeth Spiegel, a young family friend of the artist whose name is written on the back of the painting” (Ford, loc. cit.) Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.) has pointed out that she uses the wrist-swivel technique for the E♭ half-holing. There is a pendant to this in the National Gallery, London, namely Portrait of Geertruyt Spiegel with a Finch (1639).
• Portrait of a Boy as a Shepherd (1635-1645), oil on canvas, 99.5 × 68.5 cm, attributed to Dirck Santvoort (1610/11-1680). London: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, 6 December 2005, Lot 571. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 130703 (2014-col.) A very young boy wearing a dress and a feathered cap, a gourd bottle slung over his shoulder strokes a sheep with his left hand whilst in his right hand he holds a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt, the window-labium and a number of finger holes clearly visible .

Carlo Saraceni

Italian painter active in Venice, Rome and Mantua; greatly influenced by Caravaggio but with less dramatic and softer forms; best known for his jewel-like paintings of sacred and secular themes, which combine a delicate technique with a note of observed realism; also painted altarpieces and worked in fresco; born Venice (1579), died Venice (1620).

• St Cecilia with the Angel (ca 1610), oil on canvas, 136 × 173 cm, attributed to Carlo Saraceni (1579-1620). Rome: Galleria Nazional d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini. Ref. Pincherlé (1963: 84); Zampetti (1960: 24); Sartori (1964, 1: pl. 221); Dufourq (1965:, 1: 250-251); Donzelli & Pilo (1967: fig. 92); Moir (1967: 16, pl. I); Golzio (1968: 538, as Orazio Gentileschi); Ottani Cavina (1968: figs. 44, 47, 49); Mirimonde (1974: 190); Ember (1984: pl. 33 – col.); Postcard: Royal Academy of Art, London (2001 – col.); Exhibited: The Genius of Rome, Royal Academy of Art, London (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Cavalli-Björkman (2001: 114, pl. 1 – col.); Exhibition Catalogue, Rome: Colori della musica … (2000-20001: 237, no. 56); Ferino-Pagden (2001: 74); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.Sa71.38Ce (2002); Rasmussen (2002, Lute); Ausoni (2009: 153-col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Carol Gerten-Jackson (2016-col.) St Cecilia tunes an archlute whilst in mystical conversation with an angel who holds a cello. An open book of music, a violin, shawm, and a recorder (only the head and first finger hole of which are visible), lie discarded in the foreground; a small harp stands in the background.
• The Martydom of St Cecilia (ca 1610), Carlo Saraceni (1579-1620). Los Angeles: County Museum of Art. Ref. Exhibited: The Genius of Rome, Royal Academy of Art, London (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001);  At the the foot are a violin, a tambourine, and a clearly depicted alto recorder, with no decoration, and slight bell flare. There are seven finger holes in line, equally spaced, except hole seven which is slightly further down

Andrea del Sarto [d’Agnolo]

Italian painter and draughtsman; the leading painter in Florence in the early years of the 16th century who elaborated and perfected the classical style of the High Renaissance; his early work anticipated aspects of Mannerism, and his later works became important models for the more naturalistic Tuscan artists of the Counter-Reformation; he painted mainly religious works, including both altarpieces and major cycles of frescoes, and highly individualistic portraits, distinguished by a dreamily poetic quality; born Florence (1486), died Florence (1530).

• Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John, and Two Angels, oil on panel, 132 × 102 cm, Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). Modena: Galleria Estense, Inv. 456. Ref. Cosetta (1985, 1: pl. 46); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). This may be a copy or studio copy rather than an original. The angel on the left holds a soprano/alto recorder with a gently flared bell but no apparent bore flare, left hand uppermost and all fingers down; two middle fingers of the the right-hand are close to their finger holes, and the little finger is poised revealing half the finger hole which is offset to the player’s right. The window/labium is clear.
• Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John, and Two Angels (c. 1515), oil on panel, 137 × 104 cm, Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Inv. 501 (4150). Ref. Munich RIdIM, Mstag – 571 (2013-b&w); Postcard Vontobel VD 6393 (2014-col.): New York Review of Books, 14 January 2010. Mary is seated on the left; in front of her stands the Christ child. To the right is the slightly older John the Baptist, held by his mother, Elizabeth, who kneels behind him. Behind Mary, a small angel gazes skywards holding a gently flared duct flute, left hand uppermost and all fingers down and the little finger poised revealing the half-hole which is offset to the player’s right; the window/labium is clear. Note that the head of a second putto is indistinctly visible in the background behind the recorder player.

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato [Giovanni Battista Salvi, Il Sassoferrato]

Italian painter, influenced by Domenichino and the Bolognese academicians; active in Umbria and Rome; born Sassoferrato (1605), died Florence or Rome (1685).

• The Three Ages of Man, Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1605-1685), Italian. Rome: Galleria Borghese. This is almost identical to Titian’s painting of the same name (see above): the poses of the principal figures are the same, but there are many obviously deliberate differences in detail between the works.
• Still-life, painting, Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1605-1685). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a table beneath a striped drape and partly covered with a tapestry are a lute, a theorbo, a cello, a violin, a 5-course guitar, and a soprano-sized recorder, the beak, window/labium, seven finger holes and slightly flared bell clearly depicted. Although attributed to Sassoferrato by the gallica database, this works seems totally unlike others by that artist. Baschenis, Bettera or Munari seem far more likely.

Pieter Joseph [Piat-Joseph] Sauvage

Flemish portraitist and decorative painter; born Tornai (1744), died ? Paris (1818).

• Putti Dancing (late 18th century), oil on canvas (grisaille), 56 × 165 cm, Pieter Joseph Sauvage (1744-1818). Fontainebleau: Musée National du Château, Inv. SN Sauvage 1. Ref. Website: Joconde Database. Commisioned in 1786 by the architect Rousseau for the Château de Fontainebleau. Restored 1990-1993. Eight winged putti dance holding hands in a circle to music provided by a seated putto playing a flared-bell pipe. Although no details of the latter are shown, the little players’ hands and fingers are disposed as for recorder-playing.
• Allegory of Music (late 18th century), oil on canvas (monochrome), 61 × 121 cm, Pieter Joseph Sauvage (1744-1818). Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, Old Master Painting, 24 July 2014, Lot 266. Six winged putti gambol atop the clouds. To left and right, two play a small conical pipe (possibly a recorder) and guitar, respectively. Centre-left, a pair squabble over a bagpipe; centre-right, and another pair squabble over nothing in particular. There doesn’t seem much that’s allegorical about this painting.

Roeland Jacobsz. Savery

Flemish painter of landscapes and rural scenes; born Courtrai (1576), died Utrecht (1639).

• Mercury Lulling Argus to Sleep, oil, Roeland Jocobsz. Savery (1576-1639). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – b&w). On a hillside, Mercury lulls Argus asleep in his bower. In the foreground are beasts, including Io (as a heifer) and Argus’ dog. Mercury’s pipe is slender with an abruptly flared bell and may represent a recorder.

Christofle [Christophe] de Savigny (16th century)

French scholar whose Tableaux accomplis de tous les arts libéraux … is considered the first French-language encyclopedia, a distant predecessor of Diderot and d’Alembert; born ? Savigny (1530-1535), died 1595?

• Tableaux accomplis de tous les arts libéraux: Mvsique (1587 & 1619), woodcut print, Christofle de Savigny (1530/35-1595?). London: British Library; Washington: Library of Congress; Chicago: Newberry Library, Wing ZP 539 .G74104 (2015); Paris: Bibliothèque National. Ref. Savigny (1619: Fol. P); Stevens (1984: 87 & 89, fig. 7 – b&w); . One of 17 tables demonstrating the classification and organisation of each of the liberal arts, each accompanied by an explanatory page of text. One of these sets forth all the young reader needs to know about music. It is unique in its use of pictures: all the other tables comprise only words. Many instruments are arranged in an oval border around the central diagram. Amongst these, several wind instruments are arranged in a garland on the left which includes a flute, a tabor pipe, a shawm the top end of which is bent to one side, and a recorder with its characteristic beak crudely illustrated and seven finger holes, the lowermost offset to one side. Within the central diagram a side drum and sticks is crossed with a recorder of conical profile viewed in side profile.

Giovanni Giraolamo Savoldo (also called Girolamo da Brescia)

Italian painter painter of the Brescian school whose style is marked by a quiet lyricism; active in Brescia and Venice, and briefly in Florence and Treviso; exerted a major influence on the development of naturalistic painting in Italy, particularly on the young Caravaggio; born Brescia (ca 1480), died ?Venice (after 1548).

• Portrait of a Man with a Recorder (ca 1548), oil on canvas, 74.3 × 100.3 cm, Giovanni Giraolamo Savoldo (ca 1480 – after 1548). Brescia: Pinacotecca Tosio Martinengo, formerly New York: Estate of Peer Jay Sharp, but recovered by the Bank of Brescia in 1994. Ref. Slim (1985: 398, fig. 1 – b&w); Frings, as Limberg (1992); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 44, pl. 16 – b&w); Pinacotecca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia: postcard (ca 1998 – col.); Rowland-Jones (1999b – b&w); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2005); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A man in an ermine-collared coat holds a cylindrical recorder, the head and foot of which are ornamented with incised lines. Before him on a small table is an open book; on the wall beside him is pinned a piece of paper on which are the opening 45 breves of the tenor part of a four-part sonnet-in-dialogue by an anonymous composer, possibly Francesco Pativino also called Francesco Santa Croce (died 1556). From his attire, the man is a courtier rather than a professional musician. The whereabouts of a copy (formerly in the Kay collection, Edinburgh) is at present unknown; it is reproduced in Slim (1985: 400, fig. 3 – b&w). Another version was auctioned by Sotheby’s, New York, in 1994 (see below). And a copy by an unknown 19th-century artist is currently offered for sale by The Fine Art Partnership, Cheltenham, UK.
• Portrait of a Man with a Recorder (ca 1548), Giovanni Giraolamo Savoldo (ca 1480 – after 1548). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, New York, 1994, lot 113. Ref. Sotheby’s, New York, auction catalogue (1994: pl. 63 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Identical to another version in the Pinacotecca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia. See above. Signed by the artist.
• Shepherd in a Landscape / Shepherd with a Flute (ca 1521 – ca 1525), Giovanni Giraolamo Savoldo (ca 1480 – after 1548). England: Private collection (formerly in the Contini Bonacossi Collection, Florence). Ref. Frings, as Limberg (1992); Martineau & Hope (1983: 74, pl. 85-col.); Slim (1985: 399). The large figure of a shepherd sits before a darkening blue sky with a wide-brimmed hat shading his eyes. Resting his left arm on a staff, he holds a recorder (only the head and three finger holes of which are visible) in his hand. With his right hand, he gestures towards the rustic scene of a farmhouse partially obscured by ancient ruins looming behind. There is another version of this at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles (see below), and a weak copy at Gosford House, Haddington (see below).
• Shepherd with a Flute (ca 1525), oil on canvas, 395.6 × 76.9 cm, Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo. Los Angeles: Getty Museum, 85.PA.162 Ref. Website: Getty Museum (2001). The large figure of a shepherd sits before a darkening blue sky with a wide-brimmed hat shading his eyes. Resting his left arm on a staff, he holds a recorder (only the head and three finger holes of which are visible) in his hand. With his right hand he gestures towards the rustic scene of a farmhouse partially obscured by ancient ruins looming behind. There is another version in a private English collection (see above); and a weak copy at Gosford House, Haddington (see below).
• Shepherd in a Landscape/Shepherd with a Flute (after 1521 – ca 1525), Giovanni Giraolamo Savoldo (ca 1480 – ca 1548). Haddington: Gosford House. Ref. Slim (1985: 399). A weak copy of the original in an English private collection (see above). The large figure of a shepherd sits before a darkening blue sky with a wide-brimmed hat shading his eyes. Resting his left arm on a staff, he holds a recorder (only the head and three finger holes of which are visible) in his hand. With his right hand he gestures towards the rustic scene of a farmhouse partially obscured by ancient ruins looming behind. Versions of the original are in a private English collection (see above) and in the Getty Museum (see above).
• Shepherd with a Flute (ca 1509-1510), Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (ca 1480-1548). Chippenham: Bowood House, England. Ref. Frings, as Limberg (1992); Frings (1993: 150, fig. 10); Brown et al.  (1997: pl. 113 – b&w); Monastero di Santa Giulia (1990 – b&w). Formerly attributed to Sebastiano Luciani [del Piombo] (1485-1547). A bearded, ermine-coated, rather gaunt-looking man holds a cylindrical recorder, only the head and upper body of which is visible. Similar to Man Playing a Recorder (Duff House, Banff, National Galleries of Scotland, Inv. 35) by an unknown Venetian painter. There is a rather similar picture by Niccolo Frangipane (1555-1600) at Charlecote Park, Warkwickshire. And the same model appears to have been used in these paintings as well as Savoldo’s Shepherd with a Flute (Getty Museum, Los Angeles) and the Flute Player and Portrait of a Man with a Staff, both circle of Sebastiano Luciani.
• Portrait of a Peasant, Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (ca 1480-1548). Private collection. Ref. Gilbert (1986: figs. 31 & 75); Pisetzky (1966: 290); Treccani (1963: 1021); O’Neil & Schultz (1985: 82, no. 12); Rasmussen (2002, Bagpipe). “The peasant holds a little, partly visible, recorder. A tiny figure in the background plays a bagpipe” Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
• Young Man with Soprano Recorder, oil painting, 95 × 70 cm, Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (ca 1480-1548). Sotheby’s – New York: Sotheby’s, 25 September, 1996, Lot 198. Ref. Artfact (2003). Not seen.
• [Young Man with a Recorder], painting, attributed to Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (ca 1480-1548). Salisbury: Wilton House, Corner Room, above a door on the south side, Cat. 223. Ref. Bora (1971: 41); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2016). “A bearded young man sitting sideways on but looking at us from out of the gloom.   He is holding, ready to play, a duct flute – the window/labium s just about visible – with a stubby mouthpiece.   Only the upper part of this cylindrical alto/tenor pipe is shown, with the player’s right hand covering (I assume, finger holes all, including the thumb in a recorder-playing position” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)  This painting has been related by Giulio Bora (loc. cit.) to a drawing of a A Young Man, attributed to Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo (1538-1600), in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

Cristoforo Scacco [Scaccho] di Verona

Italian painter of religious subjects; born Verona, active c.1483-1512, died Naples.

• Coronation of the Virgin with Saints Mark and Julian (ca 1500), Cristoforo Scacco di Verona (op. 1483-1512). Naples: Museo e Galleria Nazionali de Capodimonte, Inv. Q804. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Minamino (2004: 178, pl. 1 – b&w); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2014-col.) In the central panel, angels play harp, fiddle, lute, gittern, tambourine, viola da braccio,  shawm and two cylindrical pipes, probably recorders. One of the latter is of soprano size: the window/labium is clearly visible, but the central section (including the player’s hands) is hidden by Christ’s halo; the other, at the bottom of the picture, which has been cut off, seems to be an alto or tenor, but the details are not clear. The soprano instrument has a flared bell-end which is very recorder-like. The two side panels depict St Mark and St Julian respectively.

Giacomo Scajaro (16th century), Italian

• Marriage (16th century), oil on canvas, 143 × 158 cm, ateliers of Giacomo Scajaro (16th century) & Jacopo Bassano da Ponte (1510-1592). Lille: Musée des Beaux-Arts, P23. A couple are married by a priest in front of a church. Two nuns, a youth, a young boy, a duck and a dog look on. To the left preparations for the wedding feast are underway and two musicians play violin and a cylindrical pipe, possibly recorder. In the background a crowd of merrymakers welcome the arrival of a man on horseback.
•  

Cornelis Jacobsz. Schaeck [Schaek, Chess]

Dutch painter; married Rotterdam 1651, died Rotterdam (1662).

• Interior with a Company Smoking, Drinking and Playing Music (1662),  oil on panel, 34.5 × 34.0 cm, Cornelis Jacobsz. Schaeck (m. 662). Paris: Haboldt & Co., exhibited TEFAF Maastricht, March 2011, 2013 & 2014. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 172800 (2014-b&w). In a humble room a woman in a wide-brimmed hat stands with her back to us in front of the fireplace, a man sits beside her smoking his pipe. At a table an old woman holding a jug watches a spaniel dancing on its hind legs, a man in a fur cap sits slouching forward over his pipe, listening to a man standing beside him playing a flute. On the wall behind hang a portrait, a shawm, a kit (dancing master’s fiddle) and a small duct flute, possibly a recorder although only 6 finger holes are visible, the off-set ones for the lowermost finger probably out of view.

Heidemarie Schäfer

German-born painter working in Siegburg im Bonn; her subjects include still-lifes, portraits, interiors, and landscapes; born Siegburg im Bonn (1953). Artist’s website.

• Still-life with Figures, oil on canvas, 70 × 80 cm, Heidemarie Schäfer Ref. Website: Heidi Schäfer Art (2014-col.) Still-life objects on a table include a bottle, a vase of flowers, a purse, some books, a school-style soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell and statuettes of a woman cradling a baby, a man seated on the ground with his arms held out behind him, and a headless female figure.
• Still-life with Figures, oil on canvas, 80 × 110 cm, Heidemarie Schäfer Ref. Website: Heidi Schäfer Art (2014-col.) Still-life objects on a table include bottles, a school-style soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell and statuettes of an embracing couple and other male and female figures.
• Still-life with Figures, oil on canvas, 110 × 90 cm, Heidemarie Schäfer Ref. Website: Heidi Schäfer Art (2014-col.) Still-life objects on a table include books, a school-style soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell and statuettes of an embracing couple and other female figures.

Godfried Schalcken

Dutch tenebrist painter particularly admired for his mastery in reproducing the effect of candle-light; he visited London for a time, but his uncouth manner and bad temper alienated him from society there, and he returned to Holland and settled in The Hague where he continued to paint until his death in 1706; he was the subject of a story Schalcken The Painter by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu; born Made (1643), died The Hague (1706).

• Portrait of a Young Boy, oil on copper, 10.7 × 8.2 cm, Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 19 October 1995, Lot 368. Ref. Artfact (2004). A young boy, half-length, in a brown coat, holds a recorder. Not seen.

Johann Rudolf Schallenberg (1740-1806), Swiss

Swiss watercolourist, draughtsman, writer and entomologist, best known for his illustrations of insects; he worked extensively for publishers in Switzerland and Germany; born Basel (1740, died Töss (1806).

• [Concert] (1783), Johann Rudolf Schallenberg ((1740-1806)). Winterthur: Neugahisblat der Büzgerbibliothek. Ref. Blume (1949-1968, 14: 723-724); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Depicts a band of musicians gathered around a woman playing a harpsichord. A decorative border is festooned with musical instruments, including trumpets, violin, syrinx, tambourine, lyre, harp, flutes, and a three-part baroque recorder.
• Sapere aude: incipe!, print, engraved by I.R. Holzharb after a design by Johann Rudolf Schallenberg (1740-1806). Ref. Archiv Moeck. An elegant drawing room is full of putti writing, drawing and playing musical instruments including violin, cello and a small pipe (probably a recorder). The Latin quotation is from Horace, Epistle I, 2: Dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude: Incipe! – “To have begun is to be half done; dare to know; start!”

Edwin Scharff

German sculptor, painter, print maker and Professor of Fine Art in Berlin from 1923 to 1933 when he was deposed by the Nazis and much of his work was destroyed; he made many monumental public sculptures and was noted for his portraiture; born Neu-Ulm (1887), died Hamburg (1955).

• Apollo and Marsyas (1917), dry point on Japan paper, 13.18 × 17.15 cm, Edwin Scharff (1887-1955). Los Angeles: County Museum of Art, 83.1.1661a. Ref. Los Angeles County Museum (2003). Marsyas plays a long stylized flared pipe watched attentively by Apollo.

Hans (Leonhard) Schäufelein [Schaeuffelein, Schaeuffelin, Scheiffelin, Scheyffeleyn], the elder

German painter and designer of woodcuts and stained glass; active in Albrecht Dürer’s workshop in Nuremberg and in Hans Holbein the elder’s workshop in Augsburg; his drawings and paintings interpret traditional themes in a popular and modest tone; born Nuremberg, Nördlingen or Augsburg (ca 1482), died ? Nördlingen (1539/40).

• Psalter of Count Karl Wolfgang of Oettingen, f.61v, Hans Schäufelein, the elder (ca 1482-1539/40). Berlin: Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. HS.78.B.6. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 731). At the bottom of the text two men are at a long table. One has a lute in front of him on the table, while the other pores over a book. Lying on the table is what looks like a recorder.
• Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1545), Hans Schäufelein, the elder (ca 1482-1539/40). Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 7: 247/7); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). From a series of New Testament scenes. The Holy Family rest beneath a tree outside a village. In a surrounding frame, winged and non-winged putti variously clamber about a tree, snooze, gather fruit, pull a chariot bearing one of their number in triumph, sing and play musical instruments, namely lute, a straight trumpet and two cylindrical duct flutes (probably recorders), one slightly flared. Ref. Warburg Institute (2013-b&w).
• Saint Sebastian (1512-1515, print, Hans Baldung (ca 1480-1545) & Hans Schäufelin (c.1482-1539/1540). London: British Museum. Ref. Warburg Institute (2013-b&w) From a series of New Testament scenes. Five winged putti remove St Sebastian’s arrows and unbind him from a tree. In a surrounding frame, winged and non-winged putti variously clamber about a tree, snooze, gather fruit, pull a chariot bearing one of their number in triumph, sing and play musical instruments, namely lute, a straight trumpet and two cylindrical duct flutes (probably recorders), one slightly flared. The central panel depicting St Sebastian is by Baldung (1512); the frame is by Schäufelin (1515).

Bartolomeo Schedoni

Italian draughtsman and painter of the Mannerist school; known for his unrestrained use of primary colours and almost metallic-like effects; born Formigine, near Modena (1578), died Parma (1615).

• St Cecilia Conversing with an Angel, oil on canvas, 197 × 129 cm, Bartolomeo Schedoni (1578-1615). Naples: Museo e Galleria Nazionali de Capodimonte, Inv. No. 382. Ref. Capri in Fabbri (1952, 2: 109); Mirimonde (1974: 107, fig. 83); Calendar: Musica (1986: 16-29, November); Archiv Moeck; Paris RIdIM (1999); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Leone De Castris & Spinosa (1994, 1: 79); Villa I Tatti N2727C65 (1994); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm, 2000); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University 372.B141.38C (2002); Rasmussen (2002, Lute). St Cecilia and an angel confer on the interpretation of a piece of music. Cecilia sits on a stool, one foot on a tenor viol, one hand playing with the keys of her organ. Leaning against the stool is a flared-bell recorder of alto size (however it has eight finger holes in a curious 6+2 disposition – perhaps the artist was confused by the paired lowermost holes on recorders of this period). A tambourine (with both jingles and pellet bells) also lies discarded in the foreground. The angel holds a cornetto in his hand, and beside him is a viol of curiously narrow construction. This painting, originally from the Palazo Ducale di Parma, has been attributed to Sisto Rossa Badalocchio [Amidano Giulio Cesare] (1585-1647).

Johann Eleazar Schenau [Zeissig]

German genre, portrait and porcelain painter, and engraver; Director of the Royal Academy of Arts in Dresden, and later Director of the drawing school of the porcelain factory in Meissen; born Großschönau,near Zittau in Saxony (1737), died Dresden (1806).

• Le Maitre de Guitarre (1752-1786), engraving, 43.8 × 33.7 cm, by Claude Augustin Pierre Duflos (1700-1786) after Johann Eleazar Schenau (1737-1806). Den Haag: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: New England Art Exchange (2005-b&w); Website: ebay (USA), item 141451454739 (2015). A man teaches a girl to play the cittern (not a guitar)! Nearby are two women and a child, and a music-book and hurdy-gurdy on a stool. The music-teacher has a roll of music in his pocket with the top end of what seems to be a well-shaped baroque alto recorder sticking out of it, visible up to the first finger hole. Another example of the recorder thriving in the late 18th century! Behind the teacher stands the student’s mother, a baby in a crib beside her.

Daniel Schenk [Schenck, Shenk] (18th century), German (Bayreuth)

Member of a German family of sculptors and wood-carvers. The brothers (1) Hans Schenck and (2) Christoph Schenck were wood-carvers, working in the Lake Constance area from ca 1612. Their work, early Baroque in style, represented a departure from the Mannerist traditions of the region. Christoph’s son (3) Johann Christoph Schenck took over his father’s workshop and worked in a more soft and flowing style. Johann Christoph’s son (4) Christoph Daniel Schenck was a sculptor in wood and ivory, whose work combines both Mannerist and Late Gothic features.

• Gilt stucco on plaster sculpture (1717-1718), high relief painted to resemble bronze, Daniel Schenk (18th century). Pommersfelden: Wessenstein Schloss, Kaisersad, Marble Hall. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). To the left of a putto playing a hunting horn are four recorders of soprano, alto, tenor and basset sizes. On the right are three soprano, an alto and a large tenor recorder. The alto on the right has its foot facing upwards; the others are in normal position. On the right, two of the sopranos are non-baroque in design (ie they lack a curved beak). The right-hand tenor is of fully developed baroque design but shows only two finger holes, the rest are hidden.

Philip Schey (op. 1626), Flemish

• Festival on a Riverbank (1626), decorated harpsichord lid, oil on panel, 79.5 × 170.0 cm, Philip Schey (17th century). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. SK-A-4279. Depicts a feast in the garden of a castle on the banks of a river. In the middle some of the guests are seated around a long banqueting table whilst others dance to music provided by a group of musicians playing lute, violin, duct flute (probably a recorder) and viol. To the left are some men on horseback; to the right, more guests arrive in boats, and couples promenade in the garden. In the river are a boating party and some swans.

Aegidius [Gillis] van Scheyndel

Dutch etcher who applied a great variety of techniques to achieve a wide range of textures; his work includes prints after such artists as Willem Buytewech, Esaias van de Velde, Dirck Hals, Pieter de Molijn and Jacques Callot, as well as prints from his own designs consisting of landscapes and figures from everyday life; active 1622 to 1654 (Haarlem ), died before 1679. See Esaias van der Velde.

Andrea Schiavone [called Andrea Meldolla, Andrija Medulic]

Dalmatian painter, draughtsman and etcher, active in Italy; responsible for the formation of Venetian Mannerism and influential on the late style of Titian; born Zara [now Zadar] (ca 1510), died Venice (1563).

• Minerva and the Muses, 16th century, etching & drypoint, 22.8 × 16.4 cm, Andrea Schiavone (ca 1510-1563). Austin: University of Texas at Austin, Blanton Museum of Art; San Francisco: Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession 27.78.2(99) (2014). Minerva seems to be addressing the Muses, one of whom holds a horn, another a viol. On the ground at Minerva’s feet lie a waisted fiddle and a flared duct flute, probably a recorder.
• Dido and Aeneas, cassone panel, Andrea Schiavone (ca 1510-1563). Formerly Robert H. Benson Collection, acquired in 1927 by art dealer Joseph Duveen. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). While a meal is served to Dido, musicians within a portico play viol, lute and a wind instrument, perhaps a recorder.

Philipp Ernst Schindler

Austrian enamel painter in Vienna; he frequently drew from prints after paintings by David Teniers II; born 1723, died 1793.

• The Music Lesson (ca 1744-1750), enamel on copper, 3.8 × 4.0 cm, Philipp Ernst Schindler (1723-1793). Stuttgart: Württenbergisches Landesmuseum, Inv. G 31,96. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2003: Slm – 248). Sitting on a bench, a young woman is shown how to hold her recorder. The instrument is of soprano size, cylindrical and with a turned foot characteristic of baroque-style recorders.

Johann Conrad Schlaun

German architect who dominated the Westphalian baroque style; he also designed gardens and town centres; amongst his masterpieces is the garden developed for Count Ferdinand von Plettenberg, known as the “Westphalian Versailles”; born 1695, died 1773.

• Architectural Design for the Altar of the Kapelle des Residenzschlosses in Münster, wash and watercolour on paper, 42.4 × 41.5 cm, Johann Conrad Schlaun (1695-1773). Münster: Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Inv. Gbg 37. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2003: MÜlm-75). An ornate archway and balcony supporting a positive organ. The decorations include a number of angel musicians playing lutes, cello, straight trumpet, and a bass recorder. The recorder has a bocal entering the side of the windcap and it has a short sharp bell flare. It is played left hand uppermost. The upper three finger holes are not in line.

Franz-Xaver Schmädl [Schmidt]

German (Bavarian) Rococo sculptor whose numerous works in wood have an independent, popular character; born Oberstdorf im Allgäu (1705) died Weilheim (1777).

• Angel Musician (1744), wood sculpture, Franz-Xaver Schmädl (1705-1777). Rottenbuch: Abbaye de Rottenbuch, Klosterkirche (Church of the Nativity of the Virgin), organ decoration. Ref. Recorder & Music Magazine 1 (6): front cover – b&w (1964); Paris RIdIM (1999); Fulbourn: Collection of Walter Bergmann (2002: colour slide; 2006: b&w photos); postcard: Kienberger-foto und Verlag D-8923, Lechbruck; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A cherub (winged putto) points heavenward with his right hand; in his left he holds a very modern-looking turned, three-piece, baroque recorder, almost as big as himself!

Matthias Schmid

Swiss (Tirolean) painter of folkloric scenes from Tirolean life and portraits; born See, Paznaun Valley (1835), died Munich (1923).

• Lockvogel (1889), coloured lithograph, 31.0 × 21.3 cm, by Max Seeger (Stuttgart), after Matthias Schmid (1835-1923). Published in Gartenlaube (1889). Ref. Moeck, Tibia 2/88 (1998); Moeck Archiv; Website: Blockflöten Museum (2015-col.) A walker in the alps,with knapsack and Tyrolean hat, sits on a wall playing a slender cylindrical recorder to a lass he has met along the way. An accompanying verse reads:
  
  

  Das Pfeiflein macht gar süsses Speil
  Wenn es den Vogel fangen will.

  
  

  This little flute makes the sweetest sound
  When it wants to catch a bird.

  
  

Richard Alan Schmid

American Postwar and contemporary realist painter who promoted art education through his books, articles, workshops, seminars, and television presentations. His subjects included plants, people, and landscapes, and championed the Grand Manner, an idealized aesthetic style which he described as “a mingling of virtuosity and unrestrained joy in art.” Schmidt traveled widely for his subjects, painting in over eight countries. he was born in Chicago, Illinois (1934), and he died in New Hampshire (2021).

• Girl with a Recorder (1961), oil on canvas, 76.2 × 61 cm, Richard Alan Schmid (1934-2021). Auctioned 10 September 2022; formerly Mickelson Gallery, Washington, DC. Ref. Website: Mutual Art (2024, col.) A young woman sits playing a neo-baroque soprano recorder, an open score on her lap. The beak and window/labium are clearly visible, and her fingers are covering all holes of the instrument.

(Jean) Victor Schnetz

French painter and printmaker; works include history and religious subjects, and genre pieces; his paintings have an underlying coolness which reflects his neo-classical training under David, and their main importance lies in the bridging of the two schools of Romanticism and Neo-classicism; born Versailles (1787), died Paris (1870).

• Old Italian Shepherd (ca 1830), lithograph, 31.4 × 21.8 cm (image), by Marin Lavigne after Victor Schnetz (1787-1870). San Francisco: de Young Museum, Inv. 1963.30.39113.67. Ref. Motte (1830, 1: pl. 66). Before a distant view of a crumbling aqueduct, an old shepherd sits biding his time whilst his grandson amuses him with his pipe (possibly a duct flute). This was the 66th plate in volume 1 of Galerie lithographiée de son Altesse royale Monseigneur le Duc d’ Orléans (Paris: Bureau de la Galerie … (?1830).

Jenny Schneider (contemporary), USAmerican

USAmerican artist, printmaker and photo-etcher working in Charleston. Artist’s website.

• Sternenmond [Starry Moon], cover illustration, Jenny Schneider (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder Journal 49 (5): front cover (2008). The Sun reaches out its arms (???) to play a rocket-shaped recorder. Stars twinkle in the heavens around.

Erhard Schoen

German draughtsman, painter & printmaker who designed woodcuts for anti-Catholic books and broadsheets that spoofed current events and human nature and illustrated satirical poems by a Nuremberg poet; much like modern editorial cartoons, these compositions were intended to amuse, outrage, or enlighten the public; from the mid-1530s he depicted classical themes, which may have been conceived for a print series; in 1538 he published a book on figural design, movement, and correct spatial placement; he also made several paintings, signed drawings, and designed a fountain; born Nuremberg (ca 1491), died Nuremberg (1542).

• Three Figures in a Garden /The Five of Pomegranates (1528), woodcut playing card, Erhard Schoen (ca 1491-1542). Paris: Bibliotheque nationale. Ref. Geisberg (1974: no. 1310); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). Beneath a pomegranate tree bearing five enormous ripe dehiscing fruit, a woman plays a hurdy-gurdy, another a lute and a man plays a cylindrical pipe with a sightly flared bell, possibly a recorder, though no details of the window/labium can be seen. The women may or may not be singing.

Leo Rainer Leo Rainer Scholtissek

German artist working in Berlin; born 1946, died 1980.

• Still-life with Musical Instruments (20th century), painting, Leo Rainer Scholtissek (1946-1980). Ref. Website: Stefan Beck (2003). On a table covered in a red cloth are an open music score, books, a clock, a candlestick, a clay drum, a shawm, a mirliton, a crumhorn, a lysarden, a dulcian, a cittern, a galoot (guitar-lute), a tambourine (with jingle rings), and two small recorders (garklein flütlein & sopranino), both in neo-renaissance style.

Martin Schongauer

German engraver and painter; a famous artist in his day who concentrated on religious subjects to which he brought a new richnesss and maturity and gracefulness which gave rise to the nicknames ‘Hübsch (charming) Martin’ and ‘Schön (beautiful) Martin’; born ca 1445, died 1491.

• Nativity, oil on panel, 37 × 28 cm, Martin Schongauer (ca 1445-1491). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Recorder Magazine 19 (4): cover – col. (1999); Rowland-Jones (1999d: 124): Website: Art and the Bible (2015-col.) This work is linked to Luke 2:16. Joseph, Mary, the ass, the ox and the shepherds all admire the new-born child lying on a bundle of straw covered by a blanket. A shepherd with a broad-brimmed straw hat in one hand holds forward in his other hand his duct flute, probably intended by the artist to be a recorder, despite there being no visible window/labium area, as the bell-end flare and turnery resembles Virdung’s 1511 illustrations.

[Florent] van Schoonhoven [Florentius Schoonhovius]

Dutch writer of emblem books; born Gouda (1594), died 1649.

• Emblemata [ _ ] partim moralia, partim etiam civilia. Cum latiori eorundem ejusdem auctoris interpretatione. Accedunt et alia quaedam poëmatia […] LXV: Indoctus ipse alios juvo [Although myself undeveloped I help others] (1618), engraving, Florens van Schoonhoven (1594-1649). Leiden: University Library. Ref. Website: Emblem Project Utrecht (2002). Further editions were published in 1626 and 1648. A young man sits beneath a tree playing a slender, cylindrical duct flute one-handed, his other hand still holding the blade with which he fashioned it. Before him, a dead donkey lies on its back: three of its four legs have been partially amputated – to make the flute. In the background is a barn, and behind that is a forest. A verse beneath reads:
  
  

  Sunt Asini cantare rudes, tammen oss a ministrant
  Que fistulis aptissima;
  Sic quibus est res ampla domi, tenues studiosus
  Opibus juvare convenit.

  
  

  Below, a commentary by Schoonhoven implies that older, professional men should offer financial support to younger ones. In a remarkable twist, an almost identical construction in Jacob Cats’, Ex morte levamen (1618 & 1627) engraved by Jan Gerritsz Sweelinck, serves as an emblem of the humiliation and evil of love and marriage between the very old and the young. Another adaptation of Cats’ emblem appears in the alchemical Mineral Cabinet published by Goossen van Vreeswyk (1675) where the flautist bears the alchemical symbol for Sulphur, associated in the 17th century with the expansive forces in nature: Dissolution and Evaporation.

  
  

Abraham van der Schoor

Netherlandish painter of figure works and still-lifes, active in Amsterdam (1643-1650).

• The Concert, oil on canvas, 155 × 168 cm, Abraham van der Schoor (op. 1643-1650). Detail. Bucharest (Bulgaria): Museo Nazionale d’Arte. Ref. CD cover: Bach Trio Sonatas, Marion Verbruggen (recorder), Mitzi Meyerson (harpsichord), Harmonia Mundi 907119 (1994); Orfeo (1999, August: 14 – col.); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Five buxom ladies sing, accompanied by a man playing a cello and a woman holding (but not playing) a small, slender, cylindrical duct flute (probably a flageolet).
• Pastoral Scene/Shepherd and Shepherdess, with songbook and recorder, their Flock beside them (1603), oil on canvas, 84 × 101.8 cm, Abraham van der Schoor (op. 1643-1650). Location unknown. Auctioned 29 July 2020. Ref. Website: artnet.com (2020, col.)  Sitting beneath a tree, a shepherd and shepherdess gaze into one another’s eyes. He holds what appears to be a recorder, his hand over the window and only the upper three fingerholes visible. She points meaningfully at an open songbook. Two sheep browse nonchalantly on some herbage beside them. The score seems almost legible. This painting seems to have been offered for auction in 2015 and again in 2017.

Jakob Ferdinand Schreiber

German artist and founder of the famous children’s book publisher J.F. Schreiber; his illustrations included landscapes, religious motifs, and scientific subjects; born Ulm (1809), died 1868.

• The Luthier and his Workshop, drawing on paper, 42 × 32 cm, Jakob Ferdinand Schreiber (1809-1868). Stuttgart: Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Inv. VK 1978/50-2269. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2003: Slm-394). A luthier discusses a guitar with a client in his workshop. Standing on his workbench and hanging on the wall behind are a number of wind instruments, some of which appear to be duct flutes, possibly csakans or flûtes douces with flared bells, their window/labium more or less clearly depicted. Leaning against the bench are a cello, a tromba marina and two violas. In the background stands a pipe-organ.

Christian Georg Schütz and Januaris Zick

Christian Georg Schütz was a German painter of landscapes, often including horsemen, shepherds and other figures amidst classical ruins near a village; born Flörsheim (1718), died Frankfurt am Main (1791). Johann Rasso Januarius Zick  (1730– 1797) was a German painter and architect, considered to be one of the main masters of the Late-Baroque; born Munich (1730), died Ehrenbreitstein (1797).

• Shepherd with a Pipe, painting, Christian Georg Schütz (1718-1791) and Januaris Zick (1730-1797). Frankfurt: Historisches Museum, Inv. P. 457. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Fhm 47). The shepherd, painted in a landscape, has both a duct flute (possibly a recorder) and a bagpipe. He is shown cutting a new pipe, with his dog beside him. His legs are crossed and one leg half covers the instrument. But a bell end of typical recorder design is clearly apparent, though no finger holes are visible. The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel has two prints (Munich RIdm 1999, Kksg 127 and Kksg 129) of a boy sitting under a willow tree trying out a pipe he has just made, but these are normal shepherds’ pipes and do not have any recorder characteristic. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Siegfried Schümann

German artist; born Feldberg (1923), died Berlin (1974).

• Musizierende Schüler / Music Students (1956), oil on canvas, 119 × 78 cm, Siegfried Schümann (1923-1974). Berlin: Haus der Deutsch-Sowjetischen Freundschaft, Inv. 57/88. Ref. Fulbourn: photo, Collection of Walter Bergmann ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (2003); Website: Kunst in der DDR (2016). Five music students play neo-baroque recorders, guitar and double bass. The blue scarves around their necks indicate that they are members of the German Youth Movement.

Christoph Theodor Schüz

German late romatinc painter; born Thumlingen (1830), died Düsseldorf (1900).

• Osterlied, print after a painting by Christoph Theodor Schüz (1830-1900). Ref. Archiv Moeck. An extended family relaxes in a forest dell; some play and run about. A central group stand and sit in a circle singing from books whilst their father plays on a flageolet with the lower two fingers held under the instrument. The characteristic narrow mouthpiece of the instrument is clearly depicted.

Johann Christian Schwalbe (op. 1759), German

• Postcard: Friendly Greetings (14 June 1759), 5.1 × 8.5 cm, Johann Christian Schwalbe (op. 1759). Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Inv. Cgm 7392, Fol. 44 r. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Mbs – H 319). In an empty interior two friends embrace. Before them on a table lie an open score (in landscape format) and musical instruments, namely a violin with bow, a tenor-sized recorder, a cornetto, a lute and what appears to be a case for a number of wind-instruments. Leaning against the table is a cello with bow. In the margins the following notes are written:
  
  

  Symbol: Tandem aliquando.
  Ein wahrer Freund und die Musik sind beide schöne Sachen,

  Bei beiden kan man frölich sein und sich Vergnügen machen […]
  Regniz Losau d [s] June 14, 1759.

  
  

Tomáš Schwarz (18th century)

Czech organ builder and lay member of the Jesuit Order whose instruments decorated the interiors of many non-Jesuit Czech churches.

• St Cecilia with Musical Angels (1745-1746), organ case decoration, gilt sculptures, Thomas Schwarz (18th century). Detail. Prague: Malá Strana St Mikuláše. St Cecilia conducts a band of musical angels playing violins, flute, oboe, horns, kettle drums, trumpets, trombones, and two perfectly depicted 3-piece baroque recorders.

Wilhelm Schweizer

German maker of pewter figurines in Diessen, Southern Bavaria; a family business since 1796. See website.

• Frühling [Spring], enameled pewter openwork wall decoration (2002), 12 × 18 cm, Wilhelm Schweizer (contemporary). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2002). A shepherd with a long cylindrical pipe under a tree with a leaping dog, sheep and lamb. The instrument is held in recorder-playing position with the right hand lowermost and all fingers down. The catalogue number for this item is 9401A.

Gregor Schysler

Swiss wood-carver from the Tyrol; born Cologne (17th century).

• Musical Trophy 1 & Musical Trophy 2, carved panels, Gregor Schysler (17th century). ‘s-Hertogenbosch: Sint Janskathedraal, organ, main case. Ref. Website: Anges musicales (2012 – col.) The large organ in Sint Janskathedraal is one of the most important organs of the Netherlands, and its case is monumental. The organ has a long history that begins with its construction in the period 1618-1638 by Floris Hocque II, Hans Goltfuss and Germer van Hagerbeer. The rood loft and the organ case were built by Frans Simons, a carpenter who probably came from Leiden. The sculpture of the case was carved by Gregor Schysler from Tyrol who, like Floris Hocque, was originally from Cologne. The organ decoration includes carved putti playing violin, flute, lute, harp and bassoon, and a series of carved wood panels which depict cornetti, flutes, horns, jew’s harps, lyre, shawm, harp, cylindrical recorders, organetto, rebec, triangle (with jingle rings) and curtal.

Gerard Jean-Baptiste Scotin [Gerard Scotin II]

French engraver of works by Jean Antoine Watteau and William Hogarth, amongst others; came to London in 1733 with his brother Louis Gérard, where remained for the rest of his career; in 1745 engraved plates in Hogarth’s Marriage-à-la-Mode series; born 1698, died after 1746.

• Mademoiselle Auretti (1745/1746), etching with some engraving, Gerard Jean-Baptiste Scotin (1698 – p.1746). Location unknown. Ref. Photo, Walter Bergmann ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2005). In a glen, a young woman in a voluminous dress dances, arms outstretched. The scene has an elaborate frame at the bottom corners of which are two putti. That on the left plays a cylindrical pipe, probably a duct flute. That on the right plays a tambourine with jingle rings. At the centre top is a trophy comprising a mask, a violin, and a musette. The dancer is Anne Auretti (op. 1742-1754) who first appeared at the Haymarket in 1746, with her sister Anneton and appeared in Paris in the 1750s. This example of Scotin’s work is rather reminiscent of Nicholas Lancret’s portraits of Mademoiselle de Camargo and of Mademoiselle Sallé dancing.
• Mademoiselle Auretti (1762-1770), etching with some engraving, 44.7 × 35.8 cm, Gerard Jean-Baptiste Scotin (1698 – p.1746). London: British Museum, Inv. R,10.3; Buxton: Palace Hotel (lightly coloured). Ref. Website: British Museum (2012-col.); Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2005). In a glen, a young woman in a voluminous dress dances, arms outstretched. The scene has an elaborate frame at the bottom corners of which are two putti. That on the left plays a cylindrical pipe, probably a duct flute. That on the right plays a tambourine with jingle rings. At the centre top is a trophy comprising a mask, a violin, and a musette. The dancer is Anne Auretti (op. 1742-1754) who first appeared at the Haymarket in 1746, with her sister Anneton and appeared in Paris in the 1750s. This example of Scotin’s work is rather reminiscent of Nicholas Lancret’s portraits of Mademoiselle de Camargo and of Mademoiselle Sallé dancing. Marked “John Spilsbury, Engraving, Map and Print Sellers, Covent Garden, London.’ Spilsbury (the inventor of jigsaw puzzles) was at that address only from 1762 to 1770, so this probably represents a re-engraving.

Painter of the Second Supplement, Manessiche Liederhandschrift, Ötenbach near Zurich (14th century), Swiss

• Meister Heinrich von Meissen (Frauenlob) (ca 1340), water colour on vellum, Painter of the Second Supplement, Manessiche Liederhandschrift, Ötenbach near Zurich. Detail. Heidelberg: Universitätsbibliothek, D-HEu, Codex Palatinus Germanicus 848, f.399r. Ref. Moeck (1984: July – col.); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 28, fig. 9); Website: Alamire C2 (1996); Höhne (1965: pl. 9); Ausoni (2009: 221-col.) The Minnesinger Frauenlob enthroned directs a vielle player surrounded by his fellow musicians holding nakers, shawms, trumpet, fiddle, psaltery, and what appears to be a pipe (probably a duct flute), accompanied by vielles, shawm, and percussion. The identify of Frauenlob (1255-1318) is confirmed by an inscription and by the heraldic symbol.The argument that this illustration is indeed a duct flute is strengthened by the representation by the same artist in f.423v, Der Kanzler (The Official) of the same source of a what is unequivocally a transverse flute played (perhaps rather clumsily) by another Minnesinger in company with a fiddle. See Moeck (loc. cit.)

Sebastiano del Piombo = Sebastiano Luciani

Paulus Seeger

Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery Gengenbach and a gifted painter and musician; born Gengenbach (1691), died Gengenbach (1743).

• Painting on organ case (ca 1773), Paulus Seeger (1691-1743). Frieburg: Augustiner Museum. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2010-col.) The organ was built in ca 1730. At the bottom right an angel plays a baroque-style recorder the window/labium of which is just visible, and on which all fingers are correctly placed with the left hand lowermost. The angel immediately above plays a lute. On the opposite side are a bass viol and an angel putto holding music whilst two angels sing. At the top right are more putti/angel singers and a trumpeter.

Johann Conrad [Konrad] Seekatz

German artist who became court painter at Darmstadt in 1753; known for his depictions of corporate and military scenes, portraits, genre scenes of peasant life and landscapes; born Grünstadt (1719), died Darmstadt (1768); son of Worms court painter Johann Martin Seekatz (1680-1729); brother of painter Johann Ludwig Seekatz (1711-1783).

• Months of the Year: February, oil on canvas, 251 × 50 cm, Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768). Frankfurt am Main: Goethehaus & Frankfurter Goethe-Museum, Inv. V/1071. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Fgm 17). Comprises three panels. In the left panel a boy is fishing with a rod, a second boy puts a fish in a barrel, a third boy holds a paddle. In the central panel two boys walk down a street; a boy on the left plays a hurdy-gurdy watched by another sitting right in front of him; in the background is a church, in the foreground a mother or nurse with a child looks down to the two boys and listens to their music. In the lower panel two children dance along a path; the girl is dressed as Columbine, the boy is dressed as a harlequin and plays on a long-necked lute; before them on the right a further boy plays on a triangle with rings; in the background to the left we see more dancing children, beside them on a pillar of the hangs a horn. The edging surrounding the panels is decorated with musical instruments crossed in twos and threes, including two baroque design alto recorders, one crossed with a violin and bow, the other with a natural horn and oboe. Also depicted are violin & flute, bassoon & flute, and oboe & flute. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). The Goethehaus, birthplace and home of the author, poet and playwright Johann Wolfgang Goethe in Frankfurt am Main, was completely rebuilt in 1949 after Frankfurt was raised to the ground during the Second World War.
• Flute Player, panel, 16.5 × 12.5 cm, Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768). Paris: Étude Tajan, Old Master Paintings, Sale 9369, 21 October 2009, Lot 25. A young boy holds a one-piece alto recorder right-hand uppermost. The beak, window/labium and finger holes and turned foot are clearly depicted.
• Flute Player (19th century), panel, 30 × 43 cm, after Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768). Dusseldorf: Auktionshaus, Catalogue 02/2010, Lot 303 (col.) An enlarged copy of the above.
• A drinking and a sleeping Savoyard boy (1786), print, 22.2 x 19.5 cm, by Isaak Bager ((1768-1797) after Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768). Frankfurt am Main: Stãdel Museum, Inv. 1359. A young lad with a torn coat and hat stands drinking from an enormous wooden beer mug, a three-piece alto baroque recorder tucked under his arm. His companion dozes at the table beside him. A remarkable feature of this illustration is the clearly depicted leather or string cord wrapped around the foot of the instrument, a unique example in my almost 50 years of collecting images of recorders in art! There is another print by Mayr of this work (below).
• Tavern Flautist (c.1790), aquatint on vellum, 27.5 x 21cm, by Johann Friedrich von Mayr (1752-1809) after Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768). Offered for sale on eBay, Item 115370807303 (2023). Identical to the print by Bager (see above). A young lad with a torn coat and hat stands drinking from an enormous wooden beer mug, a three-piece alto baroque recorder tucked under his arm. His companion dozes at the table beside him. A remarkable feature of this illustration is the clearly depicted leather or string cord wrapped around the foot of the instrument, a unique example in my almost 50 years of collecting images of recorders in art! The title given in the caption below, Le Fluteur altêré, must be referring to the effect of beer on the young musician. There is another print of this work by Bager (above).

David Segal

USAmerican draughtsman and painter living in New Jersey; his subjects focus on Judaic themes and include portraits, still-lifes, street-scenes. Artist’s website.

• Boy with a Recorder, 28.0 × 30.5 cm, David Segal (contemporary). Lalewood: artist’s studio. A young lad wearing a cap leans against a tree whilst playing a soprano-sized recorder of neo-baroque desgn.

Giovanni Segantini

Italian art nouveau artist, recognised in his own lifetime as an innovator and prophet and as an important symbolist painter; whilst his early works reflect traditional style of painting in Lombardy, the beautiful mountain scenery of his childhood provided the chief inspiration for his later work; the technique of Divisionism – fine parallel brush strokes of pure colour – was his definitive contribution to avant-garde art at the time – and the secret of the brilliant luminosity in his paintings; born Arco, Lake Garda (1858), died Pontesina (1899).

• Idyll, oil on canvas, 56.0 × 85.2 cm, Giovanni Segantini (1858–1899). Aberdeen: Art Gallery, Accn ABDAG003937. Ref. Postcard: Aberdeen Art Gallery (2003-col.) Beside a road a young woman lies on a flowery bank, leaning against her companion, a youth who sits playing a cylindrical duct flute the beak of which is clearly visible.

Gerard [Gerhard, Geerard and Gerardo] (Crayer) Seghers [Zegers, Zeghers]

Flemish Caravaggist painter, dealer and collector, active also in Italy and Spain; he is known for his monumental history, genre, religious and allegorical works, but produced smaller scale works for export and private use; born Antwerp (1591), died Antwerp (1651).

• Wedding of the Virgin, canvas, 511 × 341 cm, Gerard Seghers (1591-1651). Antwerp: Koninklijk Musea voor Schone Kunsten, Cat. 508. Ref. Leppert (1977: 133). Putti sing and play harp, fiddle, a tambourine and an ambiguous pipe (flute or duct flute).
• The Five Senses, oil, 192 × 250 cm, attributed to Gerard Seghers (1591-1651). Location unknown: sold by Palais Galliéra, Paris, 7 March 1970, No. 68. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A pendant of the Trictrac Party. Around a table sit a woman with a pet bird on her hand, an old man warming his hands over an oil lamp, a dishevelled and rather debauched looking young man holding a glass of wine up high. At one end of the table, a young woman stands smelling one of the flowers she holds in her arms; at the other end, a man wearing a feathered hat sits playing an arch-lute from a music book on the table before him. Beside the music lie a cornetto and a small duct flute, probably a recorder.
• Saint Cecilia with Three Angels, oil on panel, 31 × 40 cm, Gerard Seghers (1591-1651). ?Location. Ref. Website: Van Ham (2015-col.); Website: art.com. St Cecilia in a turban sits behind a table singing from a music book which she reads by candlelight. She is accompanied by three young angel musicians, one of whom plays the lute, the other a slender shawm with a prominently flared bell, the reed clearly visible. The third angel seems to be following the score, his violin lying on the table next to a recorder which is noticeably flared at both ends. The window/labium of this second pipe is clearly visible, as are the finger holes.
• Saint Cecilia with Three Angels, engraving,  31.6 × 37.1 cm Nicolas Lauwers (fl. 1600-1652), after Gerard Seghers (1591-1651). Antwerp: Print Collection; Uppsala: Universitet, Bibliotek, UBG 1945/22; Washington: National Gallery of Art. Ref. Mirimonde (1974: 128, pl. 100a);RIdIM Paris (1999); RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). St Cecilia in a turban sits behind a table singing from a music book which she reads by candlelight. She is accompanied by three young angel musicians, one of whom plays the lute, the other a slender shawm with a prominently flared bell, the reed clearly visible. The third angel seems to be following the score, his violin lying on the table next to a recorder which is noticeably flared at both ends. The window/labium of this second pipe is clearly visible, as are the finger holes. A caption reads:
  
  

  CAECILIS alterno luditque canitque susurro.
  Respondet parili picta Juventa choro.
  En ut tacta fides, melos ut dent ora puellae:
  Angelicum ut resones, viue etiam angelice.

  
  

There is a work of the same composition in the City Museum, Vicenza, and another which was sold by l’Hotel Drouot (26 November 1971) attributed to Rombouts.

Alison Seiffer

Contemporary North American magazine and book illustrator who lives and works in Montauk, New York; her work has appeared in The New York Times and Fast Company.

• Cover: American Recorder 41 (1): Untitled (2000), Alison Seiffer (contemporary). A young woman in a beret eats a burger and sips a coke from a glass beaker, using her neo-baroque recorder as a straw.

Jakob Seisenegger

Austrian painter active in Bavaria; primarily a portraitist, he also worked as an illuminator; born Austria (1505), died Linz (1567).

• Portrait of a Mother with her Eight Children (1565), oil on panel, 72.4 × 84.5 cm, school of Jakob Seisenegger (1505-1567). London: Phillips, The International Fine Art Auctioneers. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image PFA89143 – col.) A young mother and rather too many young children. Surely they can’t all be hers! One child in the foreground beats a toy drum. At his feet lies a soprano recorder, cylindrical with a flared bell, the beak, window/labium and finger holes clearly visible.

Vincent Sellaer [Zeelare or Zellaer or Geldersman]

Flemish painter who specialized in half-length figures of women, such as Cleopatra, Suzanna, Leda and Judith; active Mechelen (ca 1538), died 1544. Contemporary inventories confirm the identification of Geldersman with Sellaer; it is probable that two, possibly three, generations of painters bore the name.

• Apollo and the Muses, Vincent Sellaer (op. 1538-1544). Ref. Website: The Great Bass Viol: Musical Iconography (2003 – col). Apollo plays his viola da braccio surrounded by the nine Muses who sing and play viol, lute, flute, cornetto and a slender cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder), the window/labium of which is visible, but no other details. On the ground, bottom left, lie other instruments including a shawm and what may be two more flutes. Pegasus looks over the recorder player’s shoulder.

Ottavio Semino

Member of an Italian family of painters, stuccoists and draughtsmen working in Genoa, Milan, Pavia and Rome; his works include altarpieces, historical and mythological subjects, as well as decorative frescoes painted with his brother Andrea Semino; born Genoa ca 1520, died Milan (1604); son of Antonio Semino (?1485-?1555), brother of Andrea Semino (?1526-1594), father of Cesare Semino (fl. 1606-1625) and Alessandro Semino (m. 1607).

• Mercury and Argus, drawing on paper, Ottavio Semino (ca 1520-1604). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Inv. 10407, Recto. Mercury in his winged helmet, his caduceus by his side, sits on a rocky bank playing a slender pipe with a strongly flared bell to Argus sitting on a rock opposite him who leans sleepily on his arm. Io (as a heifer) grazes in the background.

Pere [Pedro] Serra

Spanish artist who worked with his brother Jaime (fl. 1361-1395) in Girona, Saragossa, Manresa and Barcelona, and maintained a large and famous workshop. The brothers were important for their projection of the Italo-Gothic style in their own work and for the wide influence they exerted through their many followers; active from 1357, died 1405/8.

• Altarpiece of Our Lady of the Angels, centre panel: Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels Playing Musical Instruments (ca 1385), wood, 196 × 130 cm, Pere Serra (op. 1357-1405/8). Detail. Painted for the church of Santa Clara, Tortosa. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Inv. 003950-000. Ref. Carli et al. (1965: fig.); Braggard & Hen (1973: 63 & plate II-16 – colour); Ballester (1990: 188-199 & pl. 124); Székely 1972/1989: fig. 6 – colour); Zaniol (1984, November: 3-4, fig. b&w); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: frontispiece – b&w); Rowland-Jones (1996: 18, fig. 2-b&w & 20, fig. 4 – b&w; 2006c: 18-19 & fig. 18-col.; 2006e: 18-19 & fig. 6 – b&w); Ruiz i Quesada (1999-col.; 2005); Ballester (2000: 19, fig. 1 – b&w); Web Gallery of Art (2004 – col.); Favà Monllau (2011); Lasocki (2023: 36 & 39, pl. 6 – b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-201 (2023, col.) One of the angels is playing what is clearly an alto-sized recorder of cylindrical form, accompanied by lute, organetto, psaltery, gittern and harp. Rowland-Jones (1996: 19-20) observes that the recorder is held with the wrists well below the instrument, which he believes is not the most natural position for playing the six-holed pipe, and that it shows beside the little finger of the lowest hand an additional hole which appears to be plugged, possibly with wax. The latter is difficult to see from the reproductions cited above, but is clear enough in a studio photograph provided by Rowland-Jones. This painting has recently been restored (Angelo Zaniol, pers. comm. 2004)  and it seems that some of the features observed above (i.e. before restoration) have been obscured. Commentators have variously dated this painting between 1375 and 1390. This centre panel is similar to the Virgin and Child painted for the Monastery of Saint Cugat del Vallès and possibly painted around the same time (see below). Here, however, the infant Jesus is shown holding a dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit of God. Favà Monllau (2011)  has raised the possibility of a later date of ca 1400, in view of the works of the gothic apse of Tortosa’s cathedral (the supposed original location of this altarpiece).
• Altarpiece, centre panel: Virgin and Child (ca 1385), attributed to Pere Serra (op. 1357-1405/8). Monastery of Saint Cugat del Vallès; formely Museu Diocesà, Barcelona. Ref. Ballester (1990: 188-189 & pl. 125; 2000: 10, fig. 2 – b&w); Rowland-Jones (1996: fig. 3; 2006e: 19); Wikimedia (2016-col.); Wilfried Praet (pers. comm., 2017); Website: Lute Iconography LI-420 (2023, col.); Lasocki (2023: 38). Painted for the Monastery of Saint Cugat del Vallès, now a suburb of Barcelona. The centre panel is very similar to the version above and possibly painted around the same time. Here, the infant Jesus  holds nothing but reaches up to his mother’s breast; Mary holds a branchlet of roses, symbolic of her participation in the Holy Trinity as Heaven’s Rose or Mystical Rose.  They are surrounded by angel musicians playing lute, gittern, harp, psaltery, organetto and  cylindrical duct flute. The latter is on the Virgin’s right. His pipe has eight finger holes in line, higher up the instrument than the whole of the player’s lower (left) hand, below which one of the paired little-finger holes may be seen. A kneeling figure at the foot of the Virgin, may represent the donor of the altarpiece, but seems to have a clerical haircut.

Pierre-Paul Sevin

French painter, draughtsman and designer of festivals, funerals and other ceremonies under Louis XIV; born Tournon-sur-Rhone (1650), died Tournon (1710); son of painter François Sevin (m.1658).

• Portrait of Mehmed II, engraving by Estienne Gantrel (1646-1706), designed by Pierre-Paul Sevin (1650-1710). Location unknown. Ref Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Mehmed II (1432-1481) was also known as Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in Ottoman Turkish and Mahomet II in early modern Europe. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire, transforming the Ottoman state into an empire in its own right. Mehmed continued his conquests in Asia, with the Anatolian reunification, and in Europe, as far as Bosnia and Croatia. Mehmed II is regarded as a national hero in Turkey, and Istanbul’s Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is named after him. Framed by flags and the canopy of a tent, the great man is seen in half-length wearing an elaborate turban and holding a sceptre. Beneath a crescent from which hangs a scimitar is a veritable still-life comprising a globe, compass, rule, books, bow and sheath of arrows, a pair of calipers, a map, a musical score, a straight trumpet, a flute (only the foot visible), the pirouette of a shawm, a coiled horn, a lute, a violin and, yes, a very clearly depicted recorder! The latter is cylindrical with a curved beak and holes for seven fingers including paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand.

Christian Seybold

German artist; a self-taught portrait painter, initially in the baroque formal style, but later he turned to a more intimate style of representation, mainly in simple half-length or head-and-shoulders portraits, such as that depicted noted here; born Mainz (1690/1697), died Vienna (1768).

• Boy with a Flute (ca 1730-1740), Christian Seybold (16090/1697-1768). Dresden: Städtische Galerie. A young boy holds a small one-piece cylindrical duct flute with four well-spaced holes visible and what looks suspiciously like a Virdung-style bell-end. A maker’s work is visible beneath the window/labium. It may by a small recorder but is more probably a French flageolet (Rowland-Jones, pers com., 2001).
• The Flute Player, painting, tondo, Christian Seybold (16090/1697-1768). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A boy holds a small one-piece, cylindrical duct flute with beak, window/labium, and slightly flared foot clearly depicted. His fingers and thumb are perfectly deployed for recorder-playing; all three holes for the fingers of the uppermost (left) hand are visible, and all fingers of the lowermost (right) hand are covering their holes.

Charles [Hazelwood [Haselwood]) Shannon

English painter, lithographer and woodcut illustrator who drew his greatest inspiration from the Old Masters, working with religious and classical subject-matter; his portraits and lithographs are amongst his finest and most sensitive work; born Quarrington, near Sleaford, Linconshire (1863), died Kew, Surrey (1937).

• With Viol and Flute (1892), lithograph 16.5 × 22.9 cm (image), Charles Hazelwood Shannon (1863-1937). San Francisco: de Young Museum 4159201102350029 A041928; London: British Museum 1896,1028.20. Ref. The Dial 2 (1892) Reclining female forms hold violin and cello, and in the foreground a young woman lying on her front holds a slender cylindrical pipe which may represent a duct flute rather than a transverse-flute — but it could just as well be a bow for the violin in front of her!

Vasily Shulzhenko

Contemporary Russian figurative artist living and working in Moscow; many of his works are genre paintings depicting historical, social and mythological subjects usually with a strong element of fantasy; others are grimly realistic, often very confronting, and Goyaesque; born 1949.

• The Contest Between Marsyas and Apollo (2006), oil on canvas, 160 × 120 cm, Vasily Shulzhenko (1949-). Moscow: Igor Metelitsin Gallery. Ref. Website: Igor Metelitsin Gallery (2014-col.) Marsyas, depicted as a stolid Russian peasant with goat legs, squats on a stump playing an alto renaissance style recorder left-hand uppermost. A small girl leans over his shoulder, staring at the instrument. Opposite Marsyas stands the pale thin figure of Apollo wearing a bowler hat over long hair but otherwise naked, apart from his underpants. His right hand holds a violin; his left is on the shoulder of a winged putto wearing nothing but socks and holding a pop-gun. Behind Marsyas two ruffians look on and a third shouts over his shoulder at two of their companions who are assaulting a man in a field beyond.
• Satyr visiting a Peasant, oil on canvas, 99.1 × 78.7 cm, Vasily Shulzhenko (1949-). Chicago: Maya Polsky Gallery (2014-col). Ref. Website (Blog): Mumble to my Neighbor (2008-col.) At a table on which stand a bottle of something, two glasses, a half-eaten loaf of bread and a knife, a tired old man gazes vacantly out of the picture, towards us. On the other side of the table sits a naked, horned man playing a duct flute, probably a recorder, whilst he gazes at his companion. The beak of the instrument, the window and most of the body can be seen.
• Duduk, Vasily Shulzhenko (1949-). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Redrif.com (2014-col.) A haunted-looking man sits in a row-boat floating in a flooded city street. He plays a duct flute, probably a recorder, a grim expression on his face. The title (Дудочка) can mean either a reed pipe or a duct flute: here it is clearly the latter, cylindrical and either a flageolet or a recorder.

Luca d’Egidio di Ventura de’ Signorelli (also called Luca da Cortona)

Italian painter, best known for his nudes and for his novel compositional devices; active in Cortona, Loreto, Monte Oliveto, Sienna, Orvieto, Florence, Rome; born Cortona (1445/50), died Cortona (1523).

• The Last Judgement: Calling the Chosen, (1499-1503/4), fresco, Luca Signorelli (1444/5-1523). Orvieto: Duomo, Cappella di San Brixio, wall. Ref. Woodmansterne Publications, postcard Angel with Flageolet (1993 – col.); Paris RIdIM (1999). Angels usher the chosen upwards. Above, more angels play a porcine psaltery, two lutes and two pipes, one played with one hand, the other with two hands (right hand down). Signorelli painted a large number of angel-musicians, mainly in his frescoes. Nearly all of them play string instruments, especially lutes, although heraldic seraphs play long trumpets. In all his paintings there is only this one woodwind instrument. The position of the hands and the relaxed cheeks suggests that this might be a recorder rather than a mute cornetto.
• The School of Pan, painting on canvas, 194 x 257 cm, Luca Signorelli (1445/50-1523). Destroyed, formerly Berlin: Kaiser Friedrich Museum. Ref. Berenson (1952: vol. 2. pl. 184); Website: Jahsonic’s microblog (2014-col.) Standing before Olympus, Pan plays a slender pipe which might be a recorder, though only one hand is used. This  is almost the same subject which Signorelli painted also on the wall of the Pandolfo Petrucci palace in Siena—the principal figures being Pan himself, Olympus, Echo, a man reclining on the ground and two listening shepherds.
• Altarpiece: Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Michael and Benedict, (late 1480s), Luca Signorelli (1445/50-1523) & Workshop. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 29.164. Ref. Website: New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (2006); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip221 (2022, col.) A prayerful Virgin is flanked on either side by the Saints, one of whom (St Michael) pokes the Devil with a lance. Above, angels play lutes, fiddle and what looks like a cylindrical pipe.

Grant Silverstein (contemporary), USA

Contemporary American printmaker living in Pennsylvannia  who draws heavily from mythological themes, and is a master of the intaglio etching technique; born 1953. Artist’s website.

• Convocation of Muses or The Nine Sisters Together Again (1996), intaglio etching, 28.8 × 36.3 cm, Grant Silverstein (1953–). Ref. Website: Grant Silverstein (2009). Printed in an edition of 100 copies. A modern vision of the Nine Muses. Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) in a hat plays a tenor-sized recorder made in one piece with a flared bell and details of the window/labium and offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly depicted. Her companions variously stab themselves tragically, strum the harp and sing, dance, drink from an enormous head-shaped urn, write with a quill on a rolled parchment, contemplate celestial mechanics with a globe and calipers, and gaze into the distance through a telescope.

Israel Silvestre [Sylvestre] the Younger

French engraver, etcher and print dealer; appointed dessinateur et graveur du Roi in 1662; born Nancy (1621), died Paris (1691).

• Les Plaisirs de l’Ile enchantée: Premiere Journée: The Four Seasons (1670), engraving, Israel Silvestre the Younger (1621-1691). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (2006d: 8-12 & fig. 4; 2008b: 12, fig. 1). Depicts the end of the first day of Lully and Moliere’s grand divertissement held in the gardens of Versailles on 7 May 1664. Recorders and musettes are played by a group of 14 musicians at the centre of the scene (it is difficult to work out who is playing which instrument). The first part of the divertissement took place in a garden area surrounded by hedges and lit by 4,000 candles and flambeaux. Thirty-four musicians were on stage for playing the overture before the Dance of the Seasons. During the first and only Entrée, 14 musicians lead on the gods Pan and Diana ‘with an agreeable harmony of recorders and musettes’.  A caption beneath reads
  

  “ Comparse des quatre saisons, avec leur suitte de concertans, et porteurs de presens, et la Machine de Pan, et de Diane, avec leur suitte de Concertans, et de bergers portans les plats pendant le recit des uns et des autres devant le Roy, et les Reynes.

  
  

  Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.) notes that although Silvestre’s prints were not published until 1670, it is likely that he was present at the event in order to make notes and sketches for his engravings.

  
  

Louis de Silvestre

French painter of classical, religious and historical subjects; born Sceaux or Paris (1675), died Paris (1760); son of engraver and draughtsman Israël Silvestre.

• Allegory of Music, Louis Silvestre, the younger (1675-1760). Lindau: Stadttheater. Ref. Moeck, Celle: TIBIA – Musikbilder auf Postkarten, Series 2(2), No. 11102 (1987, col.); Moeck (1966: front cover); Pottier (1992: 40, pl. XXVI); Rowland-Jones (2000e: 87). A dreamy young couple lean against a plinth. He holds a baroque alto recorder of elaborately turned design with ivory mounts. Their thoughts are far from music. Indeed, a Latin inscription on the plinth “ludite nunc alios” seems to refer to a well-known phrase from the final lines of Alain-René Le Sage’s picaresque novel L’Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (1715-1735):
  
  

  Inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna valete, sat me lusistis, ludite nunc alios

  I have reached the port, Hope and Fortune, farewell, you have made sport enough of me, make sport of others now

  
  
• Hercules Scourges Discord, Slander and Hatred (1719), oil on canvas, Louis Silvestre, the younger (1675-1760). Detail. Dresden: Royal Palace, ceiling painting in the throne room of King Augustus II. Ref. Wikipedia: Deckengemälde im Thronsaal König Augusts II. im Dresdner Residenzschloss (2012-col.) With his scourge, Hercules batters the three vices to the ground. Above him, enthroned, are the virtues: Prudence (with mirror and helmet), Truth (naked), Justice (with scales and sword) … A putto holds the sceptre and shield of the Polish coat of arms. The attributes of Slander are a small bellows and a perfectly depicted baroque recorder of tenor size, held in either hand.

Charles Simmoneau, French

French designer and engraver; among his masterpieces are seven engravings of the funerary monument of Cardinal Richelieu (Church of the Sorbonne, Paris) after François Girardon; born Orleans (1645), died Paris (1728); one of a long line of engravers from Orleans.

• Title Page: Pièces en trio by Marin Marais (1692), engraving, Charles Simmoneau (1645-1728). Published by Simmoneau, Hurel, Bonneil & Foucault, Paris. ? Gloucestershire: Collection of William Waterhouse. Ref. Haynes (1988: 332, fig. 18 – b&w); Pottier (1992: 61, pl. XLVII; 1995: 138, pl. 13); Archiv Moeck; Rowland-Jones (2006d: 6 & fig. 1). Shows four baroque recorders with oboes, flutes, viol, bassoon & violin.

Henry Singleton

English painter and illustrator of books and periodicals; noted for his paintings inspired by the Bible and from literary sources, for his depictions of contemporary historical events, and for his portraits; many of his works were engraved in mezzotint and achieved a widespread popularity; his later works are inclined to be sentimental and were often intended solely for engraving; born London (1766), died London (1839); nephew of miniature painter William Singleton (d. 1793).

• The Rustic Minstrel (1801), stipple engraving by Anthony Cardon (1772-1813) after Henry Singleton (1766-1839). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image NP 125528 – col.) Watched by a shepherdess feeding her lambs and a child with a crook, a shepherd in cloak and hat plays a slender flared-bell ambiguous pipe. This work has a pendent entitled Innocent Captivation, in which a shepherdess leans against a tree, her two children at her feet, one with a singing bird in a cage.

Elisabetta Sirani

Italian artist who painted a wide range of subjects-portraits, allegories, religious themes; she painted so fast that it was commonly believed that she had help painting them and in order to refute the charges dignitaries from all over Europe were invited to watch her paint a portrait in one sitting; also important as a teacher, she set up a painting school for women; born 1638, died 1665; daughter of Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610-1670) who was the artist Guido Reni’s principal assistant.

• Personification of Music, oil on canvas, Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665). Location unknown: Auctioned Sotheby’s, 15 January 2001 (sold). Ref. Website: Greatbassviol.com: Iconography (2009). Holding a book in one hand and a score in the other, Music appears to be singing as she gazes heavenward. On the wall beside her hang a lute, a guitar, a violin and a one-piece flared-bell recorder of slightly unusual construction: the beak has a raised decorative ring just above the window/labium.
• Three Angels Making Music, pen & ink on paper, 14.5 × 19.1 cm, Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665). London: Courtauld Institute, Inv. D.1952.RW.1058. Ref. Website: Art and Architecture (2012-col.) Three winged putti play double pipes, syrinx and slender conical pipe which might be a recorder, given the disposition of the player’s fingers.

Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt [Slingherlandt, Slingherland Slingerhlant, etc.]

Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who is known as one of Leiden’s fijnschilders; a pupil of Gerrit Dou (1613-1675), he imitated his teacher so well that his works were later misattributed to him; he was known to be meticulous and often took months on his works in the pursuit of perfection; born Leiden (1640), died Leiden (1681).

• A Pair of Lovers, panel, 39.5 × 30.5 cm, Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt (1640-1691). Dresden: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Inv. No. 1761. Ref. Fischer (1975: 81-82, pl.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00021783 – b&w); Wikipedia (2016-col.) A woman, with fur-trimmed cape, sits on a chair cuddling her little spaniel, while her lover stands behind, partly leaning over and pointing to the lap dog with his left index finger. Both lovers smile gently. There is music on the floor and a violin stands on a chair to the right, its bow lying beside it. What the lady may not notice is that in the man’s right hand, dangling over her right shoulder towards the lap-dog’s head, is a small duct flute, held vertically between his right thumb and fingers. It is of sixth-flute size and the beak and window/labium are clear, although it is difficult to make out the number of finger holes. The instrument is cylindrical or slightly tapering to the bell, where the flare (if any) is hidden by the man’s hand. An etching of this painting by Albert Henry Payne (London 1812 – Leipzig 1902) was published ca 1870, entitled Die Musicprobe / The Musical Rehearsal

Smartistic (2005), Netherlands

Rotterdam-based company marketing artworks via the Internet. They seem to have disappeared from view (2009).

• Flute Player, printed canvas, Smartistic (contemporary). Ref. Website: Smartistic (2005 – col.) A bald man with a shirt bearing the slogan “Flute Player” holds a stylized recorder. There are four colour variants of this work.

Allie [Allison] R. Smith

Contemporary USAmerican  illustrative artist; born Akron (1987). Artist’s website.

• Untitled (2009), cover illustration, Allie R. Smith (1987-). American Recorder 50 (1): front cover (2009). People wearing hats gather around a stylised birthday cake on which are nine candles in the from of neo-baroque recorders. A commemoration of the issue of volume of American Recorder Journal in the 70th year of the American Recorder Society.

John Smith

English mezzotint engraver and print-seller; as well as plates for public sale, he undertook private commissions and retouched existing plates by other engravers; born Northampton (p.1654), died London (1742/3). See also Marcellus II Laroon.

• Title Page: Peter Prelleur The Modern Music Master Or The Universal Musician, London (1731), engraving, John Smith (p.1654-1742). Glasgow: University Library, Special Collections, Shelf Mark Sp Coll B.a.51. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Libin (1976: 17, fig. 3); Lasocki (1978: 567); Oja (1978: 35, item 188); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Rasmussen (2002, Keyboard). A band of male musicians sing and play flute, bassoon, alto recorder, oboe, violin and cello around a harpsichord. According to Uta Henning this is by Jacob Smith (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.), but this is probably in error for John Smith. Libin (loc. cit.) notes the relation of the harpsichord, flute and recorder to Picart’s Concert champétre.
• Frontispiece: Directions for Playing on the Flute … (1731), engraving, John Smith (p.1654-1742). Also published in Peter Prelleur The Modern Music Master … , London (1731). Ref. Welch (1911/1961: 78, fig. 37; 38); Linde (1991: 90); Vinquist (1974: 55, 204-206, fig. 3-1); Thomson (1974: 41, 73, pl. 11); Lasocki (1995: 128-9, pl. 31); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XJF139898 – b&w). An elegantly dressed gentleman with sword and cape plays a baroque alto recorder beside a river. On the ground beside him a lie piece of music and his hat, though this seems an unlikely place to busk, and he rather too well-attired for that!
• Man with a Recorder, John Smith (p.1654-1742). Den Haag: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). This may be an original design by Smith. A neatly bearded man with a hat holds a flared-bell duct flute. The finger position (left hand lowermost) and design suggest that this is in fact a recorder, though it is badly drawn (e.g. the window/labium is too high up). It is of decidedly late baroque design with a bell flare and, it seems, some slight bore flare. Two large finger holes show.

Marion Smith (20th century)

Contemporary English sculptor who has shown throughout the years at the Royal Academy and in London’s West End. In 1979, the International Year of the Child, she conceived the idea of a group of bronzes for gardens or terraces – summertime children with a touch of the pastoral about them. She has recently turned her talents to a series of smaller and strikingly powerful works of horses.

• Boy with a Recorder (1996), bronze resin sculpture, 104 cm high, Marion Smith (contemporary). Exhibited in the Classic FM Symphony Garden at the Ideal Home Exhibition, London (1996). Ref. Recorder Magazine 16 (3): front cover – col.) A young boy sits on a stool, legs apart, holding a modern profile soprano recorder in a position that belies his apparent innocence! Issued in a limited edition of 100.

Winifred Smith [Rieber]

US American portrait painter; born Carson City (1872), died 1963; wife of philosopher Charles Henry Rieber (1866-1948).

• Girl Playing a Flute (20th century), painting, Winifred Smith (1872-1963). Ref. eBay item 370521468988 (26 June 2011). A young woman sits on the ground playing a perfectly depicted soprano neo-baroque recorder.

Edward Robert Smythe

English artist, one of the foremost painters of the Suffolk School; after early aspiration to a military life he became an artist, and worked in Ipswich alongside artists such as Robert Burrows, and his brother Thomas (1825-1906); born 1810, died 1899.

• Playing the Pipe, Edward Robert Smythe (1810-1899). Broadway: John Noott Galleries. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image NOO57072 – col.) Watched by a bird in a wicker cage in front of him and another hanging from the rafters above, and by a dog at his feet, a young boy sits in a kitchen playing a slender cylindrical pipe, probably a duct flute.

Andrea Solario [Solari]

Italian painter of biblical subjects and frescoed portraits; born Milan (ca 1465), died Milan (1524); brother of sculptor Cristoforo Solario (1468/70-1524).

• The Assumption (1520), Andrea Solario (ca 1465-1524) & Bernardino Campi (1522–1591). Pavia: Museo della Certosa. Ref. Charterhouse: postcard (col.); Website: Allinari (2015-col.) The disciples are amazed to find an empty tomb as Christ ascends into heaven surrounded by angels and putti singing and playing instruments, including, vielle, shawm, straight trumpet and a narrow, cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder). The latter has a beaked mouthpiece and a shadow which may represent the window/labium.

Niklaus Solis

German printmaker whose subjects included religious, mythological, military and historical scenes as well as portraits; born Nuremberg (c. 1544), died Augsburg (1585); son of Virgil Solis (1514-1562).

• From Hans Wagner’s Der Hochzeit v. Herzog Wilhelm mit Renata v. Lothringen, published by Adam Berg, Munich: The Bride’s Table (1568/1570), ink & gouache, 39 × 58 cm, Niklaus Solis (c.1544-1585). Berlin: Kunstbibliothek, Sbc 2, zw. Bl. 34 u. 35, Fol. 34/35. Ref. RIdM Munich (2009, Bkb 421); Website: Posterlounge (2014-col.) Depicts the 1568 wedding feast of Duke William of Bavaria to Renata von Lothringen in the Antiquarium of the Munich Residenz. To the left, led by Orlando di Lasso himself, are some 25 musicians, including choir boys, singers and instrumentalists playing positive organ, tenor and bass viols, lute and violins. On a crate in front are other instruments, notably soprano and alto recorders, flute, shawm, trombone, trumpet and sheet music books.
• From Hans Wagner’s Der Hochzeit v. Herzog Wilhelm mit Renata v. Lothringen, published by Adam Berg, Munich: Mummery (1568/1570), ink & gouache, 39 × 58 cm, Niklaus Solis (c.1544-1585). Berlin: Kunstbibliothek, Sbc 2, zw. Bl. 43 u.44, Fol. 43/44. Ref. RIdM Munich (2009, Bkb 424). Depicts the 1568 wedding celebrations of Duke William of Bavaria to Renata von Lothringen in the Antiquarium of the Munich Residenz. To the left of the throne are musicians with mute cornetto, pipe and tabor, flute, oboe or recorder, string drum, and bass shawm. To the right is a choir of singers, and instrumentalists play flutes, 2 bass viols, and a large drum. Along the walls are spectators and invited guests. Not seen.

Virgil Solis

German designer, draftsman, and printmaker; one of Nuremberg’s most prolific printmakers and book illustrators with over 2,000 works to his credit including popular, commercially successful prints on many subjects; he regularly borrowed figures and compositions from German and Italian masters; also disseminated contemporary ornamental forms to artisans, who often used his prints as models for furniture decoration, architectural friezes, pitchers, bowls, sword scabbards, and jewelry; born Nuremberg (1514), died Nuremberg (1562); father of Niklaus Solis (c. 1544-1585).

• Metamorphoses Ovidii: Mercury and Argus (Frankfurt, 1563), woodcut, Virgil Solis (1514-1562). Glasgow: University Library, S.M. 875. Ref. Website: University of Virginia (2003). Beneath a tree, Argus nods whilst Mercury seated opposite him plays a slender cylindrical pipe. The latter is very likely a recorder since the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand is crooked to cover its hole, and a shadow appears to represent a window/labium. One of the series of woodcuts produced by Virgil Solis for an edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses with prose summaries and allegorical commentaries in Latin elegiacs by Johann Spreng. Like this one, most of Solis’ woodcuts borrow from the designs of from the cycle of 178 woodcuts produced by Bernard Salomon for a French (and Dutch) simplified Ovid, the Metamorphose figurée (Lyons, 1557). Solis’ illustrations were used in 25 successive editions up to 1652, with accompanying texts in Dutch, Flemish, German, Latin and Spanish.
• Metamorphoseon: Mercury and Argus (Leipzig: A. Lambergus, 1612), Virgil Solis (1514-1562). Ref. Website: The Ovid Collection, University of Virginia (2014-col.) Beneath a tree, Argus nods whilst Mercury seated opposite him plays a slender cylindrical pipe. The latter is very likely a recorder since the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand is crooked to cover its hole, and a shadow appears to represent a window/labium. One of the series of woodcuts produced Virgil Solis for an edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses with prose summaries and allegorical commentaries in Latin elegaics by Johann Spreng. Like this one, most of Solis’ woodcuts borrow from the designs of from the cycle of 178 woodcuts produced by Bernard Salomon for a French (and Dutch) simplified Ovid, the Metamorphose figurée (Lyons, 1557).
• The Planets: The Nine Muses: Euterpe, engraving, 8.2 × 5.6 cm, Virgil Solis (1514-1562). Liège: Université de Liège, Inv. 9372. Ref. Website: Université de Liège (2003); Wind (2006 – b&w); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) stands with one hand behind her back. In her left hand she holds two flared alto-sized recorders, their beaks, window/labium and finger holes clearly depicted.
• Triumph of Music (series): Pythagorus, Father of Music, Virgil Solis (1514-1572). Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 9: 271.223); Website: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009). Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Pitager (Pythagorus) is drawn on a cart by Sirigina (Syrinx) and a companion carrying palm-leaves. Pan, holding his syrinx in the air, stands beside Pythagorus who holds a musical score; in front of him are an anvil and hammers; an unnamed female figure rides on the tailgate. Beside them runs Orion with a snare drum. Leading the procession is Palis (Pallas Athena) who holds a mirror in one hand and a long conical pipe (possibly a recorder) with a number of finger holes in the other. Palis is followed by Orfeo who plays viol, and Jubal who plays lute. Taking up the rear is Mercury, who plays one-handed a clearly depicted recorder with a flared bell and distinct beak, holding what appears to be a pillar in the other hand, followed by Apollo who plays harp. A caption reads “DRIVMP PITAGER PATER DE MUSICA FVN”The Greek herma means a ‘prop’ or ‘pillar’, alluding to the role of Hermes as protector of travellers, thence to the heap of stones set up to mark a boundary or crossroads, in due course refashioned as a pillar with a bust of Hermes on top.The looking glass held by Palis may refer to the tradition that Phythagoras used to write on a looking glass in blood and place it opposite the moon, when the inscription would appear reflected in the moon’s disc. An orb is just visible in the mirror.
• Triumph of Spring, Virgil Solis (1514-1572). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Mercury heads the procession carrying his caduceus. He is followed by two bulls pulling a float on which sits Flora, accompanied by a satyr playing a syrinx, Virgil playinga rebec, and a Cupid who flies overhead. Following the float is Euterpe who plays a tenor-sized duct flute, the window/labium and flared bell clearly depicted. Then comes Erato blowing a curved trumpet and accompanied by a swan, Urania with a compass and Melopmene. Mars and Venus bring up the rear.

Johannes van Somer, engraver – see David II Teniers (1610-1690)

Joris van Son

Flemish artist whose paintings of still-lifes and meals almost always included the fruit in which he specialised; he also painted still-lifes with garlands of fruit and flowers surrounding cartouches, which sometimes have figure motifs by Erasmus Quellinus II; born Antwerp (1623), died Antwerp 1667).

• Still-life (1650-1660), oil on canvas, 62.2 × 76.2 cm,  Joris van Son (1623-1667). Location unknown: auctioned 10 December 2004 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 21511 (2001). On a ledge partly covered with a green drape lie jumbled a loaf of bread, figs, peaches, leafy branches, a casket, skull, pistol, nautilus shell, an ornate goblet, an open music book, a rebec (only partly visible), and hand-fluyt, the foot hidden behind the rebec.

Hendrick (Maartensz.) Sorgh [Sorch, Sorg, Zorg or Zorg; called Rokes]

Dutch painter of genre scenes who held the official post of market barge captain for the Rotterdam–Dordrecht line from 1638 until his death. born Rotterdam (1609 or 1611), died Rotterdam (1670). His father, Maerten Claesz. Rochusse (or Rokes), a market bargeman, was nicknamed ‘de Sorch’ (careful) after his manner of handling cargo.

• Tavern Interior with Peasants Making Music, school of Hendrick Maartensz. Sorgh (1609/1611-1670). Location unknown: auctioned 06/12/2006 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) In a room littered with cooking utensils, two men and a woman play music. One man plays a drum of some kind, another plays the violin, and an elderly woman plays a soprano-sized pipe (probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder) with a slightly flared bell.

Lydia Sorio

Italian painter active in Verona; contemporary.

• Portrait of Vincenzo Vigneri (1985), acrylic on canvas, Lydia Sorio (contemporary). Ref. Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm, 2003). Vincenzo Vigneri was the father of the oboist and editor Roberto Vigneri. Zaniol (loc. cit.) writes: “This painting has a particular significance for me because the recorder in the hands of the old man was made by myself in 1982. M. Vigneri was very satisfied with this instrument, particularly for its exceptional tone, sweetness and flexibility. He used to tell me: ‘I should like to take this recorder with me to the next world, so that I can be accepted among the angels making music for our Lord.’ The soul of this honest and good fellow has now gone to heaven and I hope he could realize there his dream. So it is even possible that one of my recorders is charming the ears of God the Father himself! Such an honour in not granted to everybody …”

Preman Sotomayor

Contemporary British graphic designer working in London; Creative Director and owner of Sotomayer Designers Ltd, a design, marketing and branding agency. Quite a few of the artist’s paintings and sketches seem to involve music-making and composers, amongst the latter are William Byrd, François Couperin, Johan Helmich Roman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Joachim Quantz and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert

• Roxi with Tenor Recorder in C (ca 2014), acrylic on canvas, Preman Sotomayor (contemporary). Ref. Website: Behyance (2014-col.) A young girl viewed in side profile holds a neo-baroque tenor recorder only the head of which is visible. The beak is of a white material, the body brown.
• The Composer William Byrd Playing a Tenor Recorder (ca 2014), drawing, graphite on paper, Preman Sotomayor (contemporary). Ref. Website: Behyance (2014-b&w.) A sketch of a bearded man in a jerkin playing a tenor renaissance-style recorder, only the head and upper body of which is seen. Curiously, the window is upside down and the player’s fingers are completely off the instrument. There is a † below the window, a mark used by the 20th-century Australian recorder maker Fred Morgan (1940-1999).

Raphael Soyer

Russian born, USAmerican painter, draftsman and printmaker; he is referred to as an American scene painter and is identified as a Social Realist because of his interest in men and women viewed in contemporary settings which included the streets, subways, salons and artists’ studios; born Borisoglebsk, Tambov, a southern province of Russia (1899), died New York (1987); his brothers Moses Soyer and Isaac Soyer were also painters.

• Woman with a Recorder, oil on canvas, 50.8 × 40.64 cm, Raphael Soyer (1899-1997). New York: Doyles, American Paintings, 28 November 2007, Lot 2511. A woman seen in side profile plays a neo-baroque soprano recorder.
• Boy with a Recorder (1967), lithograph, 24.1 × 15.2 cm, Raphael Soyer (1899-1997). Ohio: Rachel Davis Fine Arts, 2006, Lot 1659. Ref. Cole (1967: pencil-signed lithograph frontispiece). A young boy plays a neo-baroque soprano recorder.

Lionello Spada

Italian draughtsman and painter specializing in ornamental friezes and quadratura, but also executing altarpieces; born Bologna (1576), died Parma (1622).

• Concert (ca 1615-1620), oil on canvas, 138.5 × 176.5 cm, Lionello Spada (1576-1622). Rome: Galleria Borghese, Inv. 41. Ref. Abbioti, in Fabbri (1952, 2: 20); Musique-Images-Instruments (1966, 2: 13); Negro & Pirondini (1994, 1: 284 – col.); Camiz (1997: 13 – b&w); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000, 2002); Paris RIdIM (2000); Exhibition Catalogue, Rome: Colori della musica … (2000-2001: 169, no. 27 – col.); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.Sp1.90[a] (2002); Rasmussen (2002, Lute); website: Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica di Bologna (2007 – col.); Website: myartprints.co.uk (2015-col.) A master-piece of observation. Musicians prepare the instruments for performance including a trombone (the player seems to be oiling his slide), violin (the player is checking his tuning, strumming the strings with his thumb), lute (the player is tuning whilst looking at his part) and a duct flute (probably a recorder), only the head of which is visible. The recorder player is pointing out something to a boy singer who holds a score. A man is handing out music from a pile of parts.
• Ecstasy of St Francis, oil on canvas, 353 × 213 cm, Lionello Spada (1576-1622). Modena: Galleria Estense. Ref. Cosetta (1985, 1: pl. 60); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A hovering angel directs St Francis attention to Christ and Mary in the heavens above surrounded by a horde of fat babies with wings. In the lower part of the picture, angels play lute and viola (from music held by another angel); three angels sing from a book, and another holds an alto sized recorder, gripped in his left hand.
• Angel Musicians (1615-), ceiling fresco, Lionello Spada (1576-1622). Detail. Reggio Emilia: Basilica della Madonna della Ghiara, central cupola. Ref. Will Kimball (pers. comm., 2010); Website: Trombone and the Art of Illusion (2010-col.) A quadratura masterpiece, which depicts numerous angel-musicians, including angels playing trombone, harp, recorder, triangle, tambourine, cornetto, lute, and violin. Like the ducal palace ceiling, Spada’s fresco is meant to provide the illusion of architecture opening to a view of angels in the sky above. The cupola also shows false architectural elements, such as ribs of the dome and the decorative bronze cartouches around each angel-musician, interacting with real architectural elements and false sculptural elements. The recorder is perfectly depicted, the beak, window/labium, bell and disposition of the fingers all very clear.

Marius Spanke (1971-), German

• Einheitsbanane (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). Gemshorns in banana form.
• Blau (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). A recorder all twisted up.
• Struktuale Ausarbeitung (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). An abstract design reminiscent of a recorder foot-piece.
• Fluta Cola (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). Another gemshorn in the shape of a Coca Cola bottle with only four finger holes.
• Dolce (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). The head of a recorder.
• Version Wachs und Kreide (1998), Marius Spanke (1971-). A large recorder-like object on the dark side of the moon!
• Grafik I, Marius Spanke (1971-). Lots and lots of recorders.
• Grafik II, Marius Spanke (1971-). More recorders in lots of colours.
• Flötenmanual, Marius Spanke (1971-). A recorder organ.

Stefano Spargione

Italian painter and draughtsman; a follower of Giovanni Odazzi (1663–1731);  active in Rome (1722–m.1724); he contributed designs for two engravings to Filippo Bonanni’s Gabinetto Armonico (1722 et suiv.)

• From Filippo Bonanni’s Gabinetto Armonico (1722 et suiv.), frontispiece: King David, engraving by Arnold van Westerhout (1651–1725) after Stefano Spargione (fl. 1722–m.1724). Venice: Levi Foundation, Library; Düsseldorf: Heinrich Heine Universitats- und Landesbibliothek (2022, b&w.)  Ref. Bonanni (1716/1964); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1706 (2023, b&w.) Elaborately dressed and crowned, King David (to whom the Gabinetto Armonico is dedicated) sits on his throne playing a harp. Angels and putti floating on a cloud above sing and play violin, lute, organ and a small cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) of which the window/labium can be seen. At the foot of the plinth on which the harpist sits lie a wreath and a branched sceptre. The artist’s name is clearly given at the bottom of the plate as “Stefano Spargione del.”
• From Filippo Bonanni’s Gabinetto Armonico  (1722 et suiv.): EX PSAL. CL., engraving by Arnold van Westerhout (1651–1725) after Stefano Spargione (fl.1722–m.1724). Ref. Bonanni (1716/1964: frontispiece): Website: Lute Iconography LI-1707 (2023, b&w.) Depicts a screen above which the words of Psalm CL are written: Laudate eum in sono Tubae … On and below the supporting plinth many instruments lie scattered including lutes (one long-necked with an unusual lateral rider for five additional bass strings), cello, gittern (or mandora), jew’s harp, conch, bagpipes, syrinx, lyre, lira de braccio, guitar, oboe, triangle (with jingle rings), castanets, cymbals, shawm, xylophone, and two narrow pipes which may be duct flutes (flageolet or recorder). One of the latter is almost cylindrical; the other has a distinctly flared bell. In a panel on the left of the plinth, the artist’s name is clearly given as “Stefano Spargione dilin.”

Giovanni Speranza [called Vaienti]

Italian painter active in Vicenza; his work reveals a knowledge of G. Bellini and the influence of F. Verla and M. Fogolino, with whom he worked in St Domenico in Vicenza; born c.1470, died c.1532.

• The Virgin Enthroned with the Child and Saints, Giovanni Speranza (c.1470 – c.1532). Detail. Venice: Chiesa di San Giorgio a Velo d’Astico. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.Sp37.34[c]; Rasmussen (1999, Lute). On each side of the Virgin stands a priest and a Saint. On the left, St Sebastian (pierced with arrows); and on the right, St Barbara (in armour). At the Virgin’s feet two winged putti play lute and a recorder with a long flared bell.
• Assumption with Saints John the Evangelist and James (ca 1500), tempera on canvas, Giovanni Speranza (c.1470 – c.1532). Vicenza: Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati Ref. Brugnolo Meloncelli & Cevese (1993: 36); Website: Allinari (2015-b&w.) The Virgin, arms outstretched, is surrounded by seraphim and musical angels who play lute, straight trumpet, tambourine (with jingle rings), and two slender, flared bell pipes (possibly recorders).

Carl Spitzweg

German painter who is recognized as the most representative of the Biedermeier artists in Germany; born Munich (1808), died Munich (1885).

• Flötenkonzert im Waldesinnern (ca 1835), oil on canvas, 43 × 46 cm, Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885). Last known at Bonn: Bundespräsidialamt, but now probably in Berlin. Ref. Photo, Walter Bergmann Collection, 106 (1995); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 139, pl. 33 – b&w). A couple sit amidst the forest. He plays an ambiguous duct flute which may be flageolet or csakan. She holds his hat.
• Flötkonzert (ca 1860), oil on canvas, Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885). Cologne: Fritz Andreae Sen. Ref. Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2005 – col.); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2015-col.) A couple sit amidst the forest. He plays an ambiguous duct flute which may be flageolet or csakan. She holds his hat. Although very similar to the above this painting differs from it in many respects. The woman’s dress is different, her face is different. The csakan player is older and wears spectacles, his coat is different, he is balder now and has lost his “mutton chops”. Their belongings are different, too. Perhaps his earlier companion is his wife and this one is his daughter.

Gabriel Spitzel [Spizel]

German painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher, printer; known largely for his portraits; born Augsberg (1697), died Augsberg (1760).

• Musical Company, copperplate engraving, 43.5 × 54.0 cm, Gabriel Spitzel (1697–1760). Ref. Salmen (1969:  118-119); Website: RIdIM, Record ID 4640 (2021). A group of musicians are performing at a social gathering. One woman is holding music and conducting, while another musician also appears to be conducting along with her. A recorder player and violinist are playing behind them. All musicians appear to be reading off of the music in the woman’s hand. Another book of music is laying on the floor. One man us dancing while holding a glass filled with liquid, while others watch. Not seen.

Bartholomaeus Spranger [or Spraneers] (1546-1611), Netherlandish

See engraving by Jacques Matham.

Pieter Spyckermann

Netherlandish painter working in Haarlem; active 1650, died 1666.

• Shepherd Couple with Sheep in a Landscape (op. 1650-1666), oil on wood, 25.9 × 35.3 cm, Pieter Spyckermann (op. 1650-1666). Kassel: Gemäldergalerie Alte Meister, GK 1182. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: Kksg-564-b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A shepherd and his shepherdess and their animals. Clearly based on Titian’s Three Ages of Man (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Francesco Squarcione

Italian tailor-turned draughtsman, printmaker and painter who trained able students, amongst them Mantegna (1430/1-1506), in a school which was possibly the earliest private establishment devoted to teaching painting and distinct from the workshop system of instruction through apprenticeships; his own style demonstrates a romantic, excitable attitude to the antique and an expressive use of line; born Padua (1395), died Padua (1468).

• Study with Centaurs and Satyrs (ca 1450), brown pen, heightened with white, on a blue background, 27.4 × 18.6 cm, Francesco Squarcione (1395-1468). Munich: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Inv. 1973:10 Z. Ref. Sotheby’s Sale Catalogue (1971); Paris RIdIM. Twelve noble centaurs fight amongst themselves with weapons whilst beneath them six satyrs are making love and not war. Two of the satyrs appear to be dancing, one plays a small duct flute (possibly a recorder), another holds what seems to be a much bigger pipe, one has a prominent erection, and one seems to have his head in another’s lap. This is one of the so-called Skype drawings, a set of 12, sometimes designated “school of”, “workshop of”, or studio of” Squarcione.

Casper Stadler (18th century), German

• Instrument-maker’s sign (ca 1714), intarsia, Casper Stadler (18th century). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Inv. N1208. Ref. Munich RIdiM (1999: Ngm 304). A Munich instrument-maker’s sign with various instruments, including what is either a bass recorder or a bassoon. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Jan Woutersz. Stap (1599-?1633), Dutch

Dutch painter known for his genre works n Amsterdam; many of his attributed pieces appear to be portraits of people at work in some sort of allegorical context; others are religious in nature; born Amsterdam (1599), died Amsterdam (1663).

• The Office of the Notary (ca 1629), oil on panel, 75.5 × 106.5 cm, Jan Woutersz. Stap (1599-1663). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, SK-A-1341. Ref. Bernt (1948-1980, 4: pl. 329; 1969, 2: 1423); Griffioen (1988: 440-41); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pes. comm., 2000). In the office of the notary, a clerk or bookkeeper is negotiating with a man with a bag of money and  a woman with a little boy in her lap. They are seated around a table on which there are a cash book and some coins. In the background is a bookcase and sealed documents on the wall. The child holds a very small, cylindrical duct flute (possibly a garklein flütlein) in the right hand, the two uppermost fingers covering their holes beneath which are four open holes (cf. Jordaens).
• Flageolet Player, panel, 76.20 × 60.96 cm, Jan Woutersz. Stap (1599-1663). Paris: Étude Tajan, Old Master Paintings, Sale 4515, 14 December 2004, Lot 9 (sold). Ref. Blouin Art Sales Index (2012-col.) A mustachioed man seen in side profile reading from an open music book, plays a one-piece, flared-bell alto recorder. The beak, window/labium, and off-set hole for the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand are clearly depicted.

Jan (Havicksz.) Steen

Dutch painter, especially noted for genre and interior scenes and religious subjects; his works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour and they often bear references to old Dutch proverbs or literature; active Leiden, the Hague, Haarlem; born Leiden (1626), died Leiden (1670).

• The Rommelpot, 32 × 26 cm, wood, Jan Steen (1626-1670). Manchester: City Art Gallery. Ref. Burlington Magazine 107: 217 (1965); Rasmussen & Huene (1982: 34, fig. 8 – b&w); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Paris RIdIM (1999). A woman plays a flared-bell soprano recorder one-handed whilst her companion thrums a friction drum (rommelpot). The beak, window/labium and offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand are clearly visible.
• Merry Company with a Rowboat (1662/1664), 68 × 99 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. Ref. Braun (1980: #166); Griffioen (1988: 440-441). A group of men, women and children (including a nursing infant), push off from a quay in a punt (not a rowboat). Sitting astride the prow, a young boy plays a soprano recorder right hand uppermost.
• The Recorder Lesson (1662/1664), 32.0 × 26.5 cm, wood, Jan Steen (1626-1679). San Francisco: Palace of the Legion of Honour. Ref. Sale Catalogue, M.A. de Ridder, 1 June (1924: # 69); Legion of Honour, Catalog (1944: 32); Braun (1980: pl. 170); Weltkunst 63 (19): 2584 (1993 – b&w); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Paris RIdIM (1999); Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A grimacing man with hunched shoulders conducts a rather dull-looking young woman seated before him playing a soprano flared-bell recorder. It is possible that the painting listed by Gabrius (loc. cit.) is another version or copy of this work.
• Children Teaching a Cat to Dance, known as The Dancing Lesson (ca 1665-1668), oil on panel, 68.5 × 59.0 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, SK-A-718. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). There is NOT a recorder in this painting, after all. A boy dangles a cat on its hind legs in an attempt to make it dance on a table; a younger fellow beside him laughs; a dog barks; and a young woman plays a small shawm with the reed and fontanelle clearly visible. A lute hangs on the wall behind. Although the scene seems innocent enough, a contemporary of Jan Steen would have sensed the erotic undercurrent in the painting immediately. In that time, the cat and the dog represented lust and lechery. The children are giving the cat a tobacco pipe, lifting its tail and dancing. This was a period in which dancing was considered improper, an invitation to sin. Here the cat is dancing ‘to the pipes’ of the children. Other details refer equally to love and sex: the bed in the background and musical instruments such as the shawm and the lute (on the wall). The spaniel appears in other paintings by Steen, as does the lute on the wall, the pewter jug and the saucepan on the ground.
• The Dancing Cat, oil on panel, 41.5 × 36.5 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Amsterdam: Glerum, 9 November 1998, Lot 55. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 56351 (2010-col.) Watched by an old man smoking a pipe, three children torment a cat. A girl holds it up by its front paws as it kicks its rear legs in the air, as if dancing; a boy is about to dip its tail in a tankard of beer; another boy squawks away on a pipe, possibly a recorder. The old man appears to be blowing pipe smoke in the poor animals face!
• Beware of Luxury (1663), oil on canvas, 104 × 145 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Vienna: Kunsthistorischesmuseum, Gemäldegalerie, Inv.-Nr GG-791. Ref. Bernt (1970, 2: 1116); Lloyd et al. (1979: 184, pl. 4 – col.) Steen depicts various instances of intemperance in a dissolute household, alluding to common Dutch proverbs and aphorisms. While the housewife has fallen asleep at the table, all around her are examples of carelessness and intemperance. A little boy behind a table plays what may be a small duct flute, a man plays a violin, a cittern hangs on the wall, and a small cylindrical pipe (possibly a flageolet or recorder) with a beaked mouthpiece lies propped up against a balustrade near a pig. The key to the meaning is found in the inscription on a slate in the bottom right-hand corner. There is found the first part of a Dutch proverb: ‘In weelde siet toe’. This means: ‘At a time of good living, beware’; the ending is to be understood as, ‘and fear the rod’. The punishment is also found in the painting in the form of sword and crutches hanging in a basket from the ceiling.
• As the old sing, so the young play … (1663-1665), oil on canvas, 84.0 × 92.5 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). The Hague: Mauritshuis, Galerij Prins Willem V, Inv. #169. Ref. Braun (1980: 48, fig. 200); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration (2014-b&w); Maritshuis, Postcard (2001 – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). In a crowded room all is pandemonium. A grandmother plays with her grand-daughter on her knee; grandad stands with his back to the fire reading from a book; a young couple converse in the background, a couple smoke at a table; a man plays the bagpipes; a woman at the table looks admiringly at a young boy playing a soprano flared-bell recorder with the (plugged) offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly visible; an infant plays with a hurdy-gurdy on the floor; a dog looks at the pots and pans on the floor. A birdcage hangs above.
• Merry Company, wood, 46.5 × 62.0 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). The Hague: Mauritshuis. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A young woman feeds an infant at a table. Around her all is chaos as an old woman sings, a young man plays the hurdy-gurdy, a lad plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder) teased by another young chap, a dog sniffs about, two children (one of whom looks to be a dullard) play amongst the pots and pans on the floor, men smoke, and an old man in what looks like a high chair appears to conduct proceedings. Rays of light cut strange paths through the smoke-filled air above – perhaps this is the artist’s way of illustrating the pandemonium emanating from the over-crowded room.
• Family Concert (1666), oil on canvas, 86.6 × 101.0 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Chicago: Art Institute, 1891.65. Ref. Kirschenbaum (1977: fig. 55); Ford (1986: #80); Törnblom (1983: 33 – col., cropped); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Nordström (1989: 119 – col., cropped); Martin Trokenheim (pers. comm., 2002); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Wikimedia Commons (2018-col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-414 (2023, col.) “A man playing a lute, a woman singing from a music book, and a man playing a recorder. A child holds a cello (as if it were a string bass), holding a clay pipe as a bow. A third man holds a violin and a bow. Other musical instruments in the room include a cornetto, a violin and bow hung by a cord over the back of a chair, and a small organ in a case resting on the floor” (Ford 1987, loc. cit.) “Depicts a soprano recorder” (Griffioen, loc. cit.) A family make music around a table. A woman sings accompanied by a man playing a lute, a youth playing a hand-fluyt, and a young boy playing a cello using a clay pipe as a bow. In the background, a young woman and two men chat. A painting, a cornetto and a violin hang on the wall behind them. In the foreground, a dog snarls at a cat eating from a plate of scraps. Through an open window behind the lutenist, a windmill is visible.
• As the old sing so the young play (1670/1672), 110 × 131 cm, Jan Havickszoon Steen (1626-1679). Rio de Janeiro: Museu Histórico Nacional. Ref. Braun (1980: fig. 55); Griffioen (1988: 440-441). Depicts a soprano recorder.
• As the old sing so the young play … (ca 1670-75), 95.5 × 106.5 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Philadelphia: Museum of Art. Ref. Sutton (1983: pl. 334); Griffioen (1988: 440-1); Wikimedia Commons (2014-col.) In a crowded room a family make merry around a table laden with food. On the left, an old man plays a cittern; beside him and to the rear, a young lad plays a flared-bell recorder (right hand uppermost), the offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly depicted; on the left, an old man beats time with a soprano-sized hand-fluyt as his wife sings from a sheet of paper.
• The Baptismal Feast / As the old sing so the young play … (1633), Jan Steen (1626-1679). Berlin: Gemädegalerie. Ref. Brown (1984: 31); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Paris RIdIM (1999 – detail); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2009). A grandmother drinks a glass of wine attended by her daughter and grandchildren. One of her grandchildren plays a soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell. All four fingers of the lower (left) hand appear to be in recorder playing position and the edge of finger hole six is just visible. Grandfather stands, listening intently to his grand-daughters playing. In the background a young man smokes a clay pipe. At the back of the room, other members of the family and friends dine. To the right two children play. And in the foreground is a small dog curled up, asleep. In the rear left corner is a parrot on a stand.
• The Garden Party of the Paeds Family (1667), oil on canvas, 67 × 88 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Belgium: Private collection. Ref. Chapman et al. (1996: 257-258, pl. – col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2012-col.) An Arcadian scene in which a young man enticed by a woman to the serenading of an impossible lute/viol player and a seated man playing a narrow cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder but more likely a flute).
• The Painter’s Family, 84 × 98.6 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). The Hague. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). In the foreground a woman plays with an infant standing on her lap, a dog at her feet. Behind her, around a rectangular table, the rest of the family occupy themselves variously by smoking, writing, reading, singing and playing musical instruments. One young man plays an enormous bagpipe; a young boy plays a flared-bell soprano recorder. Above them hangs a bird cage. In the background a couple are in deep conversation.
• A Painter and his Family (ca 1670), oil on panel, 41.6 × 31.1 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, Accn. 78. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). At a cloth-covered table a man helps his son with his homework whilst his mother takes notes. On the table is a small recorder (hand-fluyt).
• Tavern Scene, Jan Steen (1626-1679). The Hague: Collection P. Eschandier. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Two vulgar-looking men sit at a rustic table drinking and leering at a young woman who sits before them playing a narrowly cylindrical pipe – probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder (left hand lowermost). In the background another man seems to be writing out the bill!
• A Music Master Instructing a Youth to Play the Flageolet, oil on panel, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Location unknown: Sold by Christies, 23 April 1993. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002-col.) A villainous looking man with a protruding bottom jaw, in a shabby black cloak and flowerpot hat who leans across a bench on which a music book lies open, to instruct a young lad who plays what appears to be a narrowly conical recorder of alto size. The window/labium is just visible, and the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is outstretched in reach of its hole. The opening at the foot is wide and the walls rather thin.
• The Feast of St Nicholas (1663-1665), oil on canvas, 82.0 × 79.5 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum SK-A-385. Ref. Postcard Hoonte-Holland Grafische Industrie, Utrecht (ex Walter Bergmann). A crowded family scene on St Nicholas day. In the foreground a grandmother asks her grand-daughter to show her her new doll. Behind them there are tears from an older boy as a young woman gives a younger boy what looks like a boot. On a low table in the bottom right of the painting various objects are piled, including a cylindrical pipe viewed almost end-on, the bell of which seems quite wide, which is likely to be a recorder.
• The Old Pancake Seller (ca 1668), oil on canvas, 40.6 × 31.4 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, Accn. 76. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (2003, pers. comm.) A not particularly old, tall man, at centre left tries to sell his pancakes to a canoodling couple at centre right, and the main figures in the painting. They are too engrossed in each other to take any notice of him. Behind them is a rather shadowy lutenist, perhaps symbolic of fecundity. The canoodling man has a recorder, a hand-fluyt, in a very suggestive position.
• Two Choices, oil on panel, 63.5 × 51.5 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie. Ref. Grijp (2000: 103, fig. 1). This painting, which depicts two different choices placed before a young couple as a much older man offers the girl money, illustrates a dialogue song by the famous poet Gerbrandt Andriaesz. Bredero (1595-1619). The old man would like to marry the young girl. He offers his money to her, but it is rejected since she prefers someone her own age. This is signaled to the viewer by the fact that girl looks at her lover who places his recorder against her left knee – for Jan Steen and his contemporaries an easily recognized phallic symbol. In the first strophe the old person, Lammert (L) addresses, the girl, Jannetje (J):
  
  

  L: O Jannetje, mijn soete beck!
  Ey lieve, blijt wat slaen.

  J: Wat schortje, seght jy ouwe geck?
  Ick raetje, laetme gaen.

  L: Al’t gelt dat ghy hier leggen siet,
  Dat is voor ual ree.

  J: Wegh keael-op, ick en soeck u niet.
  Dat iy soeckt, soeck ick mee.

  
  
• Amorous Couple on a Farm (1663–1668), oil on canvas, 65 × 81 cm, Jan Steen (1626-1679). London: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, 10 July 2003, Lot 25. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 56582 (2014-col.) A couple lean against a fence. She feeds some pigeons, one of which has perched on her elbow. He has a gourd flask at his belt and a small cylindrical pipe (probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder) in his left hand. In the background, an old farmer is putting a hen into a basket. A cow gazes over her shoulder at the scene.

Harmen [Herman] (Everitsz.) van Steenwyck [Steenwijck]

Dutch artist, leading exponent of the vanitas still-lfe, a speciality of Leiden; born 1612, died 1656; elder brother of Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – p. 1654).

• Vanitas (ca 1640), 37.7 × 38.1 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). Leiden: Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal. Ref. Bol (1969: 100, fig. 85); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Rowland-Jones (1995b: 45, footnote 8); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Deborah Pring (2005, pers. comm.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Wikipedia (2006-col.) On a table are a conch shell, a leather flask, a sword, a shell, a book and papers, two smoking pipes, a candlestick, a skull, and a flared-bell soprano recorder with double holes for the little finger of lowest hand. Pring (loc. cit.) reports that no maker’s mark is visible on this instrument, unlike the recorder depicted in the Steenwyck Vanitas in London (see below).
• Vanitas, oil on panel 58.9 × 74 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). The Hague: Instituut Collectie Nederland, Inv. NK 2617; currently on loan to Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft, B 1-143. Ref. Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2006); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 1001083653 (2014-col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a table partly covered with a black drape are a basket of fruit, a skull, books, a quill pen and a soprano/alto recorder with seven finger holes, the lowermost offset for a left-handed player, and a slightly flared bell strengthened with a twist of wire..
• Vanitas, oil on panel, 27.6 × 31.8 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). Location unknown: formerly Private Collection (Austria); offered for sale by Norbert Pokutta, Munich (1988). Ref. Bernt (1970, 3: 1196-1197 – pl.); Bauer (1982: 109, fig.); Weltkunst 58 (1988, 5: 734 – col.); Paris RIdIM (1999); Munich RIdIM (1999); Constance Scholten (2005 – pers. comm.) On a table partially covered with a cloth lie some peaches, a necklace, an open book, an hourglass, a skull with a feathered cap, music, a flared bell soprano recorder, and a half-finished glass of wine. Death arrives even before you finish your drink!
• Vanitas, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-ca 1656). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bgd 123); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). On a table lie a candlestick, a tattered book, an open book of music, a roll of paper, a casket, a violin, a small bagpipe, a shawm (only the bell and fontanelle of which are visible), and a slightly conical recorder of which the window-labium and seven finger holes are visible, including an offset one near the bell.
• An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life (mid-17th century),  oil on oak, 39.2 × 50.7 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-ca 1656). London: National Gallery, NG1256. Ref. Moeck (1994, detail – b&w); Rowland-Jones (1995b: 45, footnote 8); National Gallery Publications, London: postcard 811586 (col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2005); Website: Lute Iconography,  LI-1537 (2023, col.) On a bench lie a conch shell, a sword, a watch, an oil pot, a pitcher, books, a shawm (only the bell is visible), and the upper part of a skull underneath which is a renaissance-style recorder only the head and upper five finger holes of which are visible. Details of the windway, beak, window/labium and a maker’s mark are clearly depicted, namely the double ÂÂ associated with the Schnitzer family active in Munich and Nuremberg, which also appears in the fingering charts of Sylvestro Ganassi (Moeck 1994).
• Vanitas, oil on panel, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.) On a draped stone ledge are a skull wearing a feathered cap, an hour-glass on a box, a glass of wine, pearls, two books (one open), two peaches, and a flared-bell recorder with a metal-sheathed beak.
• Vanitas Still-life, oil on panel, 40.5 × 50.0 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). Groningen: Groninger Museum, Inv. 1919.0251. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 51486 (2010-b&w.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1719 (2023, col.) On a bench lie an hourglass, a mace, a conch shell, a peach, a candlestick, books, a lute and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt.
• Vanitas Still-life, oil on panel, 30.5 × 40.0 cm, Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-1656). London: Rafael Valls (2014). On a bench lie scattered a sword, a gorget, a candle and candle-stick, an hour-glass, the cranium of a human skull, a book, a diagram, a clay smoking pipe, a small shawm and an ?alto recorder, only the head and upper body of which are visible, including details of the beak, window/labium and first three finger holes. Said to have belonged to Napoleon I of France.

Hendrick van Steenwyck [Steenwijk], the Younger

Dutch painter active in Antwerp (where he collaborated with Frans Francken I, Jan Breugal I and others), London (where he painted architectural backgrounds for Anthony van Dyck, Daniel Mitjens I and others), and Leiden; known for his church interiors and architectural fantasies; born ? Antwerp (ca 1580), died Leiden (1649); son of Hendrick van Steenwyck, the Elder (ca 1550-1603); husband of painter Susanna van Steenwyck (?1580s – ?1653).

• Lute Player, oil on canvas, 65 × 64 cm, Hendrick van Steenwyck (ca 1580-1649). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum NM 1520. Ref. Sidén (2001: 145-147 & pl. 6 – col.); Website: Essential Vermeer (2015-b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1424 (2023, col.) A standing woman plays a small lute which she rests on a table. Behind her is a pair of virginals; on the table lie a lute, violin, cittern, two slender flutes, and a narrowly conical mute cornett, not a recorder. A cello stands in the foreground.

Pieter (Everitsz.) van Steenwyck [Steenwijck]

Dutch painter; exponent of the vanitas still-lfe, a speciality of Leiden; born Delft (ca 1615, died after 1654); younger brother of Harmen van Steenwyck (1612 – ca 1656).

• Vanitas, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). Leiden: Museum de Lakenhal. Ref. Griffioen (1988: 440-441). Shows a soprano recorder.
• Allegory on the Death of Admiral Tromp (1653), 79.0 × 101.5 cm, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). Leiden: Museum de Lakenhal, cat. 409. Ref. Bernt (1970: pl. 1124; 1979, 4: pl. 259); Bergstrøm (1956: 172); Johngh (1982: 222); Rasmussen & Huene (1982: 33, fig. 9, b&w); Kersten et al. (1996: 33, fig. 24 – b&w); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A number of objects are arranged on a table, including a portrait of Admiral Trump (the hero who died in the naval battle at Scheveningen in 1653), a candle, a book, the title page of Anthonius Thysius’ Oratio Funebris (published 1653), a nautilus shell (alluding to the admiral as a seaman), a sword in its sheath, a plumed hat on a skull (a warning against earthly pride and vanity), a laurel crown around a sphere (indicating that the renown of this man and his deeds reach far beyond his actual death), and a soprano recorder with a metal sheath reinforcing the mouthpiece only the upper part of which is visible, including the maker’s stamp. Griffioen (1995: 120) notes the existence of a total of nine paintings by six artists showing these feature. Compare the still-lifes by Collier and Jan Vermeulen, and the family portrait by Vliet. The only surviving examples of recorders with metal-sheathed beaks are three 17th century tenors in the Accademia Filarmonica, Bologna (Puglesi 1981: 32-43).
• Vanitas, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – p. 1654). Caen: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Various objects lie scattered on a table including a book, some papers, a candle, a smoking pipe, a skull and a soprano cylindrical recorder with a slightly flared bell, holes for seven fingers clearly visible, the lowermost paired.
• Vanitas, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). Belfort: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Website: Bernard Huyvaert, Dutch 17th Century . A still-life with a skull, books, papers, clay pipe, knife, candle-stick and holder, a glass, and a flared-bell one-piece recorder on a table.
• Ars long, vita brevis, oil on canvas, 74.5 × 96.5 cm, Pieter van Steenwyck (c.1615 – p.1654). Amsterdam: Kunsthandel K. and V. Waterman; formerly Paris: 29 March 1994. Ref. Martin (1935: 416, as Harmen Steenwyck); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2005, col.); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0034934 (2009 – b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1871 (2023, col.) On a table lie an astrological globe, some books, papers, a scarf, a lute, a violin, a skull, a leather-covered flask, a candlestick, and a long cylindrical recorder with all finger holes clearly depicted, including the offset hole for the lowermost finger. The book in the foreground is Jan Vos’ Aran en Titus, of Wraak en Weerwraak (1638, and more than 20 editions to 1726).
• Allegory of Death, 34 × 46 cm, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – p. 1654). Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado, 2317. Ref. Bergstrom (1956: 173, fig. 147); Sopeña Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 189-190, pl.-col.); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Rowland-Jones (1995b: 45, footnote 8); Paris RIdIM (2000); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XIR38697 – col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Wikigallery (2015-col.) On a narrow table are scattered a wallet, papers, books, a lute, a small chest, a pitcher, a tankard, a clay (smoking) pipe, a small metal plate, and the cranium of a human a skull underneath the jaw of which is a flared-bell recorder, the beak, window/labium and offset hole for the lower-most finger of which are all clearly visible.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). London: Johnny Van Haeften Gallery; formerly Galleria Caretto, Turin. Ref. Website: 1st-Art-Gallery, Item 19663926 (2009 – col.); Bridgeman Art Library BAL15561 (2009); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0034800 (2009 – b&w). On a partly draped shelf are the upper part of a skull crowned with a laurel wreath, a book, a flagon with some paper stuffed in the neck, a candle-holder and candle, an empty vase, a beaker, a pistol, and a recorder lying beside a creased document. Only the beak and upper body of the recorder are visible.
• Vanitas (1654-1691), oil on canvas, 70.5 × 65.0 cm, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). St Petersburg: Hermitage, Inv. ГЭ-10413. On a draped table are book, a candlestick and candle, an urn with leaves, papers, a watch, coins, medals, beads, a document with a seal, the cranium of a human skull, an open music book and an alto-sized recorder the beak of which seems to have a metal sleeve.
• Still-life, painting, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a draped table are a globe, a water-jug, a bottle with a very narrow neck, something that looks like a piece of armour, an inkwell and quill, a candlestick and candle, an hourglass, books, a bowl with a note in it, a necklace, a jar, the top part of a skull (seen from underneath), some papers, a kit and a very slender cylindrical recorder the foot of which is hidden but the beak, window/labium and several finger holes clearly depicted.
• Still-life, painting, Pieter van Steenwyck (ca 1615 – after 1654). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a plain-draped table are a wooden box, a candlestick, some tatty books, an open music book, a roll of paper, a bagpipe and chanter, and a small hand-fluyt, the window/labium, finger holes and flared foot visible but the beak partly occluded.

Stefano Veneziano [Stefano Paviano di Sant’ Agnese, or Stefano ‘Plebanus’ di Sant’ Agnese]

Italian painter who signed his works STEFAN PLEBANUS SANCTAE AGNETIS, and is hence supposed to have been parish priest (piovano) of Sant’ Agnese at Venice; active 1369-1385.

• Coronation of the Virgin (1381), Stefano Veneziano (op. 1369-1385). Venice: Galleria della Accademia, Cat. 21. Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999; 2006c: 15-16 & fig. 15 – col.); Wikimedia Commons (2009-col.); Lasocki (2023: 38). Angel instrumentalists surround Christ crowning the Virgin and ten others, including singers, waisted fiddle, lute, gittern, porcine psaltery, portative organs and three narrowly conical pipes of alto/tenor size with short wide bell flares, all with narrow mouthpieces but no sign of a pirouette or inflated cheeks. One of the pipes has nine finger holes, another 13; a third (at bottom of the picture) has six holes with all fingers down and a seventh for the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand. These instruments could be the artist’s attempt to represent recorders. No window/labium is shown on the two upper instruments, but they are held downwards and do not look like shawms.  The lowermost instrument has a hint of what may be a window/labium.

Stefano da Zevio [or da Verona] (ca 1379 – ca 1438), Italian (Lombard)

Italian painter active in Padua before moving to Verona; he was the son of the French painter Jean d’Arbois (op. 1365-1399), who had come to Italy at the court for Gian Galeazzo Visconti after working for Philip II of Burgundy; he likely apprenticed at Pavia in the workshops of illuminators of the Visconti, and was influenced by Michelino da Besozzo (ca 1370 – ca 1455) ; born 1375, died ca 1438. Vincenzo di Stefano da Verona da Stefano was likely a son or pupil, and his brothers Giovanni Antonio and Giovanni Maria were also painters.

• Adoration of the Magi, follower of Stefano da Zevio (ca 1379 – c. 1438). Milan: Castello Sforzesco. Three angels on the stable roof play gittern, rebec and a cylindrical pipe (flageolet or recorder) with a shortly flared bell with turned decoration. Only one hand is actually shown on the instrument.

Melchior Michael Steidl

Austrian painter, active in Germany; his altarpieces and fresoes can be found throughout southern Germany, the latter typically employ the illusionistic system of total ceiling decoration, combining figures and painted architecture; born Innsbruck (1687), died Munich (1727).

• Four Medallions, rubbings on paper, 19.3 × 23.5 cm, Melchior Michael Steidl (1687-1727). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen., Inv. G21 896. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 141). Four medallions depicting musical angels: two singing, each with a score; two playing baroque recorders of alto and soprano size.

Johann Christoph Steudner (1677-1713) – see Paul Decker (1677-1722)

Lisa Stewart

Contemporary Australian professional violinist and acclaimed children’s book illustrator; she lives and works in Canowindra in central western New South Wales; born in Sydney. Artist’s webpage.

• Dachshund Playing Recorder, pencil drawing on paper, Lisa Stewart (? date). Ref. Pinterest (2023-col.) A dachshund standing on its hind legs plays a clearly depicted neo-baroque recorder. It’s probably in the key of Bay flat.

Tobias Stimmer

Swiss draughtsman, painter and wood-engraver, active in Schaffhausen; his subjects included biblical and natural history themes, portraits, designs for banners and book illustrations; born Schaffhausen (1539), died Strassbourg (1584).

• Title page: Melchior Neusidler (1539-1584), Teutsch Lautenbuch, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1574), print, designed by Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584). Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Ref. Fraenkel (1968: pl. 49);  University of London: Royal Holloway Digital Repository (2015). Used again for Zwey Bücher Einer Neuen kunstilichen Tabulatur auff Orgel und Instrument, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1577) – see below. A highly decorative border with putti playing musical instruments including viol, harp, lute and guitar. On the left hand side a man plays a lyre; on the right another plays a large cylindrical tenor recorder with a slight bell-flare with a decorative bead above.
• Title page: Bernhard Schmid, Zwey Bücher Einer Neuen kunstilichen Tabulatur auff Orgel und Instrument, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1577), print, designed by Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584). Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Kinsky (1930: 83 – fig.); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Identical to Teutsch Lautenbuch, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1574). A highly decorative border with putti playing musical instruments including viol, harp, lute and guitar. On the left hand side a man plays a lyre; on the right another plays a large cylindrical tenor recorder with a slight bell-flare with a decorative bead above.
• Title page: Neu Lautenbuch auf Sechus und Siben Chorsenten Gestelle Deutch, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1582), print, designed by Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584). Identical to Teutsch Lautenbuch, published by Bernhard Jobin, Strassburg (1574). A highly decorative border with putti playing musical instruments including viol, harp, lute and guitar. On the left hand side a man plays a lyre; on the right another plays a large cylindrical tenor recorder with a slight bell-flare with a decorative bead above.
• Frontispiece: Jacob Paix, Laugingen Treatise on Organ Tabulature (1583), print, in the style of Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584). Ref. Kinsky et al. (1930: 83).
• Portrait of Melchior Sebisch (1554-1584), print, Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Inv. No. Mp 22092. Ref. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 07010660 – b&w). Headed IN EFFIGIEM CLARISSIMI VIRI D. MEL- /CHIORIS SEBIZII MEDICINAE DOCTORIS / APVD ARGENTINENSES. A portrait surrounded by an ornate decorative frame at the top centre-left of which a youth plays a slightly conical pipe, possibly a duct flute.

William Stocking (18th century), English (Bristol)

• Trophy, plaster panel decoration, William Stocking (18th century). Highnam: Highnam Court, Music Room, Panel 3. Ref. Lyndon-Jones (1999, 31-34, fig. – b&w). A trophy comprising foliage and fruit, an open music book, a violin and bow, a one-piece keyless flute, a one-piece alto recorder with a flared bell. Graham Lyndon-Jones (loc. cit.) considers it likely that these are actual instruments, plaster-covered rather than mere representations!

Johann Adam Stockmann

German draughtsman and engraver working in Augsburg, often for the publisher Johann Georg Hertel I; born 1720, died Augsburg (1783).

• Title-page of a Psalm Book, ink and watercolour on paper, 20 × 35 cm, Johann Adam Stockmann (1720-1783). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv. G13 588. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 143). Many instruments are depicted surrounding an architectural scene. David plays his harp in front of his splendid palace, surrounded by crowds of musicians; and instruments also fill the bottom of the page. There is a clear alto baroque recorder in the centre foreground. At the left of the title-page, as part of the decorative border, two soprano recorders, are tied together at their bell ends with a cord. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Draft illustrations for the Klauber Bible: The Feast of Esther, ink wash on paper, 20.4 × 30.4 cm, Johann Adam Stockmann (1720-1783). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Ill. 58 G 13592. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 251 – ill. 58). Shows angels singing and playing many instruments including flute, triangle, bassoon or bass recorder, lute, harp, and lute. There are also trophies depicting lute, shawms, viol or cello, trumpet, etc.
• Draft illustration for the Klauber Bible: The Feast of Tobias, ink wash on paper, 20.4 × 30.5 cm, Johann Adam Stockmann (1720-1783). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Ill. 55 G 13592. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 252 – ill. 55). Shows angels singing and playing many instruments including viol, cello, recorder, shawm, violin, and harpsichord.

Constance Stokes

Australian artist; a leading figure in the modernist art movement, her paintings include still-life, group-figure studies, and the open line drawings of nudes for which she is best known; born Miram, near Nhill (1906), died Melbourne (1991).

• Lucilla with Recorder, pen, ink, pastel and watercolour, 33 × 32 cm, Constance Stokes (1906-1991). Hobart: The Salamanca Collection. The artist’s daughter, as a little girl, plays a neo-baroque recorder.

Matthäus [Matthias, Matheo] Stom [Stomer, Stohom, Stomma, Schem, Tornar], the elder

Dutch genre painter considered one of the masters of Utrecht Caravaggism; active in Italy; born Amersfoort, near Utrecht (ca 1600), died ? Sicily or northern Italy (p. ? 1652).

• Musical Pair / The Lutenist and the Flautist, oil on canvas, 90 × 79 cm, Matthäus Stom (c.1600 – p.1650). Vienna: Palais Liechtenstein, Schönborn-Buchheim Collection, Inv. G 065. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Wikiart (2014-col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-495 (2023, col.) Two men amuse themselves by candlelight: one plays a small lute, the other a soprano/alto cylindrical recorder with a very slightly flared bell, right hand uppermost, his fingers and thumbs perfectly positioned for recorder playing. For a long time this night piece was attributed to Gerrit van Honthorst (1592–1656), as thematically it clearly shows his influence in its half-length portraits of musicians, and stylistically in its extreme light and dark contrasts characteristic of the Caravaggesque style associated with the city of Utrecht.
• A Lute Player and a Flute Player making Music by Candlelight, painting, after Matthäus Stom (c.1600–p.1652). Location unknown: auctioned 10 May 2006 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) Two men amuse themselves by candlelight: one plays a small lute, the other a soprano/alto cylindrical recorder with a very slightly flared bell, right hand uppermost, his fingers and thumbs perfectly positioned for recorder playing. A copy of the original in the Palais Liechtenstein, Vienna.

Daniel Stoppe

Possibly the Silesian occasional poet of this name, some of whose works provided texts set by Telemann; born Hirschberg (1697), died Hirschberg (1747).

• [Georg Philipp Telemann], print, Daniel Stoppe (1697-1747). Ref. Menke (1987); Archiv Moeck. A man in his nightgown and cap sits at his desk in a book-lined study smoking a clay pipe, drinking coffee and writing in a book. On the wall in front of him hang a violin and two crossed upside-down baroque recorders. While Telemann’s career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died only a few months after their marriage, and his second wife had extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving Telemann. Perhaps those crossed recorders allude to the composer’s misfortune.

Lorenz Stör [Stoer]

German draughtsman few of whose works are known to have survived; among them are a handful of drawings and a book of geometric designs for woodcuts illustrating ruined buildings rendered illusionistically in perspective; born ? Nuremberg (ca 1530), died Augsburg (after 1621).

• Musical Instruments and Scores (1557), ink and watercolour on paper, 9.1 × 6.1 cm, Lorenz Stör (c. 1530 – p. 1621). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Inv. Z 210. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, KNwr – 181); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1297 (2023, b&w.) Depicts music and musical instruments including a crumhorn a small recorder with seven finger holes, the lowest offset; the head of a larger recorder, a mute cornet, lute, a small harp and a case for five wind instruments, probably flutes.

Johann Christophorus Storer

German painter, draughtsman and etcher; mainly a church painter who studied and worked in Italy and Spain; his drawings are characterized by light strokes and the sudden introduction of diagonal hatching, isolated patches of shading; born Konstanz (?1620), died Konstanz (1671); son of artist Bartholomäus Storer (ca 1580/90 – 1634/5).

• The Release of the Human Spirit (1660), drypoint, 40 × 50 cm, Johann Christophorus Storer (?1620-1671). Stuttgart: Württenbergisches Landesmuseum. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2003: Slm-318). An allegorical scene with personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts, including Music (who holds a lute). In the foreground lie a strangely shaped string instrument (? viol), a shawm, and possibly a recorder with a flared bell. Reprinted again in 1726.

Sebastien [Sébastien] Stoskopff [Stoskopf]

French (Alsatian) painter who devoted himself to still-lifes; born Strasbourg (1597), died Idstein (1657).

• Still-life with Etching by Rembrandt / The Five Senses with a Clock (ca 1631-1635), oil on canvas, 49 × 66 cm, Sebastien Stoskopff (1597-1657). Strasbourg: Musée de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame MBA 1709. Ref. Exhibited Rembrandt’s Mother, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden (March 2006); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2006); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte, AKG209161 (2014-col.) This oil painting incorporates the famous Rembrandt etching Old Man with Fur Cap and Embroidered Cloak in this allegory of the Five Senses. On a table lies a music score, open to reveal on the left hand page notation of a bassus part with words on the facing page of an haute contre part. Behind the book lies a small flared-bell pipe (flageolet or recorder), the head of which is hidden by the music book, and with only four finger holes visible (all in line). In the centre is an ornate clock and, to the right, is an etching behind some playing cards and dice. Incense burns in the upper niche.The etching represents Sight, whilst the pipe and music score (as yet unidentified) stand for Sound. The pomegranate represents Taste and the incense Smell. The playing card and dice complete the senses, as Touch. The clock and old man in the etching symbolise the passing of time, transience. This suggests an added layer of meaning to the other motifs also.The pipe and music in general hold a wealth of significance as symbols of transience, whilst the pomegranate displaying its seeds is used as a symbol of resurrection after its Classical association with Proserpine. The dice and cards represent the folly of gambling. The censer’s rising smoke is symbolic of prayers rising to heaven (Psalm 141: 2) and, as such, demonstrates acceptance of our time on earth and the need to ask God’s help in this life and after death. Therefore the painting also can be read as a vanitas.

Thomas Stothard

English neo-classical painter, engraver, decorator and designer; his works were prolific and include historical subjects, tickets for concerts, illustrations to almanacs, portraits of popular actors, and plates for books (including Richardson’s Clarissa (1784), Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield (1792), Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (1798), as well as the works of Walter Scott and Byron); born London (1755), died London (1834).

• Love stole the pipe of sleeping Pan and play’d / Then with his voice decoys the listening Swain (1779), 13.4 × 8.9 cm, etching by James Heath (1757-1834) after a drawing by Thomas Stothard (1755-1834). Washington DC.: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, 0418/M. Ref. Jan Lancaster ex Robert Bigio (pers. comm, 2007). A young shepherd is seated in a woodland setting. He rests at the base of a tree on the left and holds what is probably a recorder. His shepherd’s crook lies across his legs. Opposite the shepherd on the right a cupid plays a pan-pipe. Beneath this illustration are two lines of verse from Cantata V, called Corydon, one of six cantatas written by the poet John Hughes (1677-1720) which were set to music by the composer Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667-1752) and published in 1710 as Six English Cantatas Humbly Inscribed to the most Noble Marchioness of Kent. However, as the inscription at the top of this etching indicates, it is the frontispiece to one of two volumes (71 and 72) devoted to Hughes in a multi-volume edition of British poetry entitled Bell ‘s Edition. The Poets of Great Britain complete from Chaucer to Churchill. Stothard’s name is incorrectly spelt on the etching as ‘Stodhard’.

Joannes [Johannes] Stradanus [Jan van (der) Straet, Jan van der Straeten, Giovanni (della) Stradano; Giovanni Stratensis]

Flemish draughtman, painter and printmaker who spent most of his life in Italy; his work includes tapestry cartoons, frescoes altarpieces and engravings; initially influenced by Antwerp Mannerism, his art evolved to combine a figure style shaped by Vasari and Jacopo Tintoretto with Northern European interest in naturalistic and topographical details; born Bruges (1523), died Florence (1605).

• Encomium Musices (1589-1598), Plate 2, engraving, 22.1 × 28.4 cm, Adriaen Collaert (1560-1618), after Joannes Stradanus (1523-1605). Antwerp: Museum Plantin-Moretus: Prentenkabinet, PK.OP.13040 | III/C.163; Brussels: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, Print Collection; Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale; Bern: Graphik und Handzeichnungen Alter Meister, Bern, Thursday, 14 June 2007, Lot 21. Ref. Camiz & McIver (2003, Biblical: 374, fig. 16.3 – b&w); Goodfriend & Goodfriend (1993: 9-pl. 38 & 16); Website: artvalue.com (2011); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1528 (2023, b&w). Published by Philippe Galle (1537-?) in Antwerp. A personification of Music, flanked by Harmonia and Mensura stand around an open score by the Flemish composer Pevernage to the text Nate et grate polo vocum discordia …
  
  

  Music is the creation and the will of the heavens, the concordance of diverse voices, it can move man, God and beast; But he who knows it not and is unbending, he is neither man nor beast, but a stone.

  
  

  They are surrounded by instruments of music. Beneath are the words of Psalm 150 to remind us of music’s primary function in the service of God. Amongst the instruments the head of a duct flute with a clearly window/labium can be seen next to the lutes in the bottom right-hand corner, and there are a number of pipes immediately beneath the score which could represent recorders. Encomium Musices is a famous set of 18 plates plus frontispiece, ostensibly illustrating scenes from the Old Testament which, in some way or other, relate to music, but actually containing some scenes clearly of New Testament origin. The musical connection is sometimes tenuous, but the artists have used every occasion to provide a display of musical instruments and singers.

  
  
• Encomium Musices (1589-1598), Plate 3: When the Morning Stars Sang Together (Job, 38), engraving, 22.1 × 28.4 cm, Adriaen Collaert (1560-1618), after Jan van der Straeten, called Stradanus (1523-1605). London: British Museum, Inv. 1996,1103.21. Ref. Goodfriend (1993: 9-pl. 38 & 16). A panoply of angels, many with instruments, including lute, harp, cornetti, lysarden, lute, harp, viol, bombards, sackbut, trumpet, crumhorn, bladder-pipe, tabor-pipe, syrinx, cymbals, tambourine, and a small flared pipe which may represent a recorder since all fingers are in play and there is a hint of a beak and window/labium. One angel appears to be singing; others clap their hands. Beneath is a Latin caption, a verse from Job Ch. 28:
  
  

  Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
  Tell me, if you understand.
  Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
  Who stretched a measuring line across it?
  On what were its footings set,
  or who laid its cornerstone –
  when the morning stars sang together
  and all the angels shouted for joy?

  
  

  Encomium Musices is a famous set of 18 plates plus frontispiece, ostensibly illustrating scenes from the Old Testament which, in some way or other, relate to music, but actually containing some scenes clearly of New Testament origin. The musical connection is sometimes tenuous, but the artists have used every occasion to provide a display of musical instruments and singers.

  
  

Theophanes Strelitzas [Theophanes the Cretan, Theophanes Bathas]

A leading icon painter of the Cretan school in the first half of the sixteenth century, and in particular the most important figure in Greek wall-painting of the period; he also painted panel icons and small portable works; born Heraklion (date unknown), died Crete (1599). All his work was done in mainland Greece.

• [King David Brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem] (1564), fresco, Tehophanes Strelitzas (16th century). Loc. Stravronikita: Monastery of Mount Athos. Ref. Website: Bagpipe Iconography (2010-col.) King David marches into Jerusalem playing his psaltery accompanied by musicians playing horn and tabor, vielle, lute, straight trumpet, tambourine (with jingle rings), bagpipe, and a pipe (possibly a duct flute). They are followed by a cart pulled by bullocks carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

Bernardo Strozzi [il Cappuccino; il Prete Genovese]

Italian Capuchin priest and painter; as an artist he was renowned for his portraits, religious works and genre scenes; his style is distinguished by rich and glowing colour and broad, energetic brushstrokes; born Genoa (1581), died Venice (1644).

• Three Musicians, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Pommersfelden: Weissenstein Schloss. Identical to the paintings below. A man on the left plays the bagpipes; another on the right plays the shawm; between them a woman plays a near-cylindrical recorder with an unusually long beak.
• Three Musicians, oil on canvas, 118.7 × 170.4 cm, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Tallinn: Tallinn: Kadrioru Kunstimuuseum, VM 268. Ref. Guizzi (1990: fig. 22). Identical to the paintings above and below. A man on the left plays the bagpipes; another on the right plays the shawm; between them, a woman plays a near-cylindrical recorder with an unusually long beak.
• Three Musicians, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Detroit: Institute of Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). . Identical to the paintings above and below. A man on the left plays the bagpipes; another on the right plays the shawm; between them a woman plays a near-cylindrical recorder with an unusually long beak.
• Three Musicians, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Formerly Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., but ruined by fire in 1956. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). Identical to the paintings above. A man on the left plays the bagpipes; another on the right plays the shawm; between them a woman plays a near-cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) with an unusually long beak; behind, a man appears to be singing. The duct flute is held in both hands, and it has paired holes for the lowermost finger, but only one other finger hole is visible.
• Three Musicians, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Location unknown. Ref.Website: gallica (2012-b&w). . More or less identical to the paintings above and below. A man on the left plays the bagpipes; another on the right plays the shawm; between them a woman plays a near-cylindrical recorder with an unusually long beak. However, in this example the bagpipe player’s hat lacks the feather seen in other versions.
• Flute Players, oil on canvas, Bernardo Strozzi Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – b&w). A pair of paintings auctioned together depicting rustic wind musicians. In one painting men sing and play bagpipe, shawm, and a narrow conical pipe (possibly a soprano recorder). In the other, men play a musette, and shawm; and a woman plays a near cylindrical flared bell recorder.
• The Piffari, oil on paper laid on panel, 49.5 × 70.5 cm, circle of Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Ref. Sotheby’s New York, Sale NO8166 (28 January 2006): Old Master and 19th Century European Art, Lot 41. Rustic musicians play bagpipe, shawms and a slender, conical recorder. The hole for the little finger of the player’s lowermost (right) hand is clearly visible. Sold for $11,400. Possibly the first of the pair of paintings listed as “Flute Players” by Gabrius (see above).
• Mercury and Argus, Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Caen: Musée des Beaux-Artes. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Watched by Io (as a white heifer), Argus sleeps, leaning against a rocky hillside as Mercury (Hermes) pipes to him with his cylindrical flared-bell recorder. Mercury is holding the recorder just away from his lips and has obviously done his job effectively.
• Recorder Player (1620-1690), oil on canvas, 99 × 7 cm, after Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Ref. Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, Old Master Paintings, 30 April 2019. Ref. Website: MutualArt (2020, col.); Website: Fondazione Zeri, Università da Bologna (2020, b&w) A woman with her blouse slipping off her shoulder to reveal her breast plays a near-cylindrical recorder. She seems a bit confused about the fingering, but there appear to be seven finger holes in line. Although the beak of the instrument is not elongated she is identical to the recorder player in the various versions of Strozzi’s Three Musicians.

John Melhuish Strudwick

British Pre-Raphaelite painter, a student of Burne-Jones and one of his most accomplished followers; Strudwick painted legendary and symbolic scenes, many including musical themes; his meticulous technique ensured that his output was small, just some 20 paintings; born London (1849), died 1935.

• Apollo and Marsyas (1879), oil on canvas, 106.5 × 170.0 cm, John Melhuish Strudwick (1849-1935). Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, Inv. NMW A 173. An insipid rendition of an old theme. At the moment of judgement, Apollo leans back, surrounded by six of the Nine Muses (two of whom are comforted by their boyfriends), at which Marsyas drops his nondescript pipe into the stream at his feet. The following effusive doggerel is written on the back of this painting:
  
  

  Oh ecstasy
  Oh happiness of him who once heard
  Apollo singing!
  As he sang
  I saw the Nine, whose lovely pitying eyes
  Sing ‘He has conquered’
  Yet I felt no pang
  Of fear only deep joy that I have heard such music while I lived,
  Even though it brought torture and death.

  The Epic of Hades
  by a new writer

  
  

Casper Struiwig [Struiwigh, Struwig] and/or Theodorus van der Haven

Casper Struiwig was a Dutch sculptor of pulpits, organ cases and other church decorations; born New Boteringestraat (1698), died (1747).

• Musical Trophies (1731), carved wooden panels, Casper Struiwig (1698-1747) and / or Theodorus van der Haven. Detail. Zandeweer: Hervormde Kerk, organ gallery balcony, carved wooden panels. Ref. Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2010-col.) Beneath the carved coat of arms of the donor of the organ (Jonkheer Onno Taminga van Alberda of Scheltkema-Nijenstein), a large panel depicts a musical trophy comprising sheet music, folded trumpet, bassoon, oboe, shawm, cornetto, violin and a baroque recorder bound together with a tasselled sash. The instruments are not to the same scale: the trumpet, for instance, is shown longer than the bassoon. But the recorder and oboe are shown at roughly the same length so the recorder might be a tenor, although it is of unusually slender proportions. On the right-hand side of the case, beneath another coat of arms (possibly that of the donor’s wife, Josina Petronella van Clant) a similar trophy comprises guitar, horn, straight trumpet, flute, cornetto, and two slender ? shawms. On the top of columns to either side of the lower organ, putti play violin and flute; and on top of the middle column an angel plays harp. On ornamental flanges on either side of the lower organ, putti play straight trumpets. The church dates from the 13th century. The organ was built in 1731 by Albertus Anthonie Hinsz (1704-1785).

Pierre Subleyras

French artist active in Italy and Romania; his oeuvre comprises portraits, religious and mythological subjects and genre pictures including illustrations of Fontaine and Boccaccio; born Saint Gilles du Gard (1699), died Rome (1749).

• Satyr and Bacchantes, canvas, Pierre Subleyras (1699-1749). Douai: Musée de la Chartreuse. Ref. Pottier (1992: 66, pl. LII); Website, flickr: gregory lejeune’s photostream (2016-col.) A satyr reclines on a ledge beneath a statue of Bacchus. Before him, a woman plays a tambourine (with pellet bells). On the ground lie masks, a sheet of music, another tambourine (with jingle rings), and a small conical pipe with four finger holes. Holding a small nondescript pipe in one hand, the satyr points with the other to the instruments on the ground as he inclines his head to a young man behind holding an enormous wine bowl and who returns the satyr’s gaze. Given the homoerotic symbolism of the two pipes it seems likely that the satyr is asking for rather more than just wine. There are no recorders here.

Eustache Le Sueur

French artist whose paintings were admired for combining tender sentiments with the severe classicisms of Poussin and Raphael; born Paris (1616/1617), died 1655.

• Apollo and the Muses, 122 × 42 cm, school of Eustache Le Sueur (1616/1617-1655). Location unknown: sold by Palais de Congrès, Versailles, 18 November 1973. Ref. Palais des Congrè: Sale Catalogue (1973: No. 122); Paris RIdIM (1999). Apollo sits holding his lyre surrounded by admiring and languorous Muses amongst whom Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) holds a small cylindrical recorder.

Joseph Sunyer (17-18th century)

Spanish (Catalan) sculptor, one of six who formed the Brotherhood of St Luke in Manresa; his sculptures decorate the churches of Prades, Perpignan, Collioure, Thuir of Vinca, Ro, Font-Romeu, Cerdagne, and elsewhere in Southern France.

• Angel Playing a Recorder (1707), painted statue, Joseph Sunyer. Cerdagne: Notre Dame de Font-Romeu. Ref. Editions S.L., Lyon, postcard 703.962 (b&w); Rowland-Jones (1997b, Part 3: 13, fig. 17 – b&w); Website: Les églises et chapelles romanes de Cerdagne et Conflent (2015-col.) One of two statues of musical angels each side of a doorway at one end of the verger’s room. On the left an angel holds a large curved recorder with an expansive, shawm-like bell. On the right an angel holds a bassoon. At the opposing end of the room a second pair of angels play cello and violin.

Surrey Sculptures

Melbourne (Australia) based producer of gargoyles, finials, chimney pots, and roof art. Web page.

• King Dragon (2003), roof sculpture, terracotta, Surrey Sculpture Studio (contemporary). Coorparoo (Queensland, Australia): Dragon Early Music Pty Ltd. Ref. Dragon’s Breath 23: 1 (2003 – b&w). Terra cotta dragons adorn many of the roof tops of Federation era homes in Australia, i.e. those built mainly from 1901–1914. This one holds a perfectly depicted baroque-style recorder. It was made to order for Dragon Music, a retailer of recorders and music in Australia’s “Deep North” (aka Queensland), now retired.

John Surtees

British painter who started life as a locomotive engineer but became a member of the colony of painters in the then picturesque English fishing village of Cullercoats (Northumberland); born 1817 or 1818, died 1915.

• The Young Companions (? 1860-1880), oil on canvas, 60.5 × 45.5 cm, John Surtees (1817/19 – 1915). Newcastle Upon Tyne: Laing Art Gallery, Inv. TWCMS:E3534. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Two children, a boy (about 8 years old) and a girl (about 10) sit in a picturesque landscape with unthreatening mountains behind a placid lake. They repose on a grassy knoll by a little brook, with a sheep nearby. The girl holds a recorder-like pipe, large soprano size and cylindrical, and looks intently at the position of her fingers (just as beginner pupils do). All her fingers are down, so no finger holes are visible, though the window/labium is clearly painted. The little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is slightly crooked as if seeking out the proper coverage of its hole (in an offset position). She has probably been playing, as the boy looks up at her, quite entranced. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Lambert Sustris [Lambert of Amsterdam]

Italian born painter and frescoist who trained in Amsterdam but spent most of his life in Italy; he probably worked in Titian’s workshop, where he may have specialized in landscapes; later he produced portraits and classical scenes in his own right; born 1510-1515, died after 1560.

• The Contest Between Apollo and Pan, oil on panel, Lambert Sustris (1510/1515 – 1560). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000 – col.) Under the direction of the mountain god Timolus, Apollo plays his viola da braccio whilst Pan plays a long cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute, but no details are visible). Behind Apollo are two rather frumpish looking women. Behind Timolus, two standing male figures discuss the relative merits of the contestants, one clearly inclining in favour of Apollo, as does Timolus who points towards Apollo. Between Timolus and Pan, Midas sports asses’ ears as he casts his vote in favour of Pan. Behind Pan, two other satyrs recoil in alarm. This work was listed for auction as The Contest Between Apollo and Marsyas. Pan and Marsyas have often been confused in art. However, Pan was a faun and can usually be distinguished by his goat’s legs from Marsyas, a satyr.

Olga Suvorova

Contemporary Russian artist who studied monumental composition at the famous Repin Institute of the Fine Arts in St Petersburg; her style is unusually colorful and clearly owes something to Gustav Klimt; her subjects include landscapes, historical depictions and women in garden scenes often with a cat or other animals or holding musical instruments, notably mandoline, flute, flageolet, recorder, capped reed instruments and, inevitably perhaps, ambiguous pipes; her father, mother and husband are also artists; born Leningrad (1966).  Artist’s Website.

Suvorova is prolific and I have catalogued but a few, here. I also note that there are variants of many of her striking paintings.

• Dancer, oil on canvas, 144 × 90 cm, Olga Suvorova (1966–). St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) Website: Pinterest, Ielle Laflamme photostream (2024, col.)
• A beautiful young woman in a striking dress strides across our view stares straight at us, oblivious to the bird between her feet. Behind her are a harlequin, who seems to be averting his gaze from the beautiful girl before him, and a young man playing a more-or-less clearly depicted  alto neo-baroque recorder, though the fingering is haphazard.
• Game, oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). Ref. Website: X#WomensArt (2017, col.) A beautifully dressed young couple sit opposite us over a chess-board, the remaining pieces perfectly evenly matched. On the same table is an elaborate bowl of fruit which has attracted the attention of a marauding bird. To one side of the bowl is a large blue-grey bird with an elaborate crest on its head; the other side is a green parrot in a gilded cage. Behind stand a harlequinesque figure wearing a masque and holding a bunch of flowers, and a winged angel playing what looks like a more-or-less cylindrical capped reed instrument with a flared bell. Nonetheless, I am inclined to think a recorder is intended.  There is a starling perched on the back of the chair occupied by the young woman. A number of variants of this painting can be found on the Web.
• Love Triangle, oil on canvas, 90 × 140 cm, Olga Suvorova (1966–). Website: Renaissance Realm (2024); St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) A beautiful young woman in a sumptuous dress sits on a throne staring straight at us and fanning herself. To the right stands a soulful harlequinesque figure playing a mandoline, a bird perched on his shoulder. To the left a young man wearing a purple cap and embroidered sleeveless jacket plays what looks like a more-or-less cylindrical capped reed instrument with a flared bell. Nonetheless, I am inclined to think a recorder is intended.
• [Queen], oil on canvas, 102 x 160 cm, Olga Suvorova (1966–). Website: Pinterest (2024); St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) A queen in a blue gown, wearing a crown and holding a bunch of lilies walks hand in hand with a young child who has a bird perched on one hand. Flying behind her are a brightly dressed angel and a white bird. Flying beside her an angel dressed in purple plays a long slender cylindrical pipe. No window/labium or reed is visible, but this may well represent a recorder.
• Annunciation, oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). St Website: Pinterest (2024-col.) A woman in a beautiful dress, a bird perched upon her hand stands staring directly at us. Beside her are two angels, one holding a bunch of lilies, the other playing what looks like a more or less cylindrical capped reed instrument with a flared bell. Nonetheless, I am inclined to think a recorder is intended.
• [Harlequin], oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). Website: Pinterest (2024, col.) A beautiful young woman in a red dress stands beside a low table on which there is a bowl piled high with fruit and flowers which has attracted the attention of three birds which seems to have escaped from the bird-cage immediately behind. To the left of the woman a brightly dressed figure holds a mandoline at which he is gazing fondly. To the right a harlequin plays a clearly depicted alto neo-baroque recorder, albeit with haphazard fingering.
• Music, oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). Website: voyage à travers l’art due monde (2016, col.) Three beautifully dressed women sit around a floral arrangement behind which a harlequin plays a more-or-less clearly depicted alto neo-baroque recorder.
• [Gown], oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) A woman in a floral hat and a sumptuous red gown sits side-on gazing out of the frame directly at us. beside her are a blue and green bird and a bowl of fruit. Standing before her is a man in eastern costume playing a cylindrical pipe with a beak and thus likely to represent a duct flute, possibly a recorder.  Behind her a harlequin holds a mandoline.
• April with a new Look, oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) In a beautiful garden before a lake two brightly dressed figures play music together. One, a harlequinesque figure plays mandoline, the other in vaguely eastern garb plays a tenor-sized cylindrical pipe. The latter has no sign of a window/labium or of a reed, but the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is covering its hole so this just might be meant to represent a recorder. Beside each player is a cat behind one of which is a blue bird in a cage. There are flowers all around an gaudy birds fly overhead.
• Music, oil on canvas, Olga Suvorova (1966–). St Petersburg: Academy of Art Foundation (2014-col.) Two angels play clearly depicted alto neo-baroque recorders. They stand on either side of a low table on which stand a bowl fruit which has attracted the attention of three gaudy birds. Behind the fruit is a bunch of flowers, and behind that again stands a rather masculine looking angel.

Joseph-Benoît Suvée

French-Belgian painter; strongly influenced by French neo-classicism, he emulated and competed with Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), earning his enduring hatred; became Director of the French Academy in Rome; born Brugge (1743), died Rome (1807).

• Hermione and the Shepherds (1776), Joseph-Benoît Suvée (1743-1807). Gent: Museum voor Schone Kunsten. Ref. Wilfried Praet (pers. comm., 2010). Depicts a scene from Torquato Tasso’s epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata (1575). The princess Hermione, armed as if for battle, stands before three shepherds from whom she seeks shelter. One of two shepherds seated beneath a tree, an old man, gestures to the ground, inviting Hermione to share their encampment. Beside him, also seated, a bare-breasted young woman holds a pipe, probably a recorder since there appear to be holes for all four fingers of the lowermost hand, but details of the beak and window/labium of the instrument are hidden by the upper hand. Behind the seated couple, an old woman stands slightly stooped, her hands together in welcome. Other shepherds play with their sheep in the background.

Herman van Swanevelt [Herman d’Italie, Monsieur Herman]

Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher, active in France and Italy; known for his many landscapes with biblical and mythological subjects in which a large tree extending beyond the frame or a distant view bathed in hazy sunshine give a monumental touch to the composition; born ? Woerden (ca 1620), died Paris (1655).

• Two Satyrs With Two Drayds or Nymphs, Herman van Swanevelt (ca 1620-1655). Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 2: 273/50). One recumbent satyr plays a pipe (? recorder) of alto/tenor size, right hand lowermost. The flared bell and lowermost finger hole are visible, and the mouth, cheeks and finger position suggest a recorder. One of the dryads is about to slap his behind with her raised right hand! Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
• Landscape With Vision of St Eustace, Herman van Swanevelt (ca 1620-1655). Rome: Galleria Doria Pamphili, Cat. i3. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). In a village with a church, musical angels sing and play harp, viol, lute and a probable alto recorder. Only the upper part of the latter is visible with the player’s upper (left) hand, but the position looks right for duct flute playing. The instrument is too small to detect any window/labium with certainty but a dark mark in the right place is suggestive.

Jan Swart van Groningen

Dutch painter, book illustrator and designer of stained-glass windows; his work has an archaic air and he had a fondness for showing people in high hats, turbans and other odd headgear; born Groningen (1490/1500), died 1553/8.

• Banquet (detail), drawing in brown ink on paper, 25.4 × 19.8, copy of an original by Jan Swart van Groningen (1490/1500-1553/8). Cologne: Wallruf-Richartz-Muzeum, Z 1379. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr 271). A handsome couple stroll across the foreground. Behind them a banquet is in progress in the middle of a parkland. At the table a couple embrace and kiss; a waiter serves them wine; beside them a young woman plays an alto- or tenor-sized recorder with a conspicuously flared bell; a man embraces her from behind.

Jan Gerritsz. Sweelinck [Sweelink, Swelinck, Swelinck, Swelinc.]

Dutch copperplate engraver; born Amsterdam (?1601), died Amsterdam (1645).

• Jacob Cats, Silenus Alcibiadis, sive Proteus (1618), XLVI & Proteus ofte Minne-beelden verandert in Sinne-beelden (1627), XLVII: Ex morte levamen, engraving, Jan Gerritsz Sweelinck (?1601-1645). The Hague: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 144 D 2, p. 52-53 (1618 edition); Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum (1627 edition); Leiden University Library (1618 & 1627 editions). Ref. Koldweij (1993: fig. 19); Archiv Moeck; Emblem Project Utrecht (2007). No Dutch poet has ever equalled Jacob Cats (1577-1660) in popularity. His first major publication was this emblem  book. The same image with the title Ex morte levamen occurs in both editions, but with different plate numbers. Sitting on a bank beside a lake before the carcass of a dead donkey, an old man plays a duct flute with his right hand. On the ground about him lie what look like other flutes, and a butcher’s saw. In the background the buildings of a substantial town can be seen. This emblem is accompanied by a number of verses, mottoes and proverbs variously in Dutch, English, French and Latin. Bloemendal et al. (Dutch Emblem Project, Utrecht 2002) have given an extensive commentary on this image. The texts it illustrates concern the humiliation and evil of love and marriage between the very old and the young; one motto and verse in English reads:
  
  

  An oldeman in a younge womans arme
  The sooner dead, the lesser harme.

  A wanton Gyrle once marryed was unto a lame olde man;
  Who little hadd to give content. Which made mee question than,
  How’t came that shee so wedded was? who mee this answere gave,
  That of dead Asses bones are made, the best pypes that wee have
  When they in th’earth a while have layne. As likewise have I reade
  That so longe as the Scorpion lives, for nought is good: But deade
  A Soveraigne med’cyne is, thus I, therewith beinge well a paide,
  My Answere had. Adieu quoth I, and so I left that mayde.

  
  

  In the same year, Florens van Schoonhoven (1618) published an emblem depicting this same scene as Indoctus ipse alios juvo, albeit with a rather different interpretation. Another adaptation of Cat’s emblem appears in the alchemical Mineral Cabinet published by Goossen van Vreeswyk (1675) where the flautist bears the alchemical symbol for Sulphur, associated in the 17th century with the expansive force in nature: Dissolution and Evaporation. There is an astonishing painting in the Pushkin Museum (Moscow) by Jan Steen entitled Meisje biedt een oude man botten aan (1674) which, as the title tells us, shows a young woman giving a tired, lame old man a bone!

  
  

Michiel [Michael] Sweerts

Flemish painter, an enigmatic artist who led an itinerant life; he painted allegorical subjects, tronies and attractive genre scenes which display a quiet, melancholy dignity and exquisite silvery tonality, also portraits towards the end of his life; born Brussels (1618), died Goa, India (1664).

• The Tambourine Player, Michiel Sweerts (1618–664). Los Angeles: County Museum. Ref. County Museum, Los Angeles (1994: no. 66); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). “Street musicians in Italian costume play a little recorder (a child plays it and dances) and tambourine” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
• In the Studio (1652), oil on canvas, 73.5 × 58.8 cm, Michiel Sweerts (1618–1664). Detroit: Institute of Arts, Inv. 30.297. Ref. Sutton (1993: 388-390, as Self-portrait); Website: Detroit Institute of Arts (2013-col.) “Is there a pipe (? recorder) on the table at the bottom right. It is too small in Sutton’s (1993) reproduction to be clear” (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm., 2001). A young artist with his palette and brushes seems to be selecting a sculpted torso from amongst a pile of heads laid out across a couple of chairs. The sculptor leans against the back of one of the chairs, a sculpture of some kind in his hand. An assistant brings more heads. In the foreground a theorbo leans against a stool on which there is an open book of music. On one of the chairs there is a furled note with a slender nondescript wooden object across it. It looks more like the stem of a paintbrush rather than a pipe of some kind.
• An Elderly Man Singing Together With Two Young Boys, One Playing the Flute oil on canvas, 48.7 × 40.5 cm, circle of Michiel Sweerts (1618–1664). Amsterdam: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, Sale AM1032, 13 November 2007, Lot 69. Ref. Website: Sotheby’s (2007 – col.) A bearded old man sings from a page of music accompanied by a lad playing a small flared duct flute, probably a recorder. Between the musicians, a young boy looks admiringly over the old man’s shoulder. Long attributed to Nicolaes van Haeften (1663-1715), this painting is now attributed to the circle of Michiel Sweerts of whose paintings it is strongly reminiscent.
• Portrait of a Gentleman Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, 50 × 43 cm, attributed to Michiel Sweerts (1618–664). Genoa: Wannenes, Auction 319 320, Old Master and 19th-century Paintings, Lot 0787 , 25 June 2020. A moustachioed man wearing a top hat holds a small pipe (flabeolet or recorder) in his right hand. The instrument is only partly in frame but we can see the beak, window-labium and several finger holes.

Antal Szamosközi

Contemporary Hungarian artist and draughtsman living and working in Szentes; his subjects include animals, still-life, portraits, landscapes and nature scenes; born Szentes (1963).

• Furulya óra [Recorder Hour] (2006), oil on canvas, 80 × 60 cm, Antal Szamosközi (1963–). Currently for sale. A woman standing points to score on a music stand for the benefit of her pupil who sits beside her holding a perfectly depicted plastic alto neo-baroque recorder.

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2024. Recorder Home Page: Artists–S. Last accessed 20 November 2024. https://recorderhomepage.net/recorder-iconography/artists-s/