Artists–B

 Dirk (Jaspersz.) van Baburen

Dutch painter of religious works, history and genre scenes; considered one of the finest artists of his day, his style was strongly influenced by Caravaggio and was instrumental in establishing Utrecht as a stronghold of the latter’s style; born Wijk bij Duurstede, near Utrecht (ca 1594–1595), died Utrecht (1624).

• Recorder Player, oil on canvas, 73.1 × 62 cm, follower of Dirck van Baburen c.1594/1595–1624). London: Sotheby’s (New Bond Street), Sale L08030: Old Master Paintings, 12 Febrary 2008, Lot 55. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000091 (2009, b&w). Offered for sale as Portrait of the Artist, this painting bears a signature on the upper left, namely ‘HBrugghen’, possibly referring to Hendrick ter Brughhen (1588–1629). A somewhat crude 17th-century copy after a lost original by Baburen (dated 1625) which is now known through an engraving in reverse by Cornelis Bloemaert (Nicolson & Vertova 1990, 1: 55, cat. no. 1060, reproduced vol. III, plate 1060). A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing right who turns to face the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a renaissance style recorder, right hand uppermost. His recorder lacks the darker (? metal-sheathed) beak seen in other copies of Baburen’s portrait and the head is strangely square-cut.
• Recorder Player, copper engraving by Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651) after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5-1624). Location unknown. Ref. Archiv Moeck (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (1965: 135–136) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing left who turns to face the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a renaissance style recorder in his left hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s left hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked. A motto in Dutch beneath reads:
  
  

  de Fluyt gaat zoet,
  ‘t Galuyt in Eeel,
  maar och hoe klinkt,
  een out weyfs keel.

  The flute sounds sweet,
  the sound is fine,
  but how awful sounds
  an old woman’s throat.

  
  
• Recorder Player, copper engraving by Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651) after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). Location unknown: sold Paul Botte, Paris. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000106 (2009, b&w). A copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (1965: 135–136) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing left who turns to face the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a renaissance style recorder in his left hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s left hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked.
• Recorder Player (1625), 18.1 × 11.1 cm, copper etching by Cornelis Bloemaert the younger (ca 1603–1680), after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). Amsterdam: Rijkmuseum; Washington DC: Library of Congress, Dayton Miller Collection, 0251/L. Ref. Nicolson (1962: 540 & 542, fig. 36); Slatkes (1965: 135–136, fig. 39); Nicolson & Vertova 1990, 1: 55, cat. no. 1060 & 3: pl. 1060); Archiv Moeck (2001); Jan Lancaster (pers. comm., 2007). A copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (loc. cit.) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing left whose face is inclined towards the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a renaissance style recorder in his left hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s left hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked. Jan Lancaster (loc. cit.) reports that this engraving is signed with the monogram ‘CD’, and that a conservator has transcribed this on the back as van Daden’, probably in error for Cornelis van Dalen the elder (1602–1665), or his son, Cornelis van Dalen the younger (1638–1664). It seems likely that the original plate by Bloemaert was used and his name replaced with the ‘CD’ monogram. A motto in Dutch beneath reads:
  
  

  de Fluyt gaat zoet,
  ‘t Galuyt in Eeel,
  maar och hoe klinkt,
  een out weyfs keel.

  The flute sounds sweet,
  the sound is fine,
  but how awful sounds
  an old woman’s throat.

  
  

  The Washington copy of this print has been trimmed to the platemark, perhaps just inside the platemark at the top and bottom, and is now 16.0 × 11.1 cm.

  
  
• Recorder Player (18th century), engraving, by Cornelis van Dalen, after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). Location unknown. Ref. Slatkes (1965: 135–136); Jan Lancaster (pers. comm., 2007); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000115 (2009, b&w). A copy of an engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert (the elder or the younger) of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (loc. cit.) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing right whose face is inclined towards the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a holds a renaissance style recorder in his right hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s right hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked.
• Man with a Recorder (18th century), engraving, probably by Abram van Waefberghen, after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum; The Hague: Gemeentemuseum. Ref. Slatkes (1965: 135–136); Archiv Moeck (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Jan Lancaster (pers. comm., 2007). A copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (loc. cit.) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing right who inclines his face towards the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a holds a renaissance style recorder in his right hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s right hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked. A motto in Dutch beneath reads:
  
  

  de Fluyt gaat zoet,
  ‘t Galuyt in Eeel,
  maar och hoe klinkt,
  een out weyfs keel.

  The flute sounds sweet,
  the sound is fine,
  but how awful sounds
  an old woman’s throat.

  
  

  Note that this print is the reverse of those described above.

  
  
• Man with a Recorder (1750–1850), red and black crayon on paper, 20.5 × 15.5 cm, after an engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert (1602/1604–1692) after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). Utrecht: Centraalmuseum, Inv. 9700. A crude copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (1965: 135–136) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing right who inclines his face towards the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a holds a renaissance style recorder in his right hand. The foot of the instrument is out off the picture. The player’s right hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked.
• A Piper (ca 1683–1729), mezzotint, 14 × 13 cm, by John Smith (p. 1654–1742), after Dirck van Baburen (1594/5–1624). London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG D11819. Ref. Website: National Portrait Gallery (2007). A late copy of a lost original painting by Baburen. Slatkes (1965: 135–136) gives details of other engraved and painted copies of this work, variously attributed to Cornelis van Dalen, A. Conraets, Anonymous, Abram van Waefberghen, J.B. Dusillon / Le Blond, and Gerrit van Honthorst. A head and shoulders portrait of a man facing left who inclines his face towards the viewer. He wears a cap and has a fur collar on his coat or cloak. He holds a renaissance style recorder in his left hand. The beak is of a darker material than the rest of the instrument, probably indicating that it is metal-sheathed. This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy of Laughing Recorder Player after Buburen in the University Art Collection, Uppsala. The lower half of the instrument is off the picture. The player’s left hand holds the head of the instrument of which the beak and window/labium are clear, though no finger holes are marked.
• Laughing Recorder Player, copy after Dirck van Baburen (ca 1594/5–1624). Uppsala: Universitet, Konstsamlingarna, UU 86. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). The whole of the mouthpiece above the window/labium is black, the rest is made of paler wood. Only the upper part of the instrument is visible; the other half is hidden by the player’s right hand, three fingers of which are down. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.) This same darkening of the beak is seen in a copy by Bloemaert of Baburen’s Recorder Player.
• Man with a Flute (1625), oil on canvas, 74 × 62 cm, workshop of Dirck van Baburen (ca 1594/5–1624). Mälaren: Skoklosters Slott, Inv.  SKO 3098. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 20); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, photo no. L34200.; Website: Wikimedia Commons (2012, col.) A bearded shepherd in a loose cloak holds a hand-fluyt, the foot of which is out of frame.

Karl Otto Bachmann

Swiss lithographer whose works often feature circus figures, especially harlequins; born Lucerne (1915), died Ascona (1996).

• Musical Harlequin (1944), Karl Otto Bachmann (1915–1996). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Klassiskgitar.net (accessed 2007, unavailable 2014). A harlequin plays a stylised lute; a woman in a black jumpsuit plays a slender stylised pipe (possibly a recorder); other figures dance.

Adriaen Backer

Dutch portrait painter; born Amsterdam (ca 1635), died 1684; nephew of the artist Jacob Adriaenz. Backer (1608–1651).

• Anthony de Bordes (1615-1678) and his Son Antoni de Bordes (1665-1722) (1673), pen on paper, 50.3 × 61.5 cm, Adriaen Backer (ca 1635–1684). Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst – Kobberstiksammling, Inv. OI.50. Ref. Bedaux & Ekkart (2000: 281, pl. 80); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunstihistoriche Documentatie 135000 & 61979 (2010, b&w). A symbolic representation of ‘Education’ in which a father entrusts his son to Minerva (representing Education through the Arts and Sciences), and farewells the child. Minerva leads the lad to a table on which are attributes of education: books, a globe and musical instruments. A dog gazes up at the boy who has one foot on a sundial. To their right two boys in tunics are blowing bubbles. Further to the right the father sits in a carved chair pointing to the the central scene. In the background can be seen a classical building and a park-like landscape beyond. Amongst the objects on the table the foot end of a recorder is visible. The end-bore appears to be flared and there are paired holes for the lowermost finger. The rest of the instrument is obscured. Leaning against the table is a bass viol. Presumably a preliminary sketch for the painting in the Historisch Statens Museum, Amsterdam.
• Anthony de Bordes (1615-1678) and his son Antoni de Bordes (1665-1722) (1673), oil on canvas, 140 × 157 cm, Adriaen Backer (ca 1635–1684). Amsterdam: Historisch Statens Museum. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunstihistoriche Documentatie 123891 (2010, b&w). A symbolic representation of ‘Education’ in which a father entrusts his son to Minerva (representing Education through the Arts and Sciences), and farewells the child. Minerva leads the lad to a table on which are attributes of education: books, a globe and musical instruments. A dog gazes up at the boy who has one foot on a sundial. To their right two boys in tunics are blowing bubbles. Further to the right the father sits in a carved chair pointing to the central scene. In the background can be seen a classical building and a park-like landscape beyond. Amongst the objects on the table the foot end of a recorder is visible. The end-bore appears to be flared and there are paired holes for the lowermost finger. The rest of the instrument is obscured. Leaning against the table is a bass viol.

Jacob Adriaensz. Backer

Dutch draughtsman and painter of portraits, histories, biblical and mythological subjects; born Haerlingen (1608), died Amsterdam (1651); uncle of the artist Adriaen Backer (ca 1635-1684).

• Shepherd with Wreath and Flute (ca 1637), oil on panel, 52 × 41 cm, Jacob Adriaensz. Backer (1608–1651). The Hague: Mauritshuis, Inv. 1057. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 101); Sumowski (1983, 1: 239, fig. 36); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 351767 (2014, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Possibly a self-portrait. A man in a fur coat and with ivy in his hair holds clasped in his left hand a duct flute (probably a recorder) with a metal sheath covering the beak. The instrument is viewed from below and only half of it is clearly visible. The windway and plug are very clear.
• Shepherd with a Flute, oil on panel, 64 × 54 cm, Jacob Adriansz. Backer (1608–1651). Leeuwarden: Fries Museum, Inv. FM 1960-54. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 102); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 1000320111 (2014, col.) Possibly a self-portrait. A shepherd in a loose cloak holds a soprano-sized duct flute (probably a recorder) with a metal-sheathed beak. It is clasped in the left hand, beneath which only four in-line finger holes are visible.
• Diana and her Nymphs (1635-40), oil on canvas, 199 × 240 cm, Jacob Adriansz. Backer (1608–1651). The Hague: Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst, Inv. NK 2274. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 130); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rasmussen (1999c); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Illustration 1001155237. On the edge of a forest, Diana, holding a tambourine (with jingle rings and pellet bells) on her thigh, sits in the midst of four nymphs who sing and play a hand-fluyt and a second tambourine. One of the nymphs points to a dog who has returned with a hare Diana has shot; a quiver and arrows and a curved horn lie in the foreground.
• Portrait of a Lady as the Muse Euterpe (1650), oil on canvas. 169.5 × 133.5 cm, Jacob Adriansz. Backer (1608–1651). Private Collection, formerly Foundation Vandervelden, Liège. Ref. Website: Wikmedia Commons (2009-col.); Wind (2021; 2022: pl. 1-2, col.) A radiant portrait of an imposing young woman who sits in chair, a branchlet of laurel leaves in one hand. On a table beside her in a dim background are a shawm (only the foot shown) and three recorders: a hand fluyt viewed from behind, the thumb hole clearly visible; an ?alto with what appears to be a metal-sheathed beak and curved windway (only the head joint is visible); and a basset with a fontanelle. Also on the table is a music print from 1642 by the Venetian publisher Alessandro Vincenti. The music on the table can be identified as Salomone Rossi’s Il quarto libro de varie sonate, sinfonie, gagliarde, brandi, e corrente per sonar, due violini et un chitarrone o altro stromento Nuovamente restampate. The musician herself has now been identifed as Adriana vanden Bergh (Berch), the dedicatee of Paulus Matthysz’ Der Goden Fluithemel in 1644 (see Wind, loc. cit.)
• Young Man Holding a Flute, oil on canvas, 70 × 58 cm, circle of Jacob Adriansz. Backer (1608–1651). Cambridge: Cheffins, The Fine Art Sale, 17 September (2015), Lot 480, sold (from a private collection in Suffolk). A young man in half profile wearing a laurel wreath holds a more or less cylindrical hand fluyt in his left hand. Details of the beak and window/labium are clearly depicted. 

Jaime (Jocomart) Baco [called Master Jocomart] (ca 1413-1461), Spanish

The leading Spanish artist of his day working in Valencia and also in Naples for Alfonso V of Aragon; a single documented work by him survives, namely a polyptych in the church at Cati near Valencia; born Valencia (ca 1410), died Valencia (1461).

• Virgin and Child Enthroned with Musical Angels (ca 1450), tempera on panel, 217 × 123 cm,  attributed to Jaime Baco (ca 1413–1461). Madrid: Collezione Abellò. Refs. Website: Caylus Antiquario, Madrid (2016, col.); Website: flickr, Alessio Bacci’s photostream (2015, col.) Hitherto, this striking work has been attributed to Maestro di Bonastre [Jacomart ?]. The Virgin and Child are surrounded by angel musicians who play harp, psaltery and four smallish pipes. On the right two angels play what are clearly small shawms: the instruments are gradually flared, and each has the characteristic lower tuning hole and a piroutte at the top. Opposite them, on the left, two angels play similarly sized pipes which are more slender than the shawms and have more abruptly flared feet. One of these instruments (at the rear) has what may be a small pirouette. The other has neither pirouette nor beak, so this may represent a recorder. However, like its companion, it does have a lateral tuning hole near the foot. The infant gazes up at his mother as he holds a small black bird in his hands as if about to tear it apart. The child Jesus is often depicted with a bird in his hands, the symbolism varying with the species. Here, the black feathers represent the temptation of sin. Note that one of the pipers plays right hand uppermost.
• A Faun (or Paris or Adonis), sculpture, attributed to the circle of Jaime Baco (ca 1413–1461). Madrid: Museo del Prado E224. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). This sculpture was created from fragments of classical marbles in the 17th century. The faun may have held a duct flute in his hand but this is badly damaged. The remaining portion, the bell end, is strongly flared and clutched by the faun.

Johan(nes) Baeck

Dutch soldier and amateur artist whose works are scarce; the little that is known about him seems to indicate that he took up painting late in life. born ? Utrecht (a.1610), died 1655.

• Shepherd Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, 76.5 × 63.8 cm, Johan(nes) Baeck (op. 1610–1655). New York: Sotheby’s, Sale N08712, Important Old Master Paintings & Sculpture, New York, 27 January 2011, Lot 236. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 23725 (2010, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000, 2001); Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, col.) “A young shepherd with his crook tucked under his left arm plays a tenor-sized cylindrical recorder. No bore flare is apparent, but there is a slight thickening at the bell end, possibly due to a metal band. The left hand is uppermost, with the little finger supporting the side of the instrument. The right-hand fingers cover holes four and five, but six is just visible and the nearside offset seven is very clear as the right-hand little finger is lifted. The beak is slight and the window/labium position is indistinct as there is quite a short windway. This ‘shepherd’ has delicate hands and fingers and a large hat covered with Arcadian flowers. He looks posed, but his finger and hand position is that of a person who knows how to play the recorder.” Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Merry Company, oil on canvas, Johan(nes) Baeck (op. 1610–1655). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) An interior (possibly a brothel) in which a woman plays a lute to accompany a somewhat disheveled man who stands on a table singing. Another woman tends to a man seated at the table, children amuse themselves in the background, one blindfolded. A third woman sits at the table (opposite the seated man) holds what looks like an alto-sized recorder, the beak of which is covered in a metal sleeve. The above reproduction lacks sufficient detail. This work was offered for sale in 1999 (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Jan Baegert [? Master of Cappenberg]

German painter; probable identity of the Master of Cappenberg, named after an altarpiece in Cappenberg (Westphalia); born Wesel (c.1465), died Wesel (c.1527); son of the painter Derick Baegert (c.1440–p.1502).

• Coronation of the Virgin (ca 1520), oil on wood, 92.2 × 70.5 cm, Jan Baegert (ca 1465–ca 1527). London: National Gallery, NG263. Ref. Tschira van Oyen (1972: 352, pl. XI); National Gallery (1986, 2: 365); Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1381 (2023, col.) One of a series illustrating the Life of the Virgin. An angel at the top left centre plays a recorder which is clearly depicted. A dove hovers in front of the player, opposite whom a second angel (on the right) plays lute. Beneath them, the Virgin kneels in prayer as she is crowned. The recorder is cylindrical or possibly very slightly outwardly conical. It’s beak and window/labium are clear, but both hands clutch the body of the instrument (left hand lowermost) concealing all finger holes, except that for the bottom left-hand finger which is slightly offset to the right in relation to the position of the the window/labium. The panel is belongs to a group of eight panels forming a series about Christ’s Passion and after. The majority are in the Landesmuseum, Münster. They came from the Klosterkirche in Liesborn or Marienfeld and appear to have formed the shutters of the Liesborn altarpiece.
• Coronation of the Virgin (ca 1520), oil on wood, 92.2 × 70.5 cm, Jan Baegert (ca 1465–ca 1527). Münster: Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe  (LWL) Museum fur Kunst und Kultur, Inv. 280. Ref. Oyen (1972: 352, pl. XI); Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Munich RIdIM (2002:, MÜlm-50). One of a series illustrating the Life of the Virgin. An angel at the top left centre plays a conical tenor-sized recorder which is clearly depicted. A dove hovers in front of the player, opposite whom a second angel plays lute. Beneath them, the Virgin kneels in prayer as she is crowned.

Jan de Baen

Dutch etcher and portrait painter who was very popular in the late 17th century, since he brought to his work the kind of elegance and flattery preferred by his patrons; born Haarlem (1633), died The Hague (1702).

• Pastoral Scene, canvas, 123 × 154 cm, Jan de Baen (1633–1702). Private Collection. Ref. Buijsen & Grijp (1994); Archiv Moeck. A group portrait in which a family with their two dogs sit at the foot of a wooded hillside: a woman, her two daughters and two men. All have what look like shepherds’ crooks. One of the men in the background holds a slender, cylindrical pipe (probably a duct flute).

Giovanni Baglione [Sordo del Barezzo]

Italian painter, sculptor, architect and writer active in Rome and briefly in Naples; executed canvases and frescoes of religious and mythological subjects, and portraits; his fame as a writer derives from Le nove chiese di Roma (1639) and especially from his Vite de’ pittori, scultori, architetti (1642),containing biographies of more than 200 artists who worked in Rome between 1572 and 1642; born Rome (1571), died Rome (1643).

• The Resurrection of Christ (1603), monochrome, Giovanni Baglione (1571–1643). Paris: Louvre. Ref. The Age of Caravaggio (1985: 92–93); Lallement & Devaux (1996). Holding a banner, the newly risen Christ is surrounded by a host of musical angels and putti playing musical instruments including harp, lute, fiddle, ?folded trumpet, cornetto and two pipes, possibly duct flutes. One of the latter played by an angel on the left has a flared bell and may represent a recorder. Another, on the far right appears to be cylindrical throughout. Beneath, Roman soldiers fight amongst themselves.
• Euterpe (ca 1620), canvas, 195 × 150 cm, Giovanni Baglione (1571–1643). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 347 (Fine Art Museum, Arras). Ref. Rowland-Jones (1992, frontispiece); Lallement & Devaux (1996: 253); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2014, col.). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) holds two large (?tenor) near-cylindrical (“wide-bore”) recorders; another recorder and a sackbut lie beside.
• Group of Musicians, pen and brown ink and brown wash over traces of black chalk on laid paper mounted to heavier sheet, 106 × 130 mm, Giovanni Baglione (1571–1643). San Francisco: Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, 1963.24.157 Ref. Website: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Musicians play organ, lutes, and a highly stylized pipe which may be a recorder.

Tiziano Baiesi

Contemporary Italian painter working in Bologna who produces abstract, figurative, landscape and architectural works.

• The Magic Flute (2009), oil on canvas, 50 7 × 60 cm, Tiziano Baiesi (20th–21st century). A bearded and moustachioed man in a green shirt, ragged pink shorts, striped socks and slippers sits on a wall playing a white soprano neo-baroque recorder.

Pierre Baillon

French harpsichord maker and music engraver, active late 17th century; son-in-law to organist, harpsichordist and composer Nicolas Le Bègue (1631–1702).

• Title page from Nicolas Le Bègue’s Les pièces de clavessin, Paris (1677), engraving by Pierre Baillon (op. late 17th century). Ref. Rasmussen (2007, Bagpipe). The elaborate passe-partout border is decorated with musical instruments, including a harpsichord, a pipe organ and two ‘trophies’ of musical instruments. The trophy on the right comprises a bagpipe, some music and a pipe with a flared bell. The trophy on the left comprises two lutes, an oboe and an alto-sized recorder. The latter is seen in side profile, the characteristic beak clearly depicted.

David Bailly

Dutch painter and draughtsman, amongst the greatest still-life painters but; he also produced history paintings; born Leiden (1584), died Leiden (1657).

• Self-portrait with Vanitas Symbols (1651), oil on panel, 89.5 × 122 cm, David Bailly (1584–1657). Another image, from Web Gallery of Art (2009, col.) Leiden: Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Inv. No. S 1351. Ref. Bergstrøm (1956: 159, fig. 135; 1970); Haak & Willems-Treeman (1996:128, fig. 252); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Website: Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal (1996); Postcard, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal (2001, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 7197 (2010, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-504 (2023, col.) The artist sits beside a table littered with still-life objects including three portraits (presumably from his own hand), a bust, statuette, candlestick and candle, vase of flowers, coins, knife, clay smoking pipe, books, papers, skull, hourglass, glass goblet, jewellery, and a soprano flared-bell recorder of which only the foot with its offset hole for the lowermost finger is visible! A portrait of a lutenist is pinned on the wall. Bubbles float above. A ticket in the lower right-hand corner reads VANITAS VANITUM ET OMNIA VANITAS. This work has been parodied in two photographic collages. One depicts a USAmerican news personality Tom Brokaw entitled Brokaw’s Vanitas Vanitatis, by ‘B♭’, an anonymous contributor to the 7th round of the Worth 1000 Intramural Team Tournament. A second parody, entitled Self-portrait with Vanitas Symbols, is a self-portrait by New-Zealand still-life photographer Kevin Best who has reworked the original to highlight the modern fear of global warming. It was selected as a finalist in the 2009 Australian National Photographic Portrait Prize, and was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
• Self-portrait with Vanitas Symbols (1651), David Bailly (1584–1657). Caen: Musée des Beaux-Arts. The artist sits beside a table littered with still-life objects including skull, jewellery, bubbles and a soprano flared-bell recorder of which only the foot is visible! A portrait of a lutenist is pinned on the wall. A copy of the above painting (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
• Vanitas Still-life (1640s), oil on panel, 37.8 × 48.9 cm, David Bailly (1584–1657). Milwaukee: Collection of Alfred and Isabel Bader. Ref. Witt (2008: #25, col.) On a table are a book, documents, the bust of a child, a medallion, a nautilus shell, a celestial globe, and hourglass, a clay smoking pipe, a flower, a crumpled letter, a human cranium, a violin and bow, a spherical tea-strainer and a small hand-fluyt.

William Bainbridge

English instrument maker and inventor who was responsible for developing the double, triple, “improved” or “patent” English flageolets; his first patent was in 1803 for an Improved English Flageolet (a six-holed instrument without a thumb hole and thus not a recorder proper) and he spent much of the rest of his life working on improvements and developments for the latter instrument; born 1768/9, died 1831.

• English Flageolet (1803–1812), drawing, William Bainbridge (1768/9–1831). Detail. Ref. Bainbridge (1802–1812; 2008) . This drawing of an early English flageolet, from Bainbridge’s The English & French Flageolet Preceptor in the Whole Art of playing the Flageolet, rendr’d Easy to every Capacity … , shows an instrument with holes for seven fingers and one thumb and with a bottom note of c’, thus to all intents and purposes a slender soprano recorder with the addition of a windcap and blowpipe. Bainbridge provides a chart showing the fingering and range to be identical to that of the recorder, and also a transposition chart to enable playing music written for the larger “English Flute” (recorder in f’). A modern edition by Jacob Head (2008) of the entire Preceptor  can be found here.

Ludolf Bakhuysen [Bakhuzen, Bakhuyzen, Bakhuisen, Bakhuizen or Backhuysen)

Dutch painter draughtsman, calligrapher and print maker of German origin; celebrated for his marine pieces, though there are also pictures of biblical subjects by him as well as landscapes, portraits and genre paintings; born Emden, East Frisia [now Germany] (1631), died Amsterdam (1708).

• The Artist in his Studio, Ludolf Bakhuysen (1631–1708). Ref. Finlay (1953: 58, note 57); Griffioen (1991: 388, footnote 20). Shows a bass recorder. Not seen; clearly not the painting of that name in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Baccio [Bartolommeo] Baldini

Italian goldsmith and engraver active in Ferrara, his designs incorporate figures and motifs derived from Botticelli, Piero Pollaiuolo and also German printmakers, such as the Master E.S. and Martin Schongauer, but particularly from Finiguerra; born ? 1436, buried Florence (1487).

The origin of the designs of the so-called “Tarocchi Cards of Mantegna”, is controversial. It has long been thought that they are derived from designs by a Ferrara painter, possibly Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485), for use in the Ducal court. However, Kenneth Clark (cited in McClean, 1983) has attributed the designs to Parrasio Michele (1516–1578), Master of the School of Ferrara. It has been argued (e.g. Prinke 1990) that the designs were, in fact, by Mantegna himself but this is no longer believed by art historians. These prints are not Tarocchi as such, but seem to form a sort of instructive game for youth, if not a mere picture-book of popular designs, the subjects represented in the 50 cards of five suits comprising the sorts and conditions of men, Apollo and the Muses, the arts and sciences, the genii and the virtues, the planets and spheres. There are two different sets of prints, the one engraved with much greater precision and finish, in which Nos. L–X. are lettered E, the other to a large extent in reverse and executed in a more careless technique, with Nos. L–X. lettered S.

• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MVSICHA XXVI, (1465), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Ref. Frings née Limberg (1992), see Tibia 2: 92. A personification of Music plays a recorder (between alto and soprano in size); left hand down; window/labium and finger holes clear, including offset little-finger hole; cylindrical in shape with incised ring decoration near bell end. At her feet are a small portative organ, two lutes, and a tenor-sized wind instrument with a slightly flared bell, the mouthpiece hidden (probably a shawm). This bears a close resemblance to other drawings of Musica after Baldini (ca 1470), Capella (1532), and Schlick (1512).
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MUSICA (ca 1470), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale. Ref. Haas et al., (1929: 74); Peter (1958: 44); Paris RIdIM (1999). ” … depicts Musica playing a recorder; on the ground at her feet are a lute, a harp, a double duct flute, small fiddle and a regal” (Peter, loc. cit.) A personification of Music sits on a curved bench, a large swan standing beside her. The recorder is of the Dordrecht kind, the paired holes for the lowermost finger clearly shown and a small raised turning above the foot. The second lute is actually a rebec. Apart from the swan, this work bears a close resemblance to other illustrations of Music after Baldini (ca 1465), Schlick (1512) and in an edition Martianus Capella’s De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii (1532).
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: Poetry (ca 1465–1467), engraving with applied gilding; sheet 16.6 × 8.9 cm, Italian (Ferrarese School). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 59.570.32. Ref. Website: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A personification of Poetry is shown seated in front of Parnassus, playing a recorder (one-handed) – symbol of eloquence – as she irrigates the earth with the inspirational waters of the Castalian spring. The soprano-sized recorder has a clearly depicted window/labium and paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: Euterpe (ca 1465–1467), engraving, Italian (Ferrarese School). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19.52.18. Ref. Anita Randolfi (pers. comm., ex Anthony Rowland-Jones 2005). Includes a recorder. Not seen. Euterpe is the Muse of music and lyric poetry.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: Euterpe (ca 1465–1467), engraving, after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460-1485). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Estampes, Lame du tarot sé E et S, XVIII. Ref. Pottier (1992: 41: pl. 27). Not seen. Euterpe is the Muse of music and lyric poetry.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: POESIA XXVII (15th century), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Lame du tarot série E et S, XVIII. Ref. Mirimonde (1966: 280, fig. 26); Pottier (1992: 48, pl. XXXIV); Paris RIdIM (1999). A personification of Poetry is shown seated in front of Parnassus, playing a recorder (one-handed) – symbol of eloquence – as she irrigates the earth with the inspirational waters of the Castalian spring. The recorder is cylindrical and slightly flared and shows paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: POESIA XXVII, from The Arts and Sciences (ca 1465), engraving, 18 × 10 cm, after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Boston: Museum of Fine Arts ; London: British Museum, H.E.I. 27a. Ref. Wiese (1988: 188: fig. 51b); Archiv Moeck; Frings (1999: 167, pl. 8, b&w). A personification of Poetry is shown seated in front of Parnassus, playing a recorder (one-handed) – symbol of eloquence – as she irrigates the earth with the inspirational waters of the Castalian spring. The recorder is cylindrical and slightly flared and shows paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MVSICHA XXVI & POESIA XXVII (early 17th century), tarot cards (wrongly attributed to design by Mantegna), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Ref. Guidobaldi (1990: 41-68). A personification of Music plays a recorder, seated at a bench with a swan. [Cesare Ripa says: “The wind moves the feathers of these birds – they never sing unless Zephyr is blowing.”] The instrument is near-cylindrical, with holes, clearly including the low paired holes, and the window is visible. Music has a portative organ, lute, bow and ?rebec on the ground at her feet. Poesia plays a cylindrical duct flute but with one hand, centrally, three fingers down, little finger beneath, but with a hole showing immediately above.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: EVTERPE XVIII (15th century), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460-–485). Ref. Fideler (2003). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) leans against a tree playing a double duct flute. However, each pipe has seven finger holes, the lowermost offset. Thus these would seem to be recorders.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MERCVRIO XXXXII (ca 1460 or later), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460-1485). Ref. Vasselin (1988: 71); Rowland-Jones (2000c, fig. 2). Facing right, Mercury holds the caduceus in his right hand, a cylindrical duct flute (the beak evident) in his left hand. Between his winged feet lies the severed head of Argus, the many eyes clearly depicted. In front of him stands a cockerel. A mark at the foot of the recorder may represent an ornamental bead or the offset lower finger hole of a recorder.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MERCVRIO XXXXII (early 17th century), after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 9 Supplement, Pass. 4: 145, 32-41). Facing left, Mercury holds the caduceus in his right hand, a cylindrical duct flute (four lower holes in line), in his left hand with little finger down, others raised. Between his winged feet lies the severed head of Argus, the many eyes clearly depicted. In front of him stands a cockerel. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: MERCURIO XXXXII (contemporary), heat-printed silver, 6 × 12 cm, Atanas Atanassov after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Turin: Lo Scarabeo (publisher). Ref. Waters (2001, col.) From a modern version of these cards published by Lo Scarabeo, faithful to the originals in all the details of symbolism, pose, etc. Coloured with pastels and careful cross-hatched shading on a silver background.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: EUTERPE XVIII (contemporary), heat-printed silver, 6 × 12 cm, Atanas Atanassov after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Turin: Lo Scarabeo (publisher). Ref. Waters (2001, col.); Wicce’s Tarot Collection (2001, col.) From a modern version of these cards published by Lo Scarabeo, faithful to the originals in all the details of symbolism, pose, etc. Coloured with pastels and careful cross-hatched shading on a silver background.
• “Tarocchi of Mantegna”: POESIA XXVII (contemporary), heat-printed silver, 6 × 12 cm, Atanas Atanassov after Baccio Baldini (op. 1460–1485). Turin: Lo Scarabeo (publisher). Ref. Buning (2003, col.) From a modern version of these cards published by Lo Scarabeo, faithful to the originals in all the details of symbolism, pose, etc. Coloured with pastels and careful cross-hatched shading on a silver background.

Hans Baldung [Grien or Grun]

German painter, print maker, draughtsman and stained-glass designer; known as Grien or Grun, from his fondness for brilliant green, both in his own costume and in his pictures; studied with Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg; a prodigious and imaginative artist of great originality, versatility and passion who was fascinated with witchcraft and superstition and possessed of a desire for novelty of subjects and interpretation that sometimes borders on the eccentric; the new themes he introduced include the supernatural and the erotic; born Schwäbisch Gmünd (1484 or 1485), died Strasburg [now Strasbourg, France] (1545).

• Holy Family, painting, Hans Baldung (ca 1480–1517). London: Klesch Collection. In this familiar scene the holy family are serenaded by four winged putti singing and playing a flageolet one-handed, and an ambiguous pipe, and a wingless one playing lute. One of the singers hands the infant Christ what looks like a pear, symbolic of divine love. In the foreground is a potted cicoria, a bitter herb, symbolic of the crucifixion. In the background is an Italianate scene complete with a cypress tree, gondoliers, and a three-arched pier. Strangely, the flageolet playing putto appears to have a unilateral club foot; and Mary’s right hand has impossibly crossed fingers.
• Altarpiece, central panel: Coronation of the Virgin (1512–1517), tempera on panel, 285 × 231 cm, Hans Baldung (ca 1480–1545). Freiburg im Breisgau: Münster Unserer Lieben Frau. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Rowland-Jones (2000c: fig. 1–5, b&w; front cover, col.); RIdM Munich (2009, FRa 41); Website: akg images (2021, col) In the centre-panel of the high altar of Freiburg Cathedral, the Virgin is surrounded by angels, most of them playing musical instruments or singing. Those above God the Son at the Virgin’s right play loud instruments representing her glory – a sackbut, a crumhorn and shawms. Above God the Father at her left (the feminine side), angels play soft instruments representing her meekness. These include a large harp, a lute, a flute, and a recorder. On the same side of the picture an angel plays what could also be a duct flute. Lower down, an angel plays a pipe which could be a recorder. Underneath him, a boy angel with a small recorder tucked under his arm, attempts to play a tenor recorder which is clearly far too big for him. His fingers will never reach the holes, let alone the bottom key (‘butterfly’ type to suit either hand, and protected by a fontanelle). A group at the bottom right of the picture, supported by clouds, probably represents a recorder trio. The matching groups of angels on the opposite side of the picture play stringed instruments and sing.

Hendrik I van Balen

Flemish Mannerist stained glass designer and painter, specialising in landscapes, allegorical and mythological scenes painted in the highly finished manner of Jan Brueghel, one of the numerous artists with whom he collaborated; a popular teacher, his most important pupils being Van Dyck and Frans Snyders; born Antwerp (1574–1575), died Antwerp (1632).

• Banquet of the Gods  or The Wedding of Thétis and Pélée (1608–1615), Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632) and Jan I Brueghel (1568–1625). Paris: Louvre, Inv. D.L. 1973-21. Wikimedia Commons (2010, col.) In Parnassus, the gods disport themselves, entertained by the Muses who sing and play instruments including lutes, fiddle, viol, flute, cornetto, rebec, tambourine and a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder). There is plenty of fruit but nobody seems about to toss the golden Apple of Discord into the company. The figures are by van Balen, the countryside is by Jan I Brueghel.
• Banquet of the Gods (ca 1606–1610) oil on panel, 47 × 66 cm, Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632) and Jan I Brueghel (1568–1625). Angers: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. GBA LXII (1964: 153, 29); Leppert (1977: 8). In Parnassus, the gods disport themselves. We recognize Jupiter with Juno in his lap (at the  near end off the table), and Mercury (at the far end of the table). Other deities are busy conversing, eating sumptuous food and drinking wine and enjoying a concert by the nine Muses, two of whom sing (stark naked) whilst others play instruments including lutes, viola da braccio, cello, flute, and ? cornetto, and a winged putto who plays a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder). On the ground before the Muses are scattered a sackbut, to cornetti a rebec and some (?music) books and an open score which sets the tone: “Esprits, coeurs, âmes, c’est grâce aux Muses que vous rend heureux, que vous imprègne, que vous élève la musique, cette joie, cette nourriture, ce breuvage, cette manne véritable.” In the foreground, Pan with his back to us enjoys some fruit. The figures are by van Balen, the surrounding countryside is by Jan I Brueghel.
• Apollo and the Muses, Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632). Location unknown. Ref. Website: The Cipher (2014, col.) Apollo is entertained by the Muses, two of whom sing and others play vielle, lute, theorbo, and a cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder). On the ground lie cornetti, sackbut, tambourine, shawm, lute, curtal and a small viol.
• Triptych (two wings): Angel Concert, wood, each 181 × 56 cm, Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632). Antwerp: Royal Museum of Fine Art, 361, 363. Ref. Leppert (1977: 8). Seven angels sing and play instruments including harp, lute, violin, cello, and a cylindrical, alto-sized duct flute, the window/labium and flared bell clearly depicted and the player’s hands perfectly deployed for recorder playing.
• Bacchanal, oil on panel, Hendrik I van Balen (1574-1632). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) Six putti gambol on the edge of a forest to music played by a seventh putto on a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder).
• The Judgement of Midas, oil on panel, 36.2 × 51.5 cm, Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632). Kassel: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, GK 1043. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: Kksg – 558); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2002). Includes a violin, syrinx, recorder, and bagpipe.
• Allegory of the Five Senses, oil on panel. 61.5 × 100.2 cm, Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632) & Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Detail. New York: Christies, Sale 0558, Important Old Masters, 26 January 2001, Lot 10 (sold). Ref. Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2015, col.) in a glade, personifications of the senses are surrounded by a horde of overactive putti. In the bottom left corner Hearing plays a harp accompanied by musical putti who play cornettino and lute amidst a litter of musical instruments including fiddle, trombone, violin, bassoon, rebec., lute and a recorder with a prominently flared bell, the beak, window/labium and finger holes clearly depicted.

Jan van Balen

Flemish painter known for his Baroque paintings of history and allegorical subjects; he also painted landscapes and genre scenes; born Antwerp (1611), died Antwerp (1654); son of Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632), brother of Gaspard (born 1615) and Hendrik II (born 1620), and brother-in-law of painter Theodoor van Thulden (1606–1669).

• Allegory of Hearing, painting, ?dimensions, Jan van Balen (1611–1654). ?Location. Ref. Website: Wikimedia Commons (2009, col.) Watched by a stag, on the edge of a forest, a personification of Music sits beneath a tree tuning her lute. Beside her stand a viol and a pommer; on the ground are music books, a lyre, bagpipe, folded trumpet, cittern, and a case comprising a number of tubes to hold recorders or flutes.

Antonio Balestre [Balestra]

Italian painter and printmaker whose altarpieces and history paintings unite late Baroque classicism with Venetian colour and brought new life to north Italian painting; born Verona (1666), died Verona (1740).

• Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1707), oil on canvas, 564 × 261 cm, Antonio Balestre (1666–1740). Detail. Venice: Chiesa di San Zaccaria. Ref. Postcard: Italacards, Bologna; Website: Wikmedia Commons (2012, col.) Around the crib, angels hover and admiring shepherds are amazed by the sight of the Christ-child in his mother’s arms. One of the shepherds plays a slender, flared-bell recorder of which paired holes for the lowermost finger are visible; a finger hole immediately above, by the third finger of the player’s right hand, can also be seen. Three upper holes are also visible, one of them just under the first finger of the left hand. The window/labium is just visible in the shadows. The bell end shows a very shadowy bore exit, indicating about half of the flare is wood thickening. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2000).

John Bannister (17th century)

English violinist, writer of tutors for the violin, oboe and recorder; son of the violinist/composer of the same name.

• Frontispiece: The Most Pleasant Companion … (1681), John Bannister. Ref. Vinquist (1974: 58, 156–157). A seated gentlemen leaning against the back of his chair plays the recorder.

Gian Giovanni Barbello [Barbelli]

Italian artist; born Cremona (p. 1604), died Calcinato, Brescia (1656).

• Allegrezza, fresco, Gian Giovanni Barbello (p. 1604–1656). Bergamo: Palazzo Moroni. Ref. Tintori (1985: 112). A male figure with his back to us plays a xylophone whilst two women and a man dance. One of the women plays a tambourine; the dancing man plays a slender pipe of which no details are visible.

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri = Il Guercino da Cento

I.H. Barckhuijsen (18th century), ? Netherlands

• Vanitas (1756), mother-of-pearl, 7.5 × 6.0 cm, I.H. Barckhuijsen (18th century). Amsterdam: Christie’s, Silver, Judaica, Russian Works of Art and Objects of Vertu, 13 November 2001, Lot 320. Ref. Website: Artfact (2004). A rectangular mother-of-pearl plaque carved with two boys in a landscape by an obelisk inscribed SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI with a skull and bones above, behind the obelisk a standing skeleton representing Death; an angel above blowing bubbles; in the foreground a globe, bust, skull, recorder, musical scores and paper with the year 1756, at the left background a crown and scepter, all symbols of transitoriness. Not seen.

Garcia del Barco (a.1465-p.1498) — see Master of Ávila 

Pietro Bardellino

Italian artist; his work was characterized by a light and decorative style; born Naples (1728), died Naples (1819).

• A Young Couple with an Old Crone and a Dog and A Youthful Couple Admonished by a Priest, oil on canvas, both oval, Pietro Bardellino (1728–1819). London: Christie’s, 10 July 1998, Lot. 79 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Artfact (2004). A pendant pair offered for sale together. In the first painting a young shepherd lounging on what looks like a rumpled bed holding his recorder, his dog in the background, whilst an old crone gestures meaningfully with her thumb towards a young woman as if to say where his duty lies. The recorder is of soprano-size and cylindrical, the beak and window/labium clearly depicted. In the pendant, a young man points towards a young woman at his side whilst he himself is admonished by a priest.
• A Young Shepherd, oil on canvas, 31.2 × 24.2 cm, studio of Pietro Bardellino (1728–1819). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 14 April 1999, Lot 100. Ref. Artfact (2004). A young shepherd with a recorder, a dog and an old crone at his side. This relates directly to one of a pair of pictures by Bardellino offered by Christie’s, London, 10 July 1998, lot 79 (see above).
• Children Making Music, oil on canvas, Pietro Bardellino (1728-1819) after Boucher. Location unknown: Auctioned by Christie’s, 13 December 1996 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, col.) Four putti sing and play instruments to a fifth seated on a step with a dog. The singer holds a sheet of music in one hand; the others play cittern and two cylindrical duct flutes (possibly recorders) respectively.

Thomas Barker [of Bath]

British self-taught painter of landscapes and rural life; his pictures of The Woodman, Old Tom (painted before he was 17 years of age), and gipsy groups and rustic figures, were copied onto almost every possible material including Staffordshire pottery, Worcester china, Manchester cottons, and Glasgow linens; he amassed considerable property by the sale of his works, and spent a large sum in building a mansion for his residence, enriching it with sculpture and other works of art; born Trosnant near the village of Pontypool (1769), died  Bath (1847); son of failed barrister named Benjamin who painted horses with limited success and eventually worked at Allgood’s factory painting japanned household goods; brother of artist Benjamin Barker II (1776–1838); father of artists John Joseph Barker (1811–1886) and Thomas Jones Barker (1815–1882). The artists in the family became known collectively as the Barkers of Bath.

• Boy Playing a Flute (c.1820), oil on canvas, 44.5 × 34.3 cm, attributed to Thomas Barker (1769–1847). Moreton-in-Marsh Benton Fine Art (2021): currently for sale. A boy wearing a white, frill collared shirt and holds a wooden wind-instrument in his hands. Although details of the instrument are vague it appears to represent a recorder with which the artist was probably unfamiliar.

Ernst Barlach (1870-1938), German

German expressionist draughtsman, sculptor, printmaker and playwright; studied in Hamburg, Dresden and Paris; early in his career he earned a living in his native Wedel designing and decorating ceramics for the Mutz factory; after a personal crisis he made a trip to Russia after which he lived and worked in Berlin where he took up sculpture in wood and clay; following a trip to Florence he returned to Germany where he spent the rest of his life in solitude and almost complete seclusion in Gustrow; his many talents made him an obvious target for the Nazis who branded him a “degenerate”, withdrew hundreds of his sculptures from public collections, and censored his writings; many of his works are concerned with the horrors of war; born Wedel (1870), died Rostock (1938).

• Der Flötenspieler / The Fluteplayer (1936), bronze, Ernst Barlach. Detail. Schloss Gottorf: Das Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Die Galerie der Klassischen Moderne/Stiftung Rolf Horn. Ref. Photograph, Walter Bergmann ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2005, b&w); Postcard, Starczewski Verlag (1968, b&w). Identical to the item below. A man in a cloak and helmet plays a cylindrical pipe with a marked flare at the bell, all fingers of both hands down. finger holes are visible, but no window/labium, yet given the title, the instrument must be intended to represent a duct flute of some kind, quite possibly a recorder.
• The Fluteplayer (1936), bronze, 31 cm high × 19 cm, Ernst Barlach. Dresden: Art Bronze Sculptures, RL-129 (2021, col.) Identical to the item above. A man in a cloak and helmet plays a cylindrical pipe with a marked flare at the bell, all fingers of both hands down. finger holes are visible, but no window/labium, yet given the title, the instrument must be intended to represent a duct flute of some kind, quite possibly a recorder.

Ambrogio Federico [or Federigo] Barocci [or Baroccio, called ‘Le Baroche’ or ‘Fiore da Urbino’]

Italian draughtsman, painter and etcher whose highly individual, eclectic fusion of Venetian colore with Central Italian disegno anticipated and influenced the Carracci and led the transition form Late Mannerism to the Baroque; painted many altarpieces characterised by sincerity and lyrical pathos; born Urbino (ca 1535), died Urbino (1612).

• Study of the Shoulders and Arm of a Man Seen From Behind (before 1590), drawing in black chalk and red pastel over white gouache on blue and white paper, 25.3 × 19.1 cm, Ambrogio Federico Barocci (ca 1535–1612). Rennes: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. 794.1.2519. Ref. Burlington Magazine (February 1992: 128, #49): Joconde Website (1999). The figure of a man with a pipe thrust through his belt. Its lowermost holes are doubled, but near the head-joint is a prominent bulge in the turning more suggestive of the stock of a bagpipe chanter rather than a recorder. Over his shoulder he holds one of the bagpipe drones.

Carl Josef Barth

German painter whose work covered an unusually wide range of styles and subject-matter; after expressionist beginnings in the 1920s he created in the early 1930’s the most influential of his works – well constructed, economical images which belong to the New Objectivity and Magic Realism but which speak of the isolation of man in the face of the threatening political and social upheaval; with the end of World War II came images of rubble and sorrow, and things of the past – masks and dolls pictures, pictures of pretense, denial, change; from the 1950s he found a new-found freedom in which aesthetic forms are reduced and abstracted and the images determined by the Mediterranean world, then opening up travel; later he became more experimental, embracing constructive, architectural and geometric thinking; born Haan, Rheinland (1896), died Düsseldorf (1976).

• Still-life with Instruments (1943), oil on canvas, 90 × 110 cm, Carl Josef Barth (1896–1976). Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, 4830. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DÜk – 3). On a table lie a violin with bow in its case, a glass, a table music-stand with a leaf of music showing the words “Seb. Bach”, and a baroque-style recorder with a single finger hole in the foot joint. The other finger holes and the window/labium are not visible because of the position of the instrument which is made of dark wood, with a very much lighter block. The upper part of the mouthpiece curves slightly downwards at the lip end, in the manner of recorders by Hotteterre. In the background hangs a painting of The Three Kings and the Holy Family.

Fra Bartolommeo [born Baccio della Porta, also known as Bartolommeo da San Marco]

Italian Dominican Friar, draughtsman and painter of the high renaissance, one of the chief exponents of colour composition in the Florentine school; he painted secular pictures (which he burnt after hearing the sermons of Savonarola) and religious subjects, the latter famous for depicting divinity as a supernatural force, and for his sacra conversazione in which the saints are made to witness and react to a biblical event occurring before their eyes, rather than standing in devout contemplation, as was conventional before; his drawings, are exceptional both for their abundance and for their level of inventiveness; born Florence (1472), died Florence (1517).

• Madonna con Bambino, Sant’Anna e altri Santi [St Anne Altarpiece] (ca 1510–1512), painting on panel, 444 × 306 cm, Fra Bartolommeo (1472–1517).  Florence: Museo di San Marco, Inv. 1890, n. 1574. Ref. Burckhardt & Humfrey (1988: 129, pl. 101); Hunfrey (1993: 270, fig. 256, b&w); Hijmans (2005: 222); Webpage: Wikmedia Commons (2011, col.) Four angel musicians fly in a semi-cupola above, playing instruments including viola da braccio, lute and duct flutes with angels holding open a book in the centre. One angel on the right holds two duct flutes, one in each hand. That in the right hand has a decorated ‘Virdung’ design bell ends and a beaked mouthpiece, but no other identifying features: it could be a recorder. The other instrument shows part of one finger hole but is otherwise unrecognizable (Rowland-Jones, pers com. 1999, 2000, 2001).
• Ascension of Christ, drawing, 23.0 × 15.5 cm, Fra Bartolommeo (1472–1517). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi, no. 1237r. Ref. Gabelentz (1922, II: no. 175, pl. 17); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). “All the musical instruments are rather vague. Angels at the left play fiddle and lute. Angels at the right play lute and recorder. Two others play straight trumpets” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.

Willem Bartsius

Dutch painter about whom little is known; he seems to have worked in Leiden, Alkmaar and Amsterdam; his early style is similar to the work of Pieter Potter and Gerrard Dou, but in later years it tends more to that of Pieter Jacobtz Codde (1599–1678) and Anthonie Palamedesz. (1601–1673); he painted portraits, shooting and society pieces, and biblical representations; born Enkhuizen (1612), died p.1639; brother-in-law of the painter Pieter Symonsz. Potter (1598–1652).

• Young Flautist, oil on panel, 10 × 10 cm, Willem Bartsius (1612–p.1639). Berlin: Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, Sammlung Wilhelm Gumprecht, 21 March 1918, Lot 48. Ref. Plietzsch (1918: 20-21); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 152355 (2014, b&w). Head and shoulders of young man in a cocked and feathered hat holding in his raised left hand a duct flute, only the head and upper body of which are visible.
• Elegant Company Making Music, oil on panel, 40.6 × 63.5 cm, attributed to Willem Bartsius (1612–p. 1639). Location unknown: auctioned Christie’s London, Sale 9725, Old Master Pictures, 31 October 2003, Lot 20. A woman plays a lute and a man sings, holding what looks like a recorder held over his shoulder. Behind them a woman at a table raises a glass of wine as if to toast them. To their right, a man stands hastily writing a document at a desk. The floor is littered with oyster shells. Beyond its overall shape, few details of the recorder are depicted, but its shape seems unmistakable and the symbolism is apt for what must surely be a marriage portrait.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 86.7 × 77.7  cm, William Bartsius (1612–p. 1639). Geneva: Musėe d’Art et d’histoire Genève, Inv. Bass. 14. Ref. Glück (1929: 22, lot 45 – as Athene); Haute  (2008: 232–234 & fig. 17); Elsig (2009: 62); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (Image 1000277074). A young woman sitting in three-quarter view. Staring at the viewer, she is placed in an interior in front of a brown curtain drawn to the right-hand side. With her left foot placed on a book, she places her left hand on a skull which rests on her knee while holding a spoon with a bubble in her right hand. She wears a loosely fitting white dress tied beneath her breasts with a belt – similar to the angel in Elijah Visited by the Angel and a heavy gold, coloured cloak draped over her shoulders. Her rich attire is complemented by jewellery consisting of a crown, strings of pearls and a large brooch. On a draped table behind her, expensive items are assembled such as an opened jewellery box, an ornamental piece of silverware and nautilus cup as well as the familiar shawl ending in tassels. A large still life on the tiled floor fills the bottom right corner. It comprises a globe, books, playing cards, a fallen glass, a violin, a recorder and lute, a pipe, dice, an overturned hourglass and the metal flask with a chain first seen in Abraham Pleading with Sarah on Behalf of Hagar. Another assortment of objects related to warfare is vaguely discernible in the background on the left. Only the head and upper body of the recorder can be seen. Formerly attributed variously to Willem de Poorter (1608–1649/1668 ), Govert Flinck (1615–1660) and Wolfgang Heimbach (1613/1616 –1678.

Ferrer [Ferrarius] Bassa [de Baco]

Spanish painter and miniaturist; amongst a group of artists who introduced the new Florentine and Siennese Italo-Gothic styles to the court of Aragon; his long career included a death sentence for criminal assault in 1315, several pardons by King James II of Aragon, and diplomatic missions for King Peter IV who appointed him court painter; his representation of figures, and his ability to convey a sense of volume and weight, may owe something to the influence of Giotto, but his facial expressions, decorative ability with garments and drapes, and his suggestiveness without literal detail show his marked originality; born ca 1290, died 1348, possibly a victim of the Black Plague which reached Barcelona in 1348.

• Joys of the Virgin (1346), oil and tempera fresco, Ferrer Bassa (op. 1324–1348). Barcelona: Monasterio de Pedralbes, Capila de Sant Miquel. Ref. Trens (1936); Sague i Guarro (2005: 24, pl. 9, col.); Jordi Ballester (ex Anthony Rowland-Jones, 2005); Website: Murals in the Spotlight (2012, col.) One of a series of paintings located in the cloister of the abbey of Pedralbes in St Michael’s Chapel, which served as the day-cell for Francesca Saportella, the second abbess and niece of Queen Elisenda, the abbey’s founder. This panel is one of over two dozen painted by Bassa in the same chapel. It is in two parts: Nativity, and Annunciation to the Shepherds. In the former, Joseph dozes, leaning on his elbow whilst Mary kneels in prayer before the crib, watched over by a cow and a donkey. In the Annunciation a shepherd in a snood stands on a rock holding a cylindrical object in his right hand suggestive of a pipe, possibly a duct flute. The City Council of Barcelona has recently undertaken the restoration work of Gothic paintings found in Capilla de San Miquel, in the Monastery of Pedralbes, which have been attributed to Ferrer Bassa through crowdfunding.

Evaristo Baschenis

Italian painter whose reputation rests on his poetic still-lifes, many of which include musical instruments; he also painted a few religious subjects and portraits; also a keen musician and horticulturalist; born Bergamo (1617), died Bergamo (1677). Baschenis is universally acknowledged as the inventor of the musical instrument still-life and its most celebrated practitioner. He was himself a practicing musician who clearly had a deep understanding of the instruments that he painted. His highly personal vision evolved from the tradition of concert and musical scenes painted by the likes of Titian and Giorgione in the sixteenth century Venice, and by Caravaggio and his northern followers in the first half of the seventeenth century. Baschenis transformed this theme by completely removing the figurative component, leaving the instruments as the sole protagonists, thus effecting a poetic and entirely original style.

• Strumenti musicali (1667–1677), oil on canvas, 108 × 153 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Detail. Venice: Gallerie della Accademia, Inv. 1047. Ref. Robbins Landon & Norwich (1991: 67, pl. 20, col.); Francone et al. (1996: 204–205, pl. 33, col.; 206–207, pl., col.); Bayer (2000: 110–113, pls., col.); Wikimedia Commons (2011, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3124 (2023, col.) On a draped table and beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a globe, a carnation, a decorated writing cabinet, sheet music and a music book, a folded letter, two lutes, a violin, and a small flared-bell recorder. The beak and foot of the latter are inscribed with decorative rings, and holes for seven fingers are clearly visible, including paired holes for the lowermost finger.
• Strumenti musicali (1667–1677), oil on canvas, 60 × 88 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Milan: Pinacoteca di Brera, Inv. 782. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 146-147, pl. 7, col.); Brera Art Gallery, Milan: postcard (col.); Bayer (2000: 44, fig. 30 , b&w); Austern (2003: 297, fig. 13.4 , b&w); American Recorder (2012, May: front cover, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a table beneath richly embroidered drapes stands a chest of drawers with small feet, leaving a space beneath into which is tucked almost all of a violin bow. An open drawer in the chest contains a white powdery substance, probably salt rather than the fabulously expensive sugar of that time. On top of the cabinet are books, two peaches and a recorder only the head and body of which are visible: the beak has decorative inscribed rings and the window/labium is very clearly depicted. Unfortunately, one of the two leaves left on the stalk of the lower apple covers the spot where the seventh hole would be, but there is little doubt that it is a recorder. On the table itself are scattered more books, some music, an oval box, an oboe, a lute and a violin. There is another version in a private collection in Bergamo.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 54 × 68 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Detail. Bergamo: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 42, fig. 3); CD cover: Cantata da Camera – Bononcini, Porsile, Scarlatti, Vox Temporis Productions CD 92 042 (1999: detail, col.) On a table beneath richly embroidered drapes lie books, two peaches, a book of music, an oval box, an oboe, a lute, a violin and a duct flute (probably a recorder, though only six finger holes are depicted), only the head and body of which are visible and the beak of which has decorative inscribed rings. Another version in the Brera Gallery, Milan.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 65.5 × 87.5 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Venice: Palazzo Pisani Moretta. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 150, pl. 8, col.); Bayer (2000: 44, fig. 31 , b&w; 82–85, pl, col.); Exhibition: Three Centuries of Italian Art, National Gallery of Australia (2002, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1173 (2023, col.) Similar to the two paintings above. On a table beneath richly embroidered drapes lie books, two peaches, a book of music, an oval box, two circular containers, an oboe, a lute, a violin and a duct flute (probably a recorder, though only six finger holes can be seen) only the head and body of which are visible and the beak of which has decorative inscribed rings. One of the lutes is streaked with dust, emphasizing the trompe-l’oeil effect sought by the artist and possibly pointing to a vanitas component, “all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Ecclesiastes, 3:20).
• Strumenti musicali con spartiti, calamaio, libri e mele (1660–1670), oil on canvas, 95 × 128 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara – Pinacoteca di Arte Antica, Inv. D34. Ref. Milesi & Donizetti (1993); Francone et al. (1996: 202–203, pl. 32, col.); Bayer (2000: 106–109, pl., col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1471 (2023, col.) On a table beneath richly embroidered drapes lie two apples, two books, a music book, a sheet of music, a black box, a harpsichord, an oboe, a cello and bow, a cittern, a theorbo, and a flared-bell duct flute (possibly a recorder, though only six finger holes are depicted).
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 96 × 140 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Rome: Private Collection. Ref. Milesi (1993); Francone et al. (1996: 246–247, pl. 49, col.) On a table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a decorated writing cabinet on top of which is a small bust and some books, two glasses, two musical scores a lute, a trumpet, a violin, a guitar, and a flared-bell recorder.
• Strumenti musicali, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Carrara, Bergamo: Private Collection. Ref. Milesi (1993). Shows flared bell, soprano recorder with theorbo, lute, guitar, violin, cello.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 94.5 × 117.5 cm, studio of Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Image from Carol Gerten-Jackson. Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Inv. No. WRM 2614. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr 6); Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 05011548, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-889 (2023, col.) Shows a soprano flared bell recorder with harp, archlute, small lute or mandore, spinet, shawm, violin, guitar, and a globe. The soprano recorder lies rather precariously on two books which are standing upright. The instrument is lying on its front so finger holes are not apparent, but the ends are clear, one showing slight bell-flare both externally and at the bore opening, the other strongly beak-shaped.
• [Title unknown], Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1997b: 13). Shows a case containing a consort of what may be recorders.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments (2nd half of 17th century), by a follower of Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Cremona: Museo Civico “Ala Ponzone”. The instruments include arch lute, guitar, viola, violin, and (at the left) a cylindrical recorder (the beak and six finger holes are shown) partly hidden by a lute and some music. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 80 × 100 cm, studio of Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Galleria Casa Bonomi. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 44, fig. 4). Against a background of drapes are books, two open music scores, a harpsichord, a lute, a guitar, a cello (only the neck of which is visible), a violin, and a flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 51 × 66 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi, Inv. 5801. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 46, fig. 7). On a draped table lie a decorated writing cabinet, some pages of music, two lutes, two violins, a guitar, a trumpet, and a small flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 109 × 152 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 91, fig. 3). On a draped table are a harpsichord, two lutes, a guitar, a cello (only the neck of which is visible), a violin and bow, and a small flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible.
• Strumenti musicali con scrigno intarsiato, oil on canvas, 113 × 160 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Milan: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 96, fig. 12). On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a letter, page of music, a globe, a decorated writing cabinet, two lutes, a violin, an oboe, and a small flared-bell recorder with decorative rings inscribed on the beak.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 108 × 147 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1607–1677). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 160-161, pl. 13, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a book with an apple on top, several books piled on top of each other, two music books, three lutes, a guitar, a harpsichord, a violin and bow, a cello (only the neck and back of which are visible), and a flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible. There are other versions in the Galleria Sabauda, Torino, and in private collections; and a version with a fig replacing the apple in a private collection.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 100 × 143 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Torino: Galleria Sabauda, Inv. 584. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 162-163, pl. 14, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a book with an apple on top, several books piled on top of each other, two music books, three lutes, a guitar, a harpsichord, a violin and bow, a cello (only the neck and back of which are visible), and a flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible. There are other versions in a private collections; and a version with a fig replacing the apple in a private collection.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 103 × 144 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 164–165, pl. 15, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a book with a fig on top, two music books, several books piled on top of each other, three lutes, a guitar, a harpsichord, a violin and bow, a cello (only the neck and back of which are visible), and a flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible. Versions of the same composition but with an apple replacing the fig are in private collections and in the Galleria Sabauda, Torino.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 103 × 144 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 192–193, pl. 27, col.) On a table lie an apple, a cello and bow, two lutes, a folded letter, an ornate writing cabinet on top of which is a globe, some papers and a recorder viewed end-on from the beak downwards. There is another version, also in a private collection.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 90 × 105 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 194–195, pl. 28, col.) On a table lie an apple, a cello and bow, two lutes, a folded letter, an ornate writing cabinet on top of which is a globe, some papers and a recorder viewed end-on (from the beak downwards). There is another version, also in a private collection.
• Strumenti musicali (1660), oil on canvas, 115 × 160 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara – Pinacoteca di Arte Antica, Inv. 1389. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 214–215, pl. 36, col.); Bayer (2000: 114–117, pls, col.); Postcard: Accademia Carrara (2003, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1175 (2023, col.) On a draped table beneath plain hangings lie music scores, three lutes, a violin and bow, a flared -bell recorder (with holes for seven fingers, including paired holes for the lowermost finger), and a writing cabinet on top of which is a guitar on top of which lie two books and an pear. A cello leans against the back of the table.
• Strumenti musicali con ritratto, oil on canvas, 115 × 146 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1601–1677) & Salomon Adler (ca 1630–1709). Milan: Accademia di Brera. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 222-223, pl. 40, col.); Bayer (2000: 120–123, pls, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-445 (2023, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie some books, a pine box, two lutes, a violin and bow, a cello and bow, a guitar, and a flared-bell recorder. Behind the table a musician in a hat strums a vihuela. Only the head is the work of Adler.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 75 × 99 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 236-237, pl. 44, col.); Bayer (2000: 126–127, pl., col.); Programme: I solisti Veneti, Concerto straordinario a favore del Fondo per L’Ambiente Italiano (FAI), 8 October 2003, Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo (2003, col.); Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table beneath plain hangings lie a music score, a folded letter, some books, a lute, a theorbo, a violin and bow, a guitar, and a flared-bell recorder with holes for seven fingers clearly depicted including paired holes for the lowermost finger. There are a number of copies of this (see below)
• Still-life with Musical instruments, 17th century, oil on canvas, Evaristo Baschenis (1667–1677). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On a table beneath a tasselled curtain lie a book, a letter, a musical score, a theorbo, a lute, a violin and a small flared-bell soprano recorder. Similar to another work by Baschenis in a private collection (Bayer 2000: 126–127, see above) which lacks the tasselled curtain. A copy of this has also been auctioned recently (see below).
• Still-life with Musical instruments, 17th century, oil on canvas, Bergamo School after Evaristo Baschenis (1667–1677). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On a table beneath a tasselled curtain lie a book, a letter, a muscial score, a theorbo, a lute, a violin and a small flared-bell soprano recorder. This appears to be a copy of an original by Baschenis (see above)
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 72 × 95 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara – Pinacoteca di Arte Antica, Inv. 761. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 252–253, pl. 44, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a book, an astrolabe, a decorated writing cabinet, a sheet of music, a lute, a violin, a theorbo, a cello, and a flared-bell recorder with holes for seven fingers clearly depicted including paired holes for the lowermost finger.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). The Hague: Maritshuis, Galerij Prins Willem V. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The instruments include a cello, violin, two lutes and guitar. There is an orange prominently in the centre. Underneath one of the lutes, on a book, lies a pipe, the head end of which is completely obscured. But it has the appearance of a ‘wave profile’ recorder with medium bell and bore flare. No finger holes are visible.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, Evaristo Baschenis (1667–1677). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On an ornately carved table, underneath a draped curtain, lie two books, an apple, a folded letter, a small globe, a casket, and musical instruments including a curved-back guitar or guitar, a violin, a cello and bow, a lute, and a small, one-piece, flared-bell recorder the window/labium and finger holes of which are clearly depicted.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 100 × 120 cm, after Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Clusone: Museo Sant’Andrea. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 268–269, pl. 57, col.); Badiarov (2005, col.) On a table beneath richly embroidered and tasselled drapes lie two apples, two books (one titled Manuale de Giardine), a harpsichord, a theorbo, a cittern, a shawm (only the foot of which is visible), a cello and bow, and a flared-bell recorder. One of a pendant pair.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 100 × 120 cm, after Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Clusone: Museo Sant’Andrea. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 270–271, pl. 58, col.); Badiarov (2005, col.) On a table beneath richly embroidered and tasselled drapes lie a decorated writing cabinet, two books (one titled Alfonso Longhi), a lemon, a folded letter, a lute, a violin, a theorbo, a cello and bow, and a flared-bell recorder. 
• Still-Life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 52.5 × 96.0 cm, Bonaventura Bettera (1663-1718). Poggio a Caiano: Villa Medici e Museo della Natura Morta. Ref. Lute Iconography, Item LI-1498 (2023, col.) A number of instruments lie tumbled on a table beneath a tasseled drape. They include a violin, a guitar with a vaulted back, 2 lutes, and a soprano-sized duct flute with details of the beak, window/labium, flared bell, and six finger holes visible, the lowermost slightly offset (probably intended to represent a recorder). There are also a globe, an apple, a box, and two books, (one titled Alfonso Longhi).
•  Girl with a Still-life, 96 × 143 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). London: Private Collection. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Bott (1997: pl. 5, col.) Although attributed to (Gabrius Data Bank, loc. cit) this work is signed by Evaristo Baschenis (Bott, loc. cit.) A young girl stands behind and to the left of a table with a dark cloth on which are scattered musical scores, a violin and bow, and a magnificent bass recorder with one key and a fontanelle at the foot. What are probably two more recorders lean amongst the folds of a heavy fringed and tasselled drape which partly covers the table, but only their centre-parts are visible.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, 110 × 170 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639 – p. 1687 & a. 1700) OR Evaristo Baschenis 1617–1677). Rome: Private Collection. Ref. Bott (1997: pl. 36 , b&w). Includes a lute, trumpet, guitar, soprano hand-fluyt, and a bust of Christ on a cabinet.
• Strumenti musicali, oil on canvas, 87 × 115 cm, after Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara – Pinacoteca di Arte Antica, Inv. 1391. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 272–273, pl. 59, col.); Bayer (2000: 40, fig. 26 , b&w); Badiarov (2005, col.) On a draped table beneath richly embroidered hangings lie a book with an apple on top, several books piled on top of each other, two music books, three lutes, a guitar, a harpsichord, a violin and bow, and a flared-bell recorder only the foot and lower body of which are visible.
• Still-life, after Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Florence: Galleria Palatina (Pitti Palace Gallery), Music Museum; on loan from Galleria della Accademia, Inv. (1890) 5781. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Includes a curtain, coffer, books, fruit, globe, guitar, violin, cello with bow, two lutes, and a soprano recorder of the hand fluyt kind.
• Strumenti musicali, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Italy: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: col.) On a draped table beneath a richly embroidered and lined hanging is a rectangular spinet on top of which lie an apple, a book, some music, three lutes, a violin, a guitar and a recorder of which only the foot is visible. A cello leans against the end of the table, only its neck visible.
• Strumenti musicali, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Italy: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: col.) On a draped table beneath a richly embroidered and lined hanging is a rectangular spinet on top of which lie a fig, a book, some music, three lutes, a violin, a guitar and a recorder of which only the foot is visible. A cello leans against the end of the table, only its neck visible.
• Strumenti musicali, 106 × 150 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Italy: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1349 (2023, b&w.) On a table beneath an embroidered hanging lie books, papers, a globe, a small shawm, a viola da braccio, a lute, a violin, and a small writing cabinet on top of which are another smaller lute and a small recorder only the foot of which is visible.
• Strumenti musicali, painting, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Italy: Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: col.) On a table beneath an embroidered hanging lie a box, a shawm (viewed end on), a lute, a violin, music, and a small cabinet on top of which are a peach, a book with a second peach on top, two smaller books, and a recorder.
• Still Life of Musical Instruments, with a Female Figure, circle of Evaristo Baschenis (1607–1677) London: Rafael Valls Gallery. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image RAF52838, col.) Musical instruments lie piled on a table, amongst the lute, guitar, violin and a small flageolet or recorder, the  window/labium and six finger holes visible. Next to the table stands a woman (a personification of music, perhaps) holding a lute. Behind her is a wall with a painting of a semi-naked woman. On the table are papers and music, and there is a large ewer.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 81.1 × 115.9 cm, follower of Evaristo Baschenis (1607–1677). London: Christies, Sale 9359, Old Master Pictures, 19 April 2002, Lot 242. Ref. Porzio (1989). Beneath a drape, on a table covered with a green cloth are a platter of peaches, flowers, a jewel box, books and papers, a lute, a guitar and a violin. Beside the table is a boy holding a duct flute (probably a recorder), the lower half of which is out of view. The artist has most carefully spread the first and second fingers in order to show the thumb beneath the instrument in good recorder-playing position.
• Still-life of Musical Instruments, painting, attributed to Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Ref. eBay (Italy), item 310251990854 (2014, col.) On a bench lie a book, music, a violin and bow, and a slender more or less cylindrical recorder. The eBay item purports to be a copy of an original by Baschenis from Bergamo but gives no details of its whereabouts. It seems too simple and austere by far to be by Baschenis himself.
• Still-life of Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 73.5 × 96.5 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Kassel: Staatliche Museum, Inv. GK 1012. Beneath a drape, on a table covered with an embroidered cloth, are a small cabinet, a book, a sheet of music, a note, a spinet, three lutes, a violin and a cylindrical recorder only the upper part of which is visible.
• Still-life of Musical Instruments (1650), oil on canvas, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte, Berlin (2014, col.); CD Cover: Pierre Gautier de Marseille: Symphonies, La Simphonie du Marais [Hugo Reyne], Astreée Auvidis CD [DDD] E 8637; Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1840 (2023, col.)  Beside a violin bow, a lute lies belly-down on a table. Lying on top of the lute are a music book, a violin with a broken string and a baroque recorder with ivory-sleeved beak and mounts. Only the head and upper body of the recorder can be seen, but there is a maker’s mark below the window/labium. The music looks nonsensical.
• Still-life of Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 98.5 x 145.0 cm, Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677). Vienna: Dorotheum, 10 November 2021, Lot 31. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2922 (2023, col.) Beneath a tasseled drape, on a carpet-covered table, lie a jumble of musical instruments: an archlute,  harp, violin, bass viola, mandora, a bow, and a small duct flute. The latter is probably a recorder, although only five finger holes are visible and the lowermost is not offset. 

Francesco Giambattista Bassano, the Younger [Francesco Giambaattista da Ponte, the Younger]

Italian provincial genre painter who adopted the name Bassano; born Bassano (1549/50), died Venice (1592); son of Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510-1592). The Bassano painters are directly related to the Bassano instrument-makers, players and composers imported from Venice to London by Henry VIII and whose descendants were court musicians at least through the Restoration of Charles II.

• Shepherd Boy with Flute, oil on canvas, 26 × 21 cm, Francesco Bassano, (1549/50–1592). Bergamo: Galleria Carrara. Ref. Gerola (1910: 25, fig. 632 , b&w); Paulo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Website: flautotraverso.it (2003, col.). The “flute” of the title is a recorder. Only the head and window/labium are depicted. Beneath them, a maker’s mark is visible just below – a shield or possibly a bunch of grapes.
• The Flute Player, canvas, 62 × 52 cm, Francesco Bassano, (1549/50–1592). Location unknown; sold by Finarte, Milan (15/16 May 1962), Cat. No. 5. Ref. Paris RIdiM (2000). A young man plays an alto-sized cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) of which the beak and two finger holes are clearly visible.
• Boy with a Flute (1580–1585), 54.6 × 44.0 cm, Francesco Bassano (1549/50–1592). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. GG_8. Ref. Archiv Moeck (attributed to J. Bassano, in error); Website: Early Music Gallery (2005, col.) A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a wide, cylindrical recorder, the bell of which is hidden in shadow. Probably the original of which a number of copies and engravings are known (see below).
• Boy with a Flute (1651–1656), ?oil on wood, 17.0 × 12.5 cm, David I Teniers (1610–1690), after Francesco Bassano (1549/1550–1592). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. GG_9708. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a wide, cylindrical recorder, the bell of which is hidden in shadow.
• Boy with a Flute, oil on canvas, 56 × 42.5 cm, after Francesco Bassano (1549/50-1592). Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, Old Master Paintings, 22 June 2010, Lot 146. Ref. Website: artnet (2019, col.) A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a wide, cylindrical recorder, the bell of which is out of frame. A copy of the original, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna GG 8 (see above).
• [Shepherd Boy with Pipe], ?19th-century copy of an original painting by Francesco Bassano, (1549/50–1592). Oxford: University, Bate Collection of Musical Instruments. Presented, along with his instruments, by French recorder player and teacher Jean Henry (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 2000). A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a wide, cylindrical recorder, the bell of which is hidden in shadow. Probably based on the original, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna GG_9708 (see above). The resemblance of this painting to the engraving by Troÿen (see below), an anonymous painting in Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel (see below), and to one of the paintings depicted in The Gallery of Archduke Leopold in Brussels (1640) by Teniers II is remarkable, although the details of the recorder differ somewhat in each case.
• [Shepherd Boy with Pipe] (ca 1610 – p. 1666), engraving, 16.5 × 12.0 cm, by I. Troÿen after Francesco Bassano, (1549/50–1592) but attributed in error to “Bassant Jr.” Washington DC: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, 0013/L. Ref. Recorder & Music 7 (3): cover (1981). Published in David II Teniers’ (1610-1690) Theatrum Pictorium (1660, 1673). A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a narrow recorder with a greatly flared bell. Probably based the original, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna GG_9708 (see above). The resemblance of this engraving to the anonymous copy of an original oil painting by Francesco Bassano (see above), an anonymous painting in Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel (see below), and to one of the paintings depicted in The Gallery of Archduke Leopold in Brussels (1640) by Teniers II is remarkable, although the details of the recorder differ somewhat in each case.
• The Flautist, anonymous copy after Francesco Bassano, (1549/1550–1592). Culrean: Carbisdale Castle (Youth Hostel). Ref. Jeanette Hipsey ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (2002, pers. comm.). A young boy with a leafy wreath on his head plays a narrow recorder with a greatly flared bell. Probably based on the original, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna GG_9708 (see above). The resemblance of this to the anonymous copy of an original oil painting by Francesco Bassano (see above), an engraving by I. Troÿen, and to one of the paintings depicted in The Gallery of Archduke Leopold in Brussels (1640) by Teniers II is remarkable, although the details of the recorder differ somewhat in each case.
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, Francesco Bassano, (1549/1550–1592). Venice: Palazzo Ducale. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.). A shepherd in the foreground holds with his left hand the lower part of an alto-sized duct flute which he has at his mouth. The window/labium area is clearly depicted, and five finger holes are visible at the lower half of the instrument which is slightly conical with a very short bell flare.
• Nativity, Francesco Bassano, (1549/1550–1592). Detail. Venice: Tempio del Santissimo Redentore. Ref. Postcard: Edizioni G. Deganello, Padova. The Holy Family are surrounded by animals and visitors, including two angels how hover above the scene. A young boy sitting in the bottom right hand corner plays a slender pipe with a flared bell. Three fingers of his upper (left) hand and four of the lower (right) hand are covering their holes, so it is highly likely that the instrument represents a recorder.
• The Marriage at Cana (ca 1579), oil on canvas, 127 × 203 cm, Francesco Bassano, (1549/1550–1592). Madrid: Museo del Prado. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The marriage feast is accompanied by a lutenist with other instruments scattered on a bench and on the floor beside him, namely a violin and bow, a viol and bow, two shawms crossed and tied together, and a pipe (possibly a recorder). Only the the bell end of the pipe can be seen in the shadows beneath a low wooden bench, beside the viol bow. No finger holes holes can be seen. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.).

Gerolamo Bassano

Italian painter of the Venetian school, who trained in the family workshop; also studied medicine at Padua but never completed the course; born Bassano del Grappa (1566), died Venice (1621). The Bassano painters are directly related to the Bassano instrument-makers, players and composers imported from Venice to London by Henry VIII and whose descendants were court musicians at least through the Restoration of Charles II.

• Annunciation to the Shepherds, oil on canvas, 61.5 × 93.0 cm, Gerolamo Bassano (1566–1621). Kassel: Staatliche Museum, Inv. GK 857. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Ksg – 2). Three shepherds and three shepherdesses with their sheep and cows. A shepherd lying on the left plays a recorder or shawm. Two of the shepherds look in amazement at the brightly lit sky. (In the Inv. In 1749 under Leandro Bassano).
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, painting, Gerolamo Bassano (1566–1621). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a hillside overlooking a town, two shepherds with their sheep, goats, donkeys and dogs look up in wonder as the archangel makes his announcement. One shepherd stands open armed. The other reclines holding in his right hand a clearly depicted alto-sized recorder, the beak, window/labium and flared bell clearly depicted.

Jacopo Bassano [Jacopo or Giacomo da Ponte]

Italian painter of the Venetian school, known for his portraits, biblical and mythological scenes, lush landscapes, and scenes of everyday country life with its popular entertainments and pastoral scenes with herdsmen and animals, whose early Mannerist works used elongated figures and brilliant color; born in Bassano del Grappa (ca 1510), died Bassano (1592); eldest son of Francesco Bassano the Elder (ca 1475–1539). The Bassano painters are directly related to the Bassano instrument-makers, players and composers imported from Venice to London by Henry VIII and whose descendants were court musicians at least through the Restoration of Charles II.

• Annunciation to the Shepherds (ca 1558), oil on canvas, Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Leicestershire: Belvoir Castle. Ref. Fröhlich-Bum (1930: 243, fig. 254); Marle & Marle (1935: 400); Arslan (1960: 327); Paris RIdIM (2000); Web Gallery of Art (2014). One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a pipe (quite possibly a duct flute) with sharply flared, decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Leandro Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see below). This is now considered to be the primary version of this composition.
• Annunciation to the Shepherds (1533), oil on canvas, 127.5 × 118.8 cm, Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Ref. Alex Wengraf Ltd (?1993). One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a pipe (quite possibly a duct flute) with sharply flared, decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Leandro Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see below). One of several versions of this composition painted in Jacopo’s studio.
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, (1555/1560), oil on canvas, 106.1 × 82.6 cm, Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Washington: National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection 1939.1.126. Ref. Website: National Gallery of Art, Washington (2016, col.) One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a pipe (quite possibly a duct flute) with sharply flared, decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Leandro Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see below). There is another version in the Galleria dell’Accademia de S. Luca, Rome (Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr 344). One of several versions of this composition painted in Jacopo’s studio, this canvas is universally recognized as being largely by Jacopo himself.
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, (1555/1560), oil on canvas, 131.0 × 97.5 cm, Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, A905. Ref. Harrison et al. (2004, col.) One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom left of the picture holding in his left hand the lower part of a pipe (quite possibly a duct flute) with sharply flared, decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Leandro Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see below). There is another version in the Galleria dell’Accademia de S. Luca, Rome (Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr 344). One of several versions of this composition painted in Jacopo’s studio, this canvas is universally recognized as being largely by Jacopo himself.
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, (1555/1560), oil on canvas, 26.2 × 20.7 cm, after Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Inv. 3467. Ref. Munich RIdIM, Mstag – 24 (2013, b&w). This is very similar to the Annunciation in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. However, the composition is reversed and there are many other differences. One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom left of the picture holding in his right hand a duct flute with sharply flared bell, showing three upper finger holes. The window is visible, and the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Leandro Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see below).
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, oil on canvas, c. 43 × 42 cm, by Aegidius Sadeler (1570–1629) after Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Salzburg:  Dorotheum, Easter Auction (Art & Antiques), 15 April 2014, Lot 43. This is very similar to the various originals by Bassano described above.
• [Shepherd] (1701–1800), sketch after Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510-1592). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Z 3951. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr 344). A bearded shepherd in rags and a floppy hat lolls on one arm play playing a flared-bell duct flute held in the other. Only the upper four finger holes of the instrument are visible but it is clearly a recorder. Copied from Bassano’s Annunciation to the Shepherds.
• Piper and Goat (ca 1670), mezzotint, 6.5 × 9.5 cm, by Jonas Umbach (1624–1693), after ?Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). London: Grosvenor Prints (2010). A bearded shepherd in rags and a floppy hat lolls on one arm play playing a flared-bell duct flute held in the other. Only the upper four finger holes of the instrument are visible but it is clearly a recorder. Copied from Bassano’s Annunciation to the Shepherds. Currently offered for sale at £580.
• The Wedding at Cana, 152 × 214 cm, Jacopo Bassano (ca 1510–1592). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 431. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999, detail). A man plays a lute supported by the corner of a table. On a stool beside the table lie two flared-bell pipes each with its reed and pirouette and a tone hole near the bell clearly showing and thus probably representing shawms rather than recorders. Under the same stool projects the lower part of a third pipe of which four finger holes and the bell are visible: this may be a recorder (Anthony Rowland Jones, pers. comm. 1999). Against the stool lies a violin and a cello with its bow. There is another version of this in the Collection of Dr José Branger, Caraca, Venezuela. There is also a version by Leandro Bassano in the Museo Civico, Vicenza (see below).

Leandro Bassano [Leandro da Ponte]

Italian painter of the Venetian school who developed a style of painting strongly based on drawing in which fine brushwork, with cool, light colours, was smoothly applied in well-defined areas, unlike his father, who painted with dense and robust brushstrokes; born Bassano del Grappa (1557), died Venice (1622), after a long period of infirmity following a suicide attempt by throwing himself from a window; son of Jacopo da Ponte (ca 1510-1592). The Bassano painters are directly related to the Bassano instrument-makers, players and composers imported from Venice to London by Henry VIII and whose descendants were court musicians at least through the Restoration of Charles II.

• Annunciation to the Shepherds, Leandro Bassano (1557–1622). Padua: Museo Civico. One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) with a sharp flared and decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Jacopo Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see above).
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, Leandro da Ponte called Leandro Bassano (1557–1622). ?Location. A copy of the original at the Museo Civico, Padua. One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) with a sharp flared and decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Jacopo Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see above). “The instrument depicted here is more like a recorder, showing a clear window/labium and five finger holes before the shepherd’s right hand, and a marked bell flare with no decoration” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 1999).
• Annunciation to the Shepherds, oil on canvas, 87 × 70 cm, Leandro Bassano (1557–1622). Bordeaux: Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. BXE 101, BXM 5692. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). One of the shepherds lolls at the bottom right of the picture holding in his right hand the lower part of a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) with a sharply flared and decorated bell, showing three upper finger holes. No window is visible, but the beak of the instrument (shown in profile) rests on the players lips. The details of this painting, and particularly of the piper, are very similar to Jacopo Bassano’s treatment of the same theme (see above).
• Marriage at Cana, Leandro Bassano (1557–1622). Vicenza: Museo Civico. At the bottom left of the picture a young lad tunes a lute. Other instruments lie scattered on a bench and on the floor in front of her, including a viol, two bows, a violin, two shawms, and (under the bench) a recorder which has a short bell-flare (only the bottom part is visible). Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) Actually, 6 finger holes are clearly visible. This appears to be a copy of Jacopo Bassano’s painting of the same scene in the Louvre, Paris (see above).

Bassant Jr – see Francesco Bassano

Willem Basse

Dutch engraver active in Amsterdam; influenced by Rembrandt; born 1613/1614, died 1672/3.

• Peasants Making Music, etching, 16.8 × 14.0 cm, after Adriaen Brouwer, by Willem Basse (1613/1614–1672). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Print Room. Ref. Lammertse (1998: 112, fig. 2 , b&w). Three rustic musicians sit before a fireplace, a jug to hand. One sings, one plays the violin, the third plays a slender flared-bell pipe of alto/tenor size. Although the window/labium is not visible, the fingers are covering all the holes in perfect recorder-playing position. Another copy is currently for sale by Martinez D. (see below).
• The Music Party, etching, 16.7 × 15.3 cm, after Adriaen Brouwer, by Willem Basse (1613/1614–1672). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-BI-685. Ref. Hollstein (2010: 36); Martinez D. (2000). Three rustic musicians sit before a fireplace, a jug to hand. One sings, one plays the violin, the third plays a slender flared-bell pipe of alto/tenor size. Although the window/labium is not visible, the fingers are covering all the holes in perfect recorder-playing position. Another copy is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (see above).

Lapparo Bastiani

Italian (Venetian) specialist painter of teleri, large narrative paintings on canvas which adorned the scuole – charitable confraternities characteristic of Venice, a possible a teacher of Vittore Carpaccio; born ca 1425, died 1512.

• Madonna of Humility (ca 1470), tempera on panel, 80 × 55 cm, Lapparo Bastiani (ca 1425–1512). Milan: Museo Poldi Pezzoli. Ref. Website: Wikimedia Commons (2012, col.) The Virgin and Child enthroned are serenaded by a band of winged putti beneath the watchful eyes of God the Father and the Holy Ghost. On the left of the picture are a lute, a small trumpet, and a possible duct flute (largely hidden). On the right side are a fiddle, long trumpet (not being played), and another possible duct flute (the upper part of which is visible) played right hand uppermost with four fingers covering their holes. Two angels hover above the Virgin each holding onto her crown.

Martin Battersby

English collector, historian, set-designer, decorator, and artist who was an early devotee of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and decorative arts of the 1920s and 1930s. Through his books Art Nouveau (1967), The Decorative Twenties (1969) and The Decorative Thirties (1971), he gathered and made available a wealth of knowledge on the subject at a time when little other information was available. He had a particular flair for sophisticated trompe l’oeil in which subjects were drawn from his erudition and vast knowledge of iconography; his acquisitions form the basis of the collection now at the Brighton Museum; born 1914, died 1983.

• Trompe l’Oeil, oil on canvas laid on panel, 199 × 93 cm, Martin Battersby (1914–1983). Salisbury: Mompesson House, Inv. 724104.1. A trophy comprising a guitar, a mask, a soprano neo-baroque recorder, sheet music, designs for a lute and a violin, a reproduction of a dancing master’s kit, the title page of the Kreutzer Sonata with the inscription: ANDANTE CON VARAZIONI / KREUTZER SONATA / EDWIN M LOTT, a butterfly and various drawings and prints. One of seven panels commissioned in the 1950s by the house’s owner, the architect, Denis Martineau. They were originally designed to hang in the entrance hall but are now kept in storage. These intriguing pictures incorporate mysterious objects, which are clues that reveal something of the character and interests of Denis Martineau.

Giovanni Battista [see Cima da Conegliano]

Giovanni Battista da Faenza [Giovanni Battista Bertucci, the Elder]

Italian artist who has been confused with the painter now known as Biagio Antonio of Florence; his style appears to have been influenced by Costa and Perugino; active 1495–1516.

• Glorification of the Virgin (?1512–1516), oil on wood, 179.1 × 81.3 cm, Bertucci (op. 1495–1516). London: National Gallery Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). The Virgin sits on a cloud, the Holy Child on her lap, surrounded by winged putti each on their own clouds. Beneath, on Earth, two putti sit on a sort of predella, one playing a rebec, the other a slender pipe with an abruptly flared bell – it could be almost anything. However, there is just the hint of a window/labium and there are clearly holes for seven fingers, so this may have been intended to be a recorder. The picture appears to have been the central part of an altarpiece in five compartments that was in the Hercolani collection in Bologna in 1770. It may have been the one painted by Giovanni between 1512 and 1516 for the Chapel of Saint Thomas Aquinas in S. Andrea, Faenza. Existing panels showing Saint John the Evangelist (?) and Thomas Aquinas can be associated with the picture as side compartments.

Peter Baumgartner

German genre and history painter whose works often represented scenes from literary sources, including German folklore and fairy tales; born Munich (1834), died 1911.

• The Rehearsal, oil on canvas, Peter Baumgartner (1834–1911). Hamm-Rhynern: Mensing Gallerie. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image BAL39351); Macmillan (2008: 134). A group of people around a table in a darkened room, playing and listening to music. The instruments include 2 violins, flute, horn, double bass, and  trumpet (not a recorder at all!) played by a young boy.

Jan-Pieter Baurscheit, the Elder

Flemish sculptor known for religious works in various materials for churches around Antwerp; born Wormersdorf (1699), died Antwerp (1728).

• Organ case (1718–1722), carved wood, Jan-Pieter Baurscheit (1669–1728). Detail. Antwerp: St Carolus Borromeus, organ case. Ref. Peeters & Vente (1984: 184, 234); Arnold den Teuling ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Four musical trophies include depict violins, cello, lutes, guitar, harp, and many wind instruments including serpent, folded trumpet, oboes, cornetto, bassoon, flute, and a number of baroque-style recorders.

Charles T. Baxter

English bookbinder, miniaturist and portrait artist; born 1809, died 1879.

• Flute Player, oil on canvas, 57.2 × 55.9 cm, Charles Baxter (1809–1879). Location unknown: auctioned 27/10/2004 (sold) Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A portrait of an elegant young woman seated in a garden holding in her lap a narrowly conical pipe which could be taken for a recorder. No window/labium is discernible, but several finger holes can be seen including one off-set for the little-finger.

Charles Beale the Elder

English draughtsman and painter known for his many portraits; born 1660, died 1726; son of painter Mary Beale (1632-1699).

• A Young Man Playing a Recorder, red chalk on paper, 20.5 × 16.1 cm, Charles Beale (1660–1726). Location: British Museum, Inv. Gg,5.22. A young man in wearing a montero cap plays a perfectly depicted baroque alto recorder, the head and upper body of which are visible. Formerly attributed to Mary Beale (1632–1699).

Mary Beale

English painter who worked in oils, pastels and watercolour; produced numerous portraits, particularly of her family and friends, who included a number of prominent churchmen; born Mary Craddock in Barrow, Suffolk (1632), died London (1699); mother of the painter Charles Beale (1660–1726).

• Self-portrait of the Artist as a Shepherdess with her Son Charles in Attendance (ca 1664–1668, oil on canvas, 53.3 × 45.7 cm, Mary Beale (1632–1699). Location: Private Collection Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image MOU115111, col.); Website: Art Prints-on-demand.com (20014, col.) Mary Beale as a shepherdess sits in a tafetta dress holding a crook. Beside, stands her son playing a slender cylindrical pipe with a very slightly flared bell, probably a recorder since all the fingers of his lowermost (left) hand are covering their holes.

Vincent de Beauvais

French Dominican friar who wrote the Speculum Maius, the main encyclopedia used in the Middle Ages; born c.1190, died ?1264.

• Tiburce et Valérien: St Cecilia with a Group of Minstrels (15th century), painting, ? after Vincent de Beauvais (ca 1190–ca 1264). Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS 1463. Ref. Bowles (1983: pl. 76). The patroness of music is shown with an ensemble of secular musicians in a bed chamber playing an ambiguous pipe, lute and portative organ. The large, narrow, flared-bell pipe could be a recorder since it has to be soft enough for a conversation to take place (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)

Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory

After the Gobelins tapestry, the Beauvais Manufactory was the second most important of the French tapestry workshops that were established under the general direction of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister of Louis XIV. Whereas the royal Gobelins manufacture executed tapestries for the royal residences and for ambassadorial gifts, the manufacture at Beauvais always remained a private enterprise. Beauvais specialised in low-warp tapestry weaving, though the letters patent of 1664, authorising the company and offering royal protection, left the field open for the production of high-warp tapestry as well.

• Small Canapé with Gilt and Polychrome Frame and Beauvais Tapestry Cover Showing Pastoral Scenes (ca 1760–1765), dyed wool and silk yarns on wool and gilt walnut, 93.7 ×  103.2 × 74.9 cm, Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory (17-18th century). Boston: Frick Collection, Inv. 1918.5.48. A young shepherd couple sit in a landscape. The man holds a duct flute, possibly a recorder. Part of a set with three canapés and four armchairs. The chair is the work of French master carver and chairmaker Nicolas Heurtaut (1720–1771).

Antonio Beccadelli

Italian artist specialising in the execution of figures in genre compositions painted by other artists; he also painted independent works in the popular genre of Giuseppe Maria Crespi; he is said to have abandoned painting in favour of art collecting and art dealing late in his career; born Bologna (1718), died Bologna (1803).

• Boy with a Flute and Music & Girl with a Bird in a Cage, painting, Antonio Beccadelli (1718–1803). Location unknown: auctioned 07/06/2006 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) A pendant pair. On the left, a young boy sits at a desk, his left hand holding a soprano/alto sized pipe (probably a recorder), his right hand lying across an open book of music. On the right, a young woman leans on a cushion with her left arm and on a bird cage with her right on which a bird is perched.

Domenico (di Giacomo di Pace) Beccafumi [Mecarino, Mecherino]

Italian painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker and illuminator; amongst the most precocious of Tuscan Mannerists, he responded to the new demand for feeling and fantasy while retaining the formal language of the early 16th century; born Cortine in Valdibiana Montaperti (1484), died Siena (1551).

• Musical Angels, Domenico Beccafumi (1484–1551). Private Collection. Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.B3891.36; Rasmussen (1999, Lute). “One plays a fiddle (botch), the other, a lute. Not played: shawm, recorder and small corno torto” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.

Luigi Bechi

Italian academic classicist painter; an Italian patriot who fought in 1859 with the Piedmontese army against the Austrians; born Florence (1830), died 1919.

• Boy with a Recorder, 36 × 24 cm, Luigi Bechi (1830–1919). Private Collection. Ref. Website: Ocean’s Bridge (2007, col.); Russell (2010, col.); Website: pictorem (2019, col.) A young boy wearing a red cap, a red jacket beside him, sits playing a small flared-bell pipe. This is clearly neither a recorder nor a flageolet. The instrument has a reed and the boys lips and cheeks are suitably pinched. Around 1840 the Italian revolutionary Garibaldi adopted his trademark red shirt, poncho, and hat, so Bechi’s painting may well be an allegory of Italian independence (Russell, loc. cit.)

Jacob Samuel Beck

German artist; his subjects include still-lifes, portraits, biblical scenes and city landscapes; in the last years of his life he worked on the Erfurt Dance of Death, a cycle comprising 56 paintings (destroyed by fire in 1872); born Erfurt (1715), died Erfurt (1776).

• Hausmusik (1769), painting, 35 × 55 cm, Jacob Samuel Beck (1715–1773). Magdeburg: Kulturhistorisches Museum. Ref. Oja (1978: 8, item 43); Fulbourne: Walter Bergmann Slide WB 33; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Five musicians, four men and two women, stand and sit around a table singing. One of the company, a seated man at the far left front, conducts; a man standing at the back (wearing spectacles) holds a recorder. An old man seated at the far right plays a violin.

Max Beckmann

German draughtsman, printmaker, painter and sculptor who became one of the major Expressionists of the 20th century, despite the fact that he himself spurned categories and particularly rejected the Expressionist label; his mature works comprise a mosaic of contemporary social criticism and religious or mythical themes; masked or costumed circus characters as allegorical figures were a hallmark of his art; labelled as degenerate and persecuted by the Nazis he fled to Amsterdam; he emigrated to the United States, where he taught and painted during the last three years of his life by which time he had found widespread acceptance as a major force in 20th century art; born Leipzig (1884), died New York (1950).

• Triptych: The Argonauts (1949–1950), oil on canvas, 184.1 × 85.1 cm, 205.8 × 122 cm & 185.4 × 85.0 cm , Max Beckmannn (1884–1950). Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1975.96.1.a,b,c. Ref. Graff (2002); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). Originally titled The Artists, the painting’s title may allude to a group of poets and painters with whom Beckmann associated during his years in Amsterdam, 1937-47, who called themselves ‘the Argonauts’. It is the ninth of the monumental triptychs that distinguish Beckmann’s mature career. The centre panel depicts the Argonauts’ voyage to the Black Sea. The young heroes Orpheus and Jason are shown embarking on their search for the Golden Fleece. Orpheus, by his song, has calmed the wild sea and has put down his lyre on the sand. The ancient sea-god Glaucus emerges from the waves to prophesy the fate of the bold travelers; their magic ship, the Argo, will carry them safely to the mist-darkened kingdom of Colchis where they will ‘liberate’ not only the Golden Fleece but also the king’s daughter, Medea. Beckmann, to heighten the portent of the sea-god’s prophecy, shows sun and moon darkened by a miraculous eclipse and new planets being born. The cosmic menace does not distract the keen youths from their purpose, and the ancient prophet points the way to their heroic, and finally tragic, pursuit. The left wing represents painting. The right wing is devoted to music and has been interpreted as a devotion to Beckmann’s second wife Quappi, who was a gifted violinist, depicted showing her back in the upper part. There is also a reminiscence of his first wife Minna Tube, a noted singer. Other figures play harp, guitar, bass and an ambiguous wind instrument. Given the hausmusik of the period it is conceivable that the latter was intended to be a recorder; it is neither a clarinet nor an oboe – it lacks keys and the lower (right) hand is too near the bell.
• Blind Man’s Buff, oil on canvas, 206.4 × 439.4 cm (overall), Max Beckmannn (1884–1950). Minneapolis: Institute of Arts 55.27a-c. Ref. Website: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2003, col.) One of five triptychs created by Max Beckmann while exiled in Holland between 1937–1947. “Like much of his art, Blindman’s Buff is allusive and symbolic, inviting explication yet resisting explicit interpretation. Yet, the artist’s use of the three-paneled format that was traditional to Medieval and Renaissance altarpieces evokes religious associations. Beckmann also drew upon classical sources, calling the figures at center “the gods” and the animal-headed man the “minotaur”. Throughout the triptych, figures engage in sensual pleasures in a place where time, represented by a clock without XII or I, has no beginning or end. In sharp contrast on each wing are the blindfolded man and kneeling woman who, like prayerful donors in a Renaissance altarpiece, turn their backs to the confusion behind them” (Minneapolis Institute of Arts (loc. cit.) In the central panel semi-clad musicians play tom-tom, harp and two ambiguous pipes. One of the latter, played by a reclining man in the foreground, is narrowly conical with rather more holes than fingers; no window/labium or beak is visible, but there are no keys, so it might just be meant to represent a recorder. Behind the harp, a woman reclining in an armchair plays a much longer pipe of similar form.

Jan [Jean] de Beer [Master of the Milan Adoration]

Flemish painter and draughtsman; one of the Antwerp Mannerist school many of whose paintings were formerly ascribed to him; born Antwerp (ca 1475), died Antwerp before 1528.

• Altarpiece (1510), central panel: Adoration of the Shepherds, oil on oak, 73 × 56 cm (central panel), Jan [Jean] de Beer (ca 1475 –before 1536). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cat. No. 480. Ref. Förster (1961: pl. 99); Friedländer & Norden (1967, XI, no. 22, pl. 17); Hiller & Vey (1969: pl. 16, 19); Paris RIdIM (1999); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Rasmussen (2002, Bagpipe); Rijksburea voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 31821 (2010, b&w). One of the shepherds points to the Christ-child grasping a bagpipe with his other hand; a second holds what might be a hurdy-gurdy under his arm; a third (a young boy) plays a pipe with a bulging head-joint which could be a bagpipe practice chanter with an enclosed reed (rarely shown in iconography) or a recorder, since it has paired holes for the lowermost finger.

Sir Henry Maximillian Beerbohm

British dandy, essayist, novelist, broadcaster, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max; his caricatures, drawn usually in pen or pencil with muted watercolour tinting, were published widely in the fashionable magazines of the time and were exhibited regularly in London; today, they are to be found in many public collections; he was knighted by George VI in 1939; born London (1872), died Rapallo (1956).

• Mr Arnold Dolmetsch (1917), pen & ink drawing with watercolour tinting, 28.6 × 21.1 cm, Max Beerbohm (1872-1956). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 1978.590.5. A caricature of Arnold Dolmetsch (1858–1940), in the form of an inkblot, rather like those used from 1921 by  Swiss psychologist Herman  Roschach in his diagnosis of schizophrenia; possibly inspired by German doctor Justinus Kerner who, in 1857, had published a popular book of poems, each of which was inspired by an accidental inkblot.

Cornelis Pietersz. Bega

Dutch painter of peasant genre scenes; a student of Adriaen van Ostade (1610–1695) and produced genre scenes of similar subjects; born Haarlem (ca 1631/1632), died Haarlem, (1664); son of sculptor and goldsmith Pieter Jansz. Begijn (ca. 1600-1605).

• Woman Playing a Lute (1664–1665), oil on wood, 36 × 32 cm, Cornelis Pietersz. Bega (1631/2–1664). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi. Ref. Web Gallery of Art (2001); Website: Lute Iconography, Item LI-584 (2023, col.) A young woman plays a small lute amidst a disarray of books, an hourglass, papers and musical instruments, including a second lute, an oboe (only the foot of which is visible), an ambiguous woodwind (only the body of which is visible on the table beside the lutenist) and, on the floor in the bottom left-hand corner, a recorder (only the head and first two finger holes of which are visible). The lady is very becoming, but she seems distracted and very careless with her books and instruments! Is this a sort of vanitas?
• Figures in an Interior, oil on canvas, Cornelis Pieterz. Bega (1631/2–1664). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) In a tavern two men are seated at a table. One holds a glass of beer; the other plays a small cylindrical pipe. They are attended by a serving woman. No details of the pipe are visible, but it is likely to represent a soprano recorder.

Philippe Behagle

French weaver who became manager of the tapestry workshops at Tournai and Beauvais and later director of Beauvais; born Audenarde (1641), died ? Paris (1705).

• La musique (1690), tapestry, coloured wools and silks, 2.01 × 2.69 cm, date, Philippe Behagle (1641–1705). Detail. Manchester: Whitworth Art Gallery, Inv. T. 1986.28. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2006) Website; Franses Tapestry Archive (2016-col.) Beneath a small canopy, two very elaborately dressed musicians play flute and guitar respectively on each side of a draped table placed between two urns containing floral arrangements. On the table are a lute, violin, shawm and recorder. Only the head of the recorder is visible. From the series Grotesques de Berain.

Barthel Beham

German painter and etcher; a member of the Kleinmeister school of engraving, so-called because they produced small prints; best known for his painted portraits and superb engravings the subjects and styles of which often coincide with those of his brother, Sebald, and indeed vice versa, for his elder but longer-lived brother often used Barthel’s designs as models in later years; born Nuremberg (1502), died Italy (1540); brother of Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550).

• The Seven Planets: The Children of Venus, engraving, Barthel Beham (1502–1540) or his brother Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 53.127, p. 908; Paris: Louvre; London: British Museum. Ref. Hoyt (1954: fig. 3); Brown & Lascelle (1972: 90–91). Seated in a chariot pulled by doves, Venus chases Cupid across the sky. On the earth below an amorous couple embrace. On either side, a couple play music: one couple sing, another couple play lute and viol; a man plays a harp, and a man plays a cylindrical recorder from the side of his mouth! Holes are shown by the fingers, including one for the lower (right) hand little finger. In the background, musicians on a balcony play trombone, drum and transverse flute. This is very similar to prints by Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550) and Georg Pencz (ca 1500-1550).

Hans Sebald Beham

German painter and etcher on copper; the most prolific of the Kleinmeister school of engraving, so-called because they produced small prints; his engravings often used his brother Barthel’s designs as models in later years; born Nuremberg (1500), died Frankfurt am Main (1550); brother of Barthel Beham (1502–1540).

• Parable of the Prodigal Son (ca 1530), woodcut, Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). London: British Library. Ref. Landau & Parshall (1994: 232, pl. 237). In a banqueting hall the son is greeted his mother. A case hangs on the wall at the back of the picture containing three instruments of three different lengths, the bell ends protruding upwards. These bell-ends indicate that the instruments could be alto, tenor and basset recorders, though shawms seem just as likely. There is also a tenor viol on the wall, and another played by a man who sits with a singer on a bench immediately below the instruments on the wall.
• The Fountain of Youth & Bathhouse (ca 1530), woodcut, 109.5 × 37.0 cm, Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Detail.  Berlin: Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Inv. 818-10; Budapest: Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. 48367; Copenhagen; Washington: National Gallery of Art; Oxford: Ashmolean Museum; London: British Museum, Inv. 1909,0729.8 (block 3 only); London: Wellcome Collection 572323i; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 18.17.2-70 (right half only). Ref. Salmen (1976: 102); Stewart (1989); Landau & Parshall (1994: 233, pl. 238, b&w); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 33, pl. 10B, b&w); Hijmans (2005: 217); Wikimedia Commons (2012-b&w); Lasocki (2023: 119). Printed longways in four blocks. In Blocks 3 and 4, whilst all about are enjoying a veritable orgy, a wistful young lad standing an a parapet holds a flared-bell recorder: a spare prick at a wedding! Lest we miss the reference, column six of the text beneath the woodcut (by the publisher, Albrecht Glockendon) declares: “He who is lacking in his eleventh finger should bathe in the bath, for it will make him fresh, hard, long and straight. It will renew so wonderfully that many a young woman will be happy.” There is a 1581 copy of this (reversed) by Johann Theodor de Bry 1561-1623), in the National Gallery of Victoria,, Melbourne, Inv. 1278.1131-3, and the Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin, Inv. 2002.2060.
• The Children of Venus, engraving from The Seven Planets series, Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550), or Georg Pencz. Ref. Mirimonde (1966: 268, fig. 5); Early Music 23 (1): 119, detail (1995); Dejiny, Kulturne Historicka Revue 6: rear cover (1996, col.); Paris RIdIM (1999). Venus (in a chariot pulled by doves) chases Cupid across the sky. On the earth below an amorous couple embrace. On either side, a couple play music: one couple sing, another couple play lute and viol; a man plays a harp, and a man plays a cylindrical recorder from the side of his mouth! Holes are shown by the fingers, including one for the lower (right) hand little finger. In the background, musicians play trombone, drum and transverse flute. Apparently copied from his brother Barthel’s design (see above). Copied with modifications by Gabriele Giolito de Ferrari (1533).
• The Children of Venus (1533), Gabriele Giolito de Ferrare, engraving after Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Paris: Bibliothéque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie. Ref. Mirimonde (?date, 4: 268, fig. 6); Mirimonde (1977, Astrologie: 132–133, fig. 73); Paris RIdIM (1999).  Standing in a chariot, pulled by doves, Venus chases Cupid across the sky. On the earth below, three amorous couples are entertained by three musicians: a man plays a harp, a woman plays the lute, and a man holds a recorder, the window/labium and the paired holes for the lowermost finger clearly visible.
• Mercury, engraving, 7.3 × 4.6 cm, by Jan Theodor de Bry (1561–1623), after Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Los Angeles: County Art Museum, M.88.91.461f. Ref. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2003). From The Seven Planets series. Mercury stands in the clouds with his caduceus in one hand and blowing a flared-bell pipe (possibly a duct flute) held in the other. He wears a winged helmet. At his feet sit a gorgon holding a flower (presumably Mercurialis) and two putti.
• The First Patriarchs and their Familes, Series 10: Lamech und seine Weyber [Lamech and his Wives], woodcut, Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Detail. Ref. Bartsch (1854–1870, 8: 232/82); Geisberg (1974: 170, no. 82-I); Munich RIdIM (1999). Lamech stands with his two wives, daughter (Naamah) and three sons (Jabal, Jubal and Tubal). One of the latter, who represents Jubal (the inventor of music), plays a flared-bell recorder. On the ground lie a harp, an organetto and a bell on the rim of which can be seen the initials A.H.S.P (reversed). Another of the boys, who represents Tubal (the first smith), holds a hammer and points to the bell.
• Three Soldiers (1525), Hans Sebald Beham (1502–1550). Location unknown. Ref. Bartsch (VIII, 105.50, P. 54 II); Warburg Institute, London. One soldier plays the side-drum, another holds a long cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder since it has a clear window/labium and what appears to be a hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand. In front of them a solider with an elaborate feathered helmet holds a furled flag.
• From Gassenhauer und Reutterliedlin: Musicians, woodcut, Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550). Ref. Pauli (1911: 134, pl. 6); Rasmussen (2007, Flute). “One group consists of players of fiddle, cello or small double bass and two lutes. Another has two flute players. There are also groups of three woodwind (recorder?) players and a cornett and trombone pair. Elsewhere a fool whose costume is completely different from the other figures, has a large case of/for flutes (?) under his arm.” Not seen.

Giovanni Battista Beinaschi [Benaschi]

Italian painter and engraver in the mannerist style, active in  Naples; born Turin (1636), died Rome (1688); brother of the portraitist Angela Beinaschi.

• St Cecilia (ca 1675–1680), oil on panel, 183.2 × 171.0 cm,, Giovanni Battista Beinaschi (1636-1688). Greenville: Bob Jones University, Museum, Cat. Cb29. Ref. Pacelli (2001: 89); Website: Fondazione Zeri, Universita da Bologna (2016, b&w).  Crowned with a wreath of flowers by a hovering putto, St Cecilia gazes heavenward as she plays the organ. She is accompanied by a band of angels playing theorbo, cello and a small duct flute, possibly a recorder. In the bottom right-hand corner, a putto holds a small, curved horn. In the top left-hand corner two cherubim survey the scene.

Nicolas Belin [Nicolo/Nicoletto] (da Modena)

Italian-born painter and designer of stucco work, carvings, tombs, etc; initially worked in Fontainebleau but later in England; born Modena (1490/5), died London (1569).

• Pan Deus Arcadie, Nicolas Belin (1590/5–1569). Ref. Frings (1999: 23, pl. 23 , b&w). Pan, with pointed ears and cloven hoofs, leans against a tree playing his pipe one-handed. The windway and enough finger holes are visible to identify the instrument as a recorder. A putto and a goat provide an audience. Above is a trophy comprising a syrinx crossed with two cylindrical recorders.

Stefano [Stéphano] Della Bella [Étienne de la Belle]

Prolific Italian printmaker whose drawings and engravings of military events, harbours, festivals, plays and operas are filled with tiny figures and vividly suggest many features of 17th-century urban and rural life; born Florence (1610), died Florence (1664).

• Le bateleur du Pont-Neuf, Steffano Della Bella (1610–1664). Paris: Musée Carnavalet. Ref. Mirimonde (1975: pl. 105). A portrait of the commedia dell’arte actor Carlo Cantú, known as Buffet or Buffetto, who was renowned for his portrayal of Brighella. He stands playing a guitar whilst at his feet lie many instruments, including lute, fiddle, bagpipe, two flutes, multiple pipe, and a cylindrical recorder which appears to be carefully distinguished from the flutes.
• Mercury and Argus (1644), Steffano Della Bella (1610-1664). Washington: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 18.48.2–15. Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Watched by Io (as a heifer), Mercury leans towards the sleeping Argus, his pipe (possibly a recorder) in his left hand, his right lifting his sword. A verse in French summarises the story, from Ovid’s Metamorphosis.

Jacques Bellange (1575-1637)

French mannerist artist and printmaker known mostly by his etchings and some drawings on Catholic religious subjects, and with a highly individual style; no firmly attributed paintings by him survive; born in the Bassigny region (c.1575), died Nancy (1637).

• A Man Seducing a Woman with his Flute, print, 11.1 × 12.8 cm, engraved by Crispijn I de Passe (1564–1637), after Jacques Bellange (c.1575–1637). A boer in a feathered cap plays a duct flute (possibly a recorder) in an attempt to seduce a woman. She wears a straw hat with wide brim on the head and a basket on her arm. With her hands she makes a suggestive gesture. The farmer’s dog seems pretty impressed, even if the woman isn’t. Beneath, are four lines of doggerel in French and German.

John Bellany

Contemporary Scottish artist who studied at The Edinburgh College of Art and The Royal College of Art, London; much of Bellany’s art relates to the sea which he uses as a metaphor for his own autobiographical exploration; his use of a highly personalised collection of symbols such as fish, puffins or cats, means his paintings and prints, while intriguing, often require a certain amount of decoding; his distinctive work has been exhibited widely throughout the world; he was the recipient of a CBE, an honourary degree from the University of Edinburgh, and a liver transplant; born Port Seton (1942), he died with his brush in his hand (2013). Official Website.

• Coel Na Mara, oil on canvas, 213.3 × 172.7 cm, John Bellany (1942–2013). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Images FFA151213). On the deck of a boat at sea three men sit around a table on which is a dish with a fish surrounded by playing cards. One of the men holds a model yacht, a second plays a recorder, the third holds two playing cards (one the Ace of Clubs) to his chest. In the background is another boat.

Jan [Jean] Bellegambe I

Flemish painter of altarpieces dealing with mystic events or with panoramic Last Judgments; born Douai (1470), died Douai (1534).

• Anchin Altarpiece: Glorification of the Saints of the Trinity (1515), oil on panel, 161 × 112 cm, Jan Bellegambe (1470–1534).  Detail (interactive). Douai: Musée de la  Chartreuse, Inv. 2175. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999, detail); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentati 32467 (2010, b&w). A series of five panels in the central one of which God the Father enthroned, holds the body of Christ. A panel to left depicts the Coronation of Mary by two angels. A panel to the right depicts John the Baptist. The panel to the far left depicts Peter, first bishop of Rome, Paul of Tarsus, and Andrew with their various attributes. The panel to the far right depicts the virgin martyrs Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara. From a balcony in the top left-hand corner of the left-hand panel, angel musicians play lute, triangle, a strangely shaped hurdy-gurdy, and a recorder, the window/labium of which is just visible. The Anchin Altarpiece, which has been compared, for the scale and ambition of its program, with the Polyptych of Van Eyck’s Mystic Lamb, is at the forefront of the history of painting in northern France in the early sixteenth century.
• Triptych: Le Cellier Altarpiece (1509), oil on wood, shaped top, 95.9 × 25.4 cm (left wing),  101.6 × 61 cm (central panel, 95.3 × 24.1 cm (right wing), Jan Bellegambe I (1470–1534). Detail. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 32.100.102. Ref. Baldassare (? date, 2); Constance Old (via Amanda Pond, pers. comm. (2002); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 32470 (2010, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2135 (2023, col.) “Saint Bernard, a reformer of the Cistercian order and a fervent proponent of the cult of Mary, gathers with his family around the throne of the Virgin. This triptych was commissioned by Jeanne de Boubais, Abbess of the Cistercian convent of Flines; she is shown at the right in the guise of Saint Bernard’s sister, Humbeline, and for this reason wears the black Benedictine habit. Represented on the exterior wings is Bernard’s vision of the Virgin, who, it is said, miraculously wet the saint’s lips with her milk” (Metropolitan Museum of Art, loc. cit.) On the pediment beneath the throne three putti sit singing from a sheet of music whilst a fourth points at them, holding a clearly depicted shawm. To the left of the Virgin an angel plays lute apparently under the direction of another who points to a score; beside them a third holds another shawm, which has been misidentified as a recorder by others (loc. cit.), and a rose in his other, which he holds out to the Virgin. To the right of the Virgin angel plays a rebec, another plays a harp, and a third plays a cylindrical pipe with one hand – probably a tabor pipe. Standing on the columns on either side above the Virgin, smaller angels blast away on long curved trumpets. On a connecting archway higher again winged putti enjoy the spectacle beneath. The pirouette and reed of the shawm held by the putto with the rose is clearly pictured. 

Giovanni Bellini

Italian (Venetian) painter and presiding genius of early Renaissance painting whose mature works are noted for their harmonious and soothing beauty; born Venice (1426), died Venice (1516).

• Triptych: Virgin and Child with Saints Mark, Benedict, Nicholas, and Peter (1488), Giovanni Bellini (1426–1516). Detail. Venice: Chiesa de Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Ref. Zaniol (1984, November: 5); Ardo, Venice: postcard (detail, col.); Hijmans (2005: 222); Website: gallica (2012, b&w, detail). The triptych portrays the Madonna and Child Enthroned (in the centre), Saints Nicholas and Peter (on the left) and Saints Mark and Benedict (on the right). The painting’s wooden frame is probably designed by Bellini himself in perfect spatial harmony with the painting. Its pilaster strips illusorily support the ceiling of the open space at sides in which the saints are placed. In the centre, the Virgin, raised aloft by the throne, has a lighted golden apsidiole behind her. On the mosaic that covers it a Latin invocation can be read: IANUA CERTA POLI DUC MENTEM DIRIGE VITAM: QUAE PERAGAM COMISSA TUAE SINT OMNIA CURAE (Secure gateway to Heaven, guide my mind, lead my life, may everything I do be entrusted to your care). Beneath the central figure of the Madonna and Child, a winged putto plays a very slender, cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder). His companion on the left plays a lute.
• Triptych: Virgin and Child with Saints Mark, Benedict, Nicholas, and Peter (ca 1870), oil on panel, 190.0 × 80.7 cm (centre panel) & 117.7 × 47.4 (side panels), copy by August Wolf (1842–1915) after Giovanni Bellini (1426–1516). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Inv. 11504. A copy of the original in the Chiesa de Saint Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. Beneath the central figure of the Madonna and Child, an angelic youth plays a very slender, cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder). His companion on the left plays a lute.
• Madonna and Child with St Frances, Giovanni Bellini (1426–1516). San Marino: Museo Pinacoteca di San Francesco. Ref. Cesare Negri (ed. Pietro Verardo): Le grazie d’amore, per flauto dolce contralto e liuto (cembalo o pianoforte), Ricordi 132148 (1974: front cover, detail); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). The Virgin and Child enthroned are flanked by Christ and St Frances. In front of them are a priest and a woman. Sitting on a plinth, at the Virgin’s feet a putto watched by a kitten, gazes skyward playing a small lute; another, sitting on the floor in the foreground, plays a cylindrical recorder held in one hand, a piece of music spread across his knees. “It is very unusual for a recorder player to have music to play from. It must have been vocal music” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
• Feast of the Gods (1514), oil on canvas, 170.2 × 188.0 cm, Giovanni Bellini (1426–1516). Washington: National Gallery of Art, Inv. 1942.9.1. The Gods, waited on hand and foot, are seen in various states of satiety. On the far right, Apollo drinks a cup of wine with one hand and holds a vielle in the other; and Priapus, god of fertility, stealthily lifts the gown of the sleeping nymph Lotis. A moment later, he will be foiled by the braying of Silenus’ ass (on the far left) and the assembled deities will laugh at Priapus’ misadventure. Somewhat apart from the others, to the back of the group, a naked Pan (seen in profile) sits playing a pipe (possibly a duct flute, even a recorder) with one hand. In the centre, Jupiter and Juno (her goose behind her) make out under the gaze of a watchful Mercury. The landscape was altered first by Dossi and later by Titian: only Dossi’s pheasant remains.
• Four Allegories: Fickle Fortune (1490), oil on panel, Giovanni Bellini (1430–1516). Venice: Galleria della Accademia, Cat. 595. Ref. Website: Giovanni Bellini, Italian Early Renaissance Painter and Musician (2012, col.) A woman in a boat touches a large sphere. A putto plays two identical flared-bell pipes, the window just visible on the further (soprano-sized) one. Each instrument is at the side of his mouth, not joined. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) The other paintings in this series have been interpreted to represent Perseverence, Prudence (or Vanity) and Falsehood (or Virtue). The series originally formed part of a small dressing-table with a mirror and a rack on which to hang objects, belonging to the painter Vincenzo Catena (ca 1470–1531).

Pietro Bellotti

Italian portrait painter who worked mostly in Bolzano; born Volciano Di Saló (1627), died Gargnano Sul Garda (1700).

• Young Boy with a Flute, oil on canvas, Pietro Bellotti (1627–1700). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) A young boy plays a near cylindrical duct flute with a very short windway, the foot out of frame. Five finger holes are visible and the first finger of each hand appears to be down, thus this is likely to represent a recorder.

Don Pietro Belloni (1695-c.1760)

Italian scagliola artist and disciple of Fernando Enrico Hugford (an Irish friar with an unlikely name); active in Florence (born 1695, died ca 1760). Scagliola was a decorative technique which created a sort of faux pietra dura made of a highly polished plaster of powdered selenite.

• Scagliola-topped Console Table, Don Pietro Belloni (1695–ca 1760). South Harting: Uppark House, Stone Hall, National Trust Inv. 137667.1. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2013); Website: National Trust Collections (2013, col.) One of two console tables in the old entrance to the house (now known as the Stone Hall). The table on the right (east) side shows a rural scene with a shepherd holding an alto-size pipe (possibly a recorder) in playing position near his mouth. The wrists are held low and all the fingers cover or hover above the position of their holes. The right hand has all fingers down and the left, lower hand, has the fingers slightly raised. The instrument has a slightly flared bell.
• A Group of Orientials Watching a Piper and a Monkey Playing a Violin, scagliola, Don Pietro Belloni (1695– ca 1760). New York: Sotheby’s, Master Sculpture and Works of Art, Part II, Lot 806 (30 January 2021, col.) Three men in turbans watch a monkey playing a violin accompanying a man in a feathered cap playing a pipe with a widely flared bell. The latter is probably a shawm, given the position of the thumb of his uppermost (left) hand, but possibly a recorder given that all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand are covering their holes. While the source of this scene is not known, it may derive from views of Turkish life, such as those depicted by Jacopo Ligozzi, whose designs were widely used in Florence in pietra dura and scagliola decoration.

Bernardo (Michiel) Bellotto [Belotto, Canaletto]

Italian painter who worked in Dresden, Vienna, Munich and Warsaw; highly regarded throughout Europe for his townscapes which capture not only the architectural or natural features, but also the specific quality of the light in each place he visited; his pictures were considered to be so topographically faithful that they were used as guides for the rebuilding of the latter city after its devastation in the Second World War; born Venice (1720/1721); died Warsaw (1768); pupil and nephew of Canaletto (1721–1780); outside Italy he signed his works de Canaletto.

• View of Warsaw with the Majoratspalais (1772), Bernardo Bellotto (1721–1780). Warsaw: Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie. Ref. Postcard: Verlag Aurel Bongers, Recklinghuasen, No. 674, col.; Walter Bergmann ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). Before the city wall are a group of shepherds, shepherdesses and their animals. One of the shepherds is playing a cylindrical pipe held with two fingers of the lowermost (right) hand below the instrument suggesting that this might be a flageolet rather than a recorder as such.

Antonio Bellucci

Italian painter, active also in Austria, Germany and England who participated in the revival of the palette of Veronese; his works are amongst the best examples of the transition from the rhetorical Venetian late Baroque to the lighter style of the 18th century and include altarpieces, ceiling decorations (eg at Cannons in Middlesex), mythological and allegorical scenes; born Pieve di Soligo (1654), died Pieve di Soligo (1726).

• Music (1704), fresco, Antonio Bellucci (1654–1726). Vienna: Palais Liechtenstein, staircase walls. Ref. Archiv Moeck. A man plays a soprano flared-bell recorder.
• Allegory of Music, oil on panel, 149 × 265 cm, Antonio Bellucci (1654–1726). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlunge, Ansbach Art Gallery, 4715 (old), 312 (new). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 43). Under the direction of a bearded(!) angel acccompanied by two putti, a woman plays a regal, a man plays theorbo, and another plays a strongly flared alto recorder. The window/labium of the latter is clear as is the flared bore at the bell end. The sixth finger hole is visible under the right hand and two upper holes are also visible; the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is covering its hole. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Léon Adolphe Auguste Belly

French painter of portraits, historical and mythological scenes, orientalist landscapes and Islamic genre scenes derived from his own travels to the East; born Saint-Omer (1827), died Paris (1877).

• Study of a Female Nude, Reclining with her Back to us, Playing the Flute, Léon Adolphe Auguste Belly (1827–1877). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, RF 6856, 69. A highly stylised sketch, but the cylindrical ‘flute’ is direct-blown and thus likely to be a duct flute.

Agostino Beltrano

Italian baroque painter active in his native city of Naples who was a pupil of Massimo Stanzione (1585–1656); his works comprise mostly religious subjects; he is said to have murdered his 36-year-old wife and painter, Aniella di Beltrano (1613–1649), whom he stabbed in a fit of jealousy; born Naples (1607), died Naples (1656).

Shepherd, oil on canvas, 130 x 98 cm, Agostino Beltrano (1607-1656). London: Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, 12 Jun 2008. Ref. Websites: Budapest Aukcio (2023, col.); artnet (2023, col.); Pinterest (2023, col.); Male Beauty in Art (2023, col.) A young lad in a fur cloak sits holding a more or less cylindrical tenor recorder, the beak and window/labium are clearly depicted, and there are more than enough finger holes for a recorder. 

Robert Benard

French engraver and cartographer; illustrator for Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopedia and Cartographer of the French editions (1777 – ca 1810) of Cook’s Voyages; born 1734, died after 1785.

• Plate VIII: Suite des Instruments à Vent [Wind Instruments], from the Encyclopedia of Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1751–1772), engraving, Robert Benard (1734–p. 1785). Ref. Tullberg (1975: pl. viii); Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image STC84219); Bolton (2009). Depicts fifes and flutes, flageolets, bird-flageolets, double duct flute, oboes, clarinet, chalameau, tuning pipe and two baroque alto recorders (one in pieces). Fig. 3 on this page depicts a 6-holed pipe in the form of a fife, blown through a hole in the side of the head, but with the window/labium clearly visible.
• Plate IX: Suite des Instruments à Vent [Wind Instruments], from the Encyclopedia of Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1751-1772), engraving, Robert Benard (1734 – p. 1785). Detail. Ref. Tullberg, H. & Davies, T. (1975: pl. ix); Bolton (2016). Depicts transverse flutes, bassoons and a recorder in the form of a flute. This instrument is not a flute, but a recorder, made in four pieces, which can be played by placing the lips around the hole (a) and blowing directly into it, while holding the instrument on the side like a flute. The windway in the head joint sends the air stream towards the labium (b). The text specifies that the fingerings are the same as on a recorder, but indicates a little further that the fourth joint (marked DE) is equipped with a key opened by the little finger of the right hand, as on the flute, which suggests that it does in fact have flute fingerings , with a d# key (8) and an octave hole (1) opened by pressing the upper key. The picture seems to confirm this point. The instrument may have been an attempt to keep the recorder ‘alive’ at a time when it was going out of fashion, like Thomas Stanesby Junior’s ‘True Concert Flute’.

Francesco Bencovich [Federiko Benkovic]

Croatian frescoist and painter of religious and mythological scenes; born either in Omiš, Šibenik, the island of Brac, Ragusa (Dubrovnik), or possibly Venice (1667), died Kamnik, Slovenia (1753).

• Adoration of the Shepherds, Francesco Bencovich (1667–1753). Verona: Museo di Castelvechio, [12835 2B 306]. Ref. Foto Umberto Tombo: postcard A0200 (ca 1998). Mary lifts the swaddling around the sleeping infant whilst the shepherds admire and worship him. In the background to the right of the picture two young lads play music, one on a small pipe (possibly a recorder), the bell of which is flared. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)

Andries [Andreas] Benedetti

Flemish still life painter mainly active in Antwerp known for his fruit still-lifes and pronk still-lifes; his paintings have been confused for a long time with those of de Heem; born Modena or Parma 1615/18, died 1649-1660.

Still Life with Musical Instruments and Sheet Music, oil on canvas, 116 × 83 cm, Andries Benedetti (1615/18–1649-1660). Cologne: Van Ham Kunstauktionen, 2 June 2021, Lot 950. Ref. Mutual Art (2024, col.) On a cloth covered table lies a jumble of musical scores, musical instruments including a harp, violin, chalumeau, clarinet, mute cornett, bassoon, and perfectly depicted baroque tenor and basset recorders. Each of the recorders has a single swallow-tail key for the lowest tone hole. The basset has a brass bocal.

Simon Bening

Flemish illuminator who represents one of the final sparks of the tradition of illumination as the manuscript was overtaken by the printed book; he was probably one of the artists who worked on the famous Grimani Breviary (Biblioteca San Marco, fol. 288v); born 1483, died 1561; son of Sanders Bening (d. 1519); father of Levina Teerlinc (d. 1576), also a miniaturist, active in England.

• Da Costa Hours: Music-making in a Boat (ca 1515), illumination, 16.9 × 12.2 cm, workshop of Simon Bening (1483–1561). New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms M 399, fol. 6v-7. Ref. Plummer & Stampfle (1957: no. 41, pl. 33); Connoisseur 140 (1957: 106, fig.); Early Music America 2 (1966, Spring: front cover, col.); Bowles (1977: 105; 1983: pl. 111); Early Music 13 (1986, November: front cover, col.); Ford (1988: #1041); Musical Times: Early Music Calendar (1993: May, col.); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, N489 ML.399.f.a; Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Hijmans (2005: 219); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-622 (2023, col.) Three musicians play in a boat: a lady sings, another in a red hat plays the lute, a youth plays an ambiguous cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute). Note the branches of new leaves decorating the boat which celebrate the regeneration of Spring. Cf. the very similar Boating Party by Simon Bening (1483-1561) in the Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels (see Moeck 1996: back cover), which shows a transverse flute accompanied by a lute and possibly a singer.
• Da Costa Hours:  St Mark in his Study (ca 1515), illumination, 16.9 × 12.2 cm, workshop of Simon Bening (1483–1561). New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, M 399, fol. 119v. Ref. Ford (1988: #1042); Website: Lute Iconography LI-623 (2023, col.) In the background and lower border: On a boat, a man plays a recorder(?); a woman plays a lute. The instruments (and the scene as a whole) are very similar to that on fol. 6v-7 9 (see above), except that here the wind instrument is shown more clearly, the oarsman appears to be from a lower social class, and the lady is hidden by a golden canopy.
• Book of Hours (‘ The Golf Book’): May Boating Party with Musicians (ca 1520), workshop of Simon Bening (1483–1561). London: British Library, Add. MS 24098 f.22v. Ref. Bowles (1983: pl. 140, col.); Kinsky et al. (1930: 54); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 8, fig. 4); Museums & Galleries Collection, London: card KGB903 (1995); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). A boat passes under a bridge. Two of the passengers, a man and a women, play recorder and lute respectively whilst a second woman listens. The recorder has a slightly flared bell and the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is covering its hole. The branches of new leaves decorating the boat celebrate the regeneration of spring. Cf. the very similar Boating Party by Simon Bening in the Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels (see Moeck 1996: back cover), which shows a transverse flute accompanied by a lute and possibly a singer.
• Book of Hours: A Boating Party (1510–1525), illumination on parchment, 195 × 135 cm, Simon Bening 1483–1561). Rouen: Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms 3028 (Leber 142), f. 005v . Ref. Initiale, Catalogue de manuscrits enluminés (2012). Two women are seated beneath a canopy in a boat in a river. Behind them is an oarsman. In front of them a man plays a slightly conical pipe (right hand uppermost) with a hint of a window/labium and a briefly flared bell. It seems very likely to represent a recorder. On the far bank, a party of hunters on horseback and their beaters on foot seem to have paused in their chase.
• Book of Hours: Virgin and Infant with Angel Musicians (1510–1525), illumination on parchment, 195 × 135 cm, Simon Bening 1483–1561). Rouen: Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms 3028 (Leber 142), f. 151. Ref. Initiale, Catalogue de manuscrits enluminés (2012). Mary gazes at the Holy Child who stands on her lap holding a pomegranate. On the right, angels play harp and an oval-shaped vielle; on the left angels play lute and a near cylindrical duct flute which flares slightly towards the foot. The window/labium is clearly depicted, paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand can be seen, and the player’s hands are perfectly deployed for recorder playing.
• Book of Hours: Calendar, ? illumination,  Simon Bening (1483–1561). Location unknown, formerly Ellis and White, London. Ref. Aachener Kunstblätter 46 (1975: 45); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). “In a boat a woman plays a lute and a man plays a recorder” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.

Johann Peter Benkert

German sculptor and stuckoist active in Franconia; born 1709, died 1769.

• The Shepherd God Pan Pursuing the Nymph, Syrinx, boxwood carving, 28 cm high, Johann Peter Benkert (1709–1769). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, M 144. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bsg 119 1-3). A bozzetto (small model) for a porcelain garden sculpture. On the right hand side sits a Satyr playing a syrinx. Nearby, a little Knabe holds a recorder in his hand. Not seen.

Thomas Bennett (18th century), English

• The Complete Flute Master … (ca 1760), Thomas Bennett. Stanford: Stanford University Libraries (2013); Canberra: National Library of Australia, microfilm Bib. ID 4197746 (2013). Ref. Vinquist (1974: 60, 233–234). A recorder player is shown seated in front of a mirror.

Guillaume [Guilliam] Benson [Monogrammist GB]

Flemish artist who worked in Brugge, now identified with the Monogrammist GB; active Brugge (1544-1574), died Middelburg (1574).

• Birth of Christ (ca 1550), panel, 35.8 × 28.9 cm, Guillaume Benson (fl. 1544–1574). Richmond: Hampton Court Palace, Inv. 1214; Royal Collection LC 56. Ref. Marlier (1957: no. 200, pl. lxxviii); Martens (1998, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 44725 (2010, b&w); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Royal Collection Trust (2013, col.) Mary and Joseph (holding a lamp) kneel in prayer before their infant lying on the ground radiating light; angels hover above bearing a banner reading “Gloria in excelis deo”. An angel on the left of the child plays a lute. Another, on the right, plays a narrowly flared duct flute, clearly a recorder since the lower finger of the bottom hand is clearly covering its hole. This composition is derived from the vision of the fourteenth-century Swedish mystic St Bridget.

Giovanni Battista Benvenuti, called Ortolano Ferrarese

Italian painter of the Ferrara School whose father was a gardner, hence the nickname; his work so resembles that of Garofalo that there is an endless controversy between those who accept the respective claims of each, and nearly as much dispute has arisen over his works as over those of Giorgione; born Ferrara (1487), died ca 1527.

• Madonna and Child with Angel Musicians (1513), oil on panel, 40 × 33 cm, Giovanni Battista Benvenuti (1487–1527). Detail. Bologna: Pinacoteca Nazionale, Inv. 594. Ref. Emiliani (1969: 124); Villa I Tatti N2520E41967; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip2272 (2022, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3053 (2023, col.) The Madonna and Child are surrounded by angel musicians, one of whom plays a rather roughly painted cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute) of tenor or alto length, held right hand uppermost. The fingering positions suggest a recorder. Other instruments include a lute (or two), two viols, and timbrel, all well depicted. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) There is also a violin.

Nicolaes [or Claes] Pietersz. Berchem

Dutch Italianate painter and etcher, popularized pictures of Italian pastoral and arcadian scenes, and one of the precursors of the Rococo style; also executed mythological, biblical, battle, winter and court scenes, views of harbours, and figures in other artists landscapes; born Haarlem (1620), died Amsterdam (1683).

• Shepherd Playing the Flute, drawing in red on white paper, 23.8 × 19 cm, after Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (1620–1683). Marseille: Musée Grobet-Labadié, Inv. 1936. Ref. Joconde Website. A shepherd plays a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). Not seen.
• Shepherd Playing a Chalumeau, drawing, lead pencil on white paper, 19 × 29.7 cm, school of Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (1620-1683). Marseille: Musée Grobet-Labadié, Inv. 1937. Ref. Joconde Website A shepherd playing a pipe (chalumeau, duct flute) guards his cows and sheep. Not seen.
• Rendezvous at the Column, oil on canvas, 108.5 × 102.8 cm, Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (1620–1683). Valenciennes: Musée des Beaux Artes, Inv. P.46.1.312 Ref. Joconde Website. Amidst a rural landscape in Italy with a stream, tree, column, ruins, fountain, cow, ass, donkey, goat and sheep, a young shepherd plays a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) and a woman with a tambourine dances. Not seen. There is a similar engraving by A.P. Coulet, but of much smaller dimensions, in the Hermitage.

Pierre Berchet [or Berchett]

French painter of decorative history subjects who trained under La Fosse and worked in France and Britain where he executed the ceiling painting for the Chapel of Trinity College, Oxford (ca 1694); born 1659, died 1720.

• Frontispiece to Handel’s Apollo’s Feast …, London, J. Walsh & J. Hare: Apollo Symbolising Music (1726), engraving by Hendrik Hulsberg (? – 1729) after Pierre Berchet (1659–1720). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). The sun streaming behind him, Apollo seated on a cloud and holding his lyre on his lap, gestures towards Music who lies beneath atop two kettle drums leaning against a harpsichord from underneath which a trumpet pokes its bell. Music in turn gestures towards three putti: one sings from a book, another plays viol, and a third sits on the floor holding a baroque-style soprano recorder in one hand.

Job (Andrianz.) Berckheyde

Dutch painter of townscape, landscape, genre, hunting, historical nd biblical scenes, portraits, and church interiors; born Haarlem (1630), died Haarlem (1693); brother of Gerrit (Andrianz.) Berckheyde (1638-1698), also a painter.

• Self-portrait in the Atelier (1675), oil on panel, 36.0 × 30.7 cm, Job Berckheyde (1630–1693). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi, Catalogo Generale 09/0009894. Ref. Telefunken SAWT 9545: Blockflüte auf Originalinstrumenten II (1969, col.); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Tibia 1/96 (1996, cover, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 358130 (2014, b&w). On a table beside the artist are a wine-glass, statue (bust), papers, a tobacco pipe, and an an alto flared-bell recorder, the maker’s mark clearly visible, two decorative incised rings close together near the bell, and the lowermost finger hole offset to the player’s left. A violin and bow hang on the wall at top right; a portrait at the top left. This might almost be a companion-piece for Metsu’s Inspiration. The artist is making the point that he is no mere tradesman, but a person with the accomplishments of a gentleman.
• [Portrait of a Musician], 40.0 × 32.4 cm, Job Berckheyde (1630-1693). Location unknown: auctioned Christies, London, 14 December 1984, No. 181. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). In a room, a man (possibly the artist himself) plays a bass viol. Beside him a draped table is covered in books of music, a bust, a violin and a tenor-sized flared-bell pipe, probably a recorder.
• Musician’s Breakfast (ca 1670), 68.8 × 54.0 cm, Job Berckheyde (1630–1693). Schwerin: Staatlichen Museum. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: Theatre of Music (2012, col.) In an alcove, a man (possibly the artist himself) stands holding a jug in one hand and a glass in the other. On a draped table beside him is his breakfast – some bread and an earthenware jug. On the side of the arch hangs a violin. On a ledge in front lie piles of music books, a cittern and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt the bell of which is decorated with incised rings.
• The Merry Fiddler, engraving, 28 × 20 cm, by Henry Chawner Shenton (1803–1866) after Job Berckheyde (1630–1693). Published by George C. Virtue, London (ca 1850). Hobart (Tasmania): Private Collection. At a table a young man (possibly the artist) plays a violin. Before him is a flask and a glass of wine, a smoking pipe, some music a container (for tobacco, perhaps), music books, and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt with paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand and the bell decorated with an ivory ring. Beneath the window/labium a maker’s mark is visible.

Christian Berentz

German baroque painter who spent much of his working life in Rome; his works are primarily still-lifes; born Hamburg (1658), died Rome (1722).

• Still-life, oil on canvas, 104.0 × 72.3 cm, follower of Christian Berentz (1658–1722). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 31 October, 2001, Lot 226 Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Artfact (2004). A vase of flowers with a pigeon, a jug, a silver tray with pomegranates, porcelain dishes and a perfectly depicted baroque recorder of alto/tenor size on a draped ledge. This was attributed to Maximilian Pfeiler (op. 1683-1719) and auctioned by Christie’s, London 24 April 2001.

Matthys Jansz. van den Bergh

Flemish painter whose subjects included portraits, soldiers, and historical allegories; born Ypres (ca 1617), died Alkmaar (1687); son of Jan van den Bergh (1587-1660), a painter from Alkmaar in the service of Rubens in Ypres.

• Last Vision of Blessed Lidwine of Schiedam (ca 1649), canvas, 161.0 × 132.4 cm, Matthys Jansz. van den Bergh (ca 1617–1687). Brussels: Convent of the Discalced Carmelite, St Giles. Ref. Leppert (1977: fig 14, b&w). Angels play various instruments including organ, harp, lute, violin, cornetto, and a narrow flared-bell recorder.

Josef [Joseph] Bergler, the younger

Austrian painter, printmaker, draughtsman, illustrator and teacher active in Bohemia; his works include history and domestic subjects, portraits, altar-pieces, designs for tombstones, and albums of engravings intended as models; born Salzburg (1753), died Prague (1829); son of sculptor and painter Josef Bergler the elder (1718–1788).

• The Travelling Virtuoso and my Poodle, Vulcan (1807), etching, 25.5 × 20.0 cm, ? Josef Bergler (1753–1829). Washington DC.: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, 0461/L. Ref. Jan Lancaster ex Robert Bigio (pers. comm., 2007). In a kitchen, a young man in a long coat and fur hat plays a tenor-sized recorder with a fontanelle and an absurdly large bell at which a poodle sniffs disdainfully; a bird pecks aggressively at the player’s boots. The recorder seems to presage the Trichterflöten or “bell recorders” made by the firm Adler-Heinrich until recently.

Bergognone [Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano]

Italian frescoist and painter of religious works, much influenced by Vincenzo Foppa (1427/30–1515/16); born ? Milan (ca 1453), died Milan (1523).

• Assumption of the Virgin (early 16th century), oil and gold on wood, 242.3 × 108.0 cm, Bergognone (ca 1453–1522). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1926 (27.39.1). Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.B649.31As[a]; Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Constance Ord (ex Amanda Pond, 2002, b&w); Website: Metropolitan Museum of Art (2007); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2817 (2023, col.) Mary ascends to heaven surrounded by musical angels. Angels on the left play rebec and lute; above them. Angels on the right play harp and a slender flared-bell recorder, the doubled holes for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand clearly visible. Above the instrumentalists, angels sing from a scroll. Angels on the lower right play straight trumpets. At the very bottom of the picture  are saints and donors.

Hermanus Berkebijl (18th century), Dutch (Leeuwarden)

• King David with Musical Putti (1781), plaster sculpture, Hermanus Berkebijl (18th century). Detail. Bolsward: Martinikerk, organ decoration atop the positive organ case. Ref. Website: Anges musiciens (2010, col.); Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2010). King David plays his harp. Two putti play clarinet and a basset recorder, both perfectly depicted, the basset recorder with a swallow-tail key. Other putti play cornetto, flute, harp and drums. This organ was built between (1776 and 1781) by Albertus Anthoni Hinsz from Groningen. A comprehensive restoration of the instrument was begun in 2002 by the Dutch organ builder Verschueren.
• Musical Trophy, plaster sculpture, Hermanus Berkebijl (18th century)). Bolsward: Martinikerk, organ case decoration affixed to panel. Ref. Website: Anges musiciens (2010, col.); Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2010). This organ was built between (1776 and 1781) by Albertus Anthoni Hinsz from Groningen. A comprehensive restoration of the instrument was begun in 2002 by the Dutch organ builder Verschueren. A trophy comprising perfectly depicted violin and bow, lute, syrinx, triangle, basset recorder (with bocal complete with mouthpiece, and single-touch key), flute, and two clarinets.

Adam Bernardt

Dutch artist specialising in still-lifes; active 1664.

• Vanitas Still-life (1664), Adam Bernardt (17th century). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, London, 15 June 1939, Lot. 152. Ref. Jongh (1986: 203, fig. 40e); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a draped table stand two globes, a purse, two watches, two necklaces, papers, one closed and three open books (one open at a chapter entitled MACHOMET) a lute, and a small hand-fluyt with a metal-sheathed beak.

Pedro Berruguete [Pedro España, Pedro Spagnuolo]

The first great Spanish painter; his works are marked by elegance and dignity combined with a profound feeling for space and atmosphere; the style is often eclectic, a mixture of Flemish, Spanish Gothic, and Italian Renaissance, but it is never imitative; born Paredes de Nava (ca 1450), died Avila (1504); father of sculptor Alonso Berruguete (ca 1488–1561).

• Reredos: King David, oil on panel, Pedro Berruguete (ca 1450–1504). Paredes de Nava (Palencia Province): Iglesia de Santa Eualia, high altar reredos (retablo). Refs: Centre for Music Documentation (C.M.D.) in Madrid; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Wikimedia (2006, col.) A duct flute rests on a ledge underneath the figure of David. It has a perfectly drawn and very clear window/labium with a mouthpiece above it in a black ?wood material. The cylindrical body of the recorder has six large finger holes spaced two, three, and the sixth close to the bell end. The bell end is also in black wood; it is short and expanding and appears to be fitted over a tenon (in this respect it resembles the “Dordrecht” recorder, which perhaps also had its fitted mouthpiece and bell end made of black wood). The artist shows the grain of the softer wood of the body of the instrument.
• Altarpiece: Nativity, Pedro Berruguete (ca 1450–1504). Paredes de Nava: Iglesia de Santa Eulalia. Ref. Website: Anges musiciens (2010, col.) Mary and Joseph kneel before the crib watched by a donkey and a cow. Behind them three angels kneel, one playing a lute. Hovering above, two angels play pipes, one with a flared bell, the other cylindrical: one or both of these might represent recorders.

Pierre Bert (16th century), French

• Carved Wooden Organ Case with Renaissance Trophy/Emblem Designs Separating Groups of Pipes (1529–1535), Pierre Bert (16th century). Le Mans: Cathédral Saint Julien, organ case. Ref. Postcard: Valoire – Blois, B.P.45 – 41260 La Chaussee-Saint-Victor (col.); Website: flickr, fact244’s photostream (2013, col.) On the right border of the upper central pipes, third emblem from the bottom, are three wind instruments, possibly recorders, two side by side, the other crossing. All are of the same size, but the single recorder is rather fatter. All have beaked mouthpieces and the single recorder has a window/labium and a slightly wider bell flare. The other two have very little bell flare. The large recorder has finger holes, but the instrument’s height, small size, and the lack of contrast in the wood carving all make them impossible to count, even with binoculars; there are probably four or five visible. On the left border of the central large pipes, slightly higher than the recorders, is what could be a double duct flute, the window labium and some finger holes of which show. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).

Jean-Victor Bertin

French academic painter of idealized landscapes many of whose early works have been lost, though they are known from engravings; he was amongst those working on the re-decorations of the Grand Trianon and the Galerie de Diane at Fontainebleau, begun in 1819; throughout his career, he produced formal historical landscapes as well as plein air oil sketches; the latter were often characterised by heavy impasto, contrasting with the more porcelain like surface of his finished works; born Paris (1767), died Paris (1842).

• L’Ivresse de Silene [The Drunkenness of Silenus], oil on canvas, 39 × 33 cm, attributed to Jean Victor Bertin (1775–1842). Location unknown: sold at Palais des Congrès (17 February 1974) by Mes Martin, Versailles. Ref. Sale Catalogue (1974: No. 40); Paris RIdIM (2000). Silenus (the drunken attendant and nurse of Bacchus), plays one-handed on a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) whilst three nymphs drink his health, one minding the infant Bacchus who reaches for a goblet of wine himself. Even a small dog sitting at Silenus’ feet looks a bit under the weather!

Alonso González de Berruguete – see joint work with Filippino Lippi

Spanish Mannerist painter and sculptor; the most distinguished Spanish artist of the 16th century, his style dominated the central Iberian Peninsula, integrated the expressive qualities of Gothic art with the beauty of the Renaissance, and brought to Spain Italian Mannerist ideas both in sculpture and painting and played a leading part in their development; born Paredes de Nava (1488), died Toledo (1561).

P. Bertrand, ? French

• Le Siffluer de Linotte [The Linnet Whistler], engraving, P. Bertrand (?dates). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). In a workshop a feather-hatted cobbler mends some boots whilst his feather-hatted client (who wears only one boot) sits opposite him playing a decidedly conical pipe. There is a bird (the linnet of the title) in a cage hanging in the open doorway. No details of the pipe are visible, but six finger holes can be seen and there may be one beneath the player’s lowermost (left) hand. It is tempting to think this represents a recorder and it has been indexed as such in the gallica database. A caption reads Le chiffleur de linotter.

Giovanni Battista Bertucci – see Giovanni Battista da Faenza

Andries Beschey [Busschey, Bisschey]

Southern Netherlandish painter of historical and religious subjects, genre paintings and still-lifes ; born Antwerp (1710), died Antwerp (1786).

• Portrait of the Pangaert d’Opdorp Family (1725-1745), oil on canvas, 110.5 × 135.5 cm, Andries Beschey (1710–1786). Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, Alte Meister, 15 October 2013, Lot 771. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 173725 (2014, b&w). Baron Pangaert d’Opdorp stands behind his family holding a furled sheet of music. Seated in front of him, his wife plays a lyre. Beside her their oldest daughter plays a harpsichord. At her feet are four younger children one of whom sings, one plays a lute and a third plays a small recorder with ivory beak and mounts. A little dog sits next to a pile of books. In the background, through an open door, stand a couple and a young boy. The Pangaert d’Opdorp family owned Hoeilaart Castle in Belgium. Formerly attributed to Jacob Horemans II.

Bartolomeo [or Bartholomeo] Bettera

Italian painter, an imitator of Evaristo Baschenis, who worked in Bergamo, Rome and Milan; born 1639; died after 1687, before 1700; father of painter Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718).

• Still-life with Musical Instruments, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Milan: Galleria Silvano Lodi & Due. Ref. J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto 1, 2 & 3, Orchestral Suite BWV 1066, Archiv CD 447 287-2 (cover); Milesi (1993). Shows a flared-bell recorder with lutes, guitar, cello, trumpet, violin, still-life.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, canvas, 92.2 × 120.7 cm), Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Sarasota: John & Mary Ringling Museum of Art. Ref. Tomory (1976, p. 46–47, pl. 39, b&w). A carpet-covered table is littered with a casket, a writing case, some books, a music score and musical instruments including guitar, lute, violin and a pipe. The latter looks very much like a duct flute (probably a recorder), although only the lower half is shown peeping out from under the casket.
• Still life with Musical Instruments and Armillary sphere, 72 × 95 cm, oil on canvas, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Bergamo: Accademia Carrara – Pinacoteca di Arte Antica, Inv. 760. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Bayer (2000: 37, fig. 19 , b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1810 (2023, col.) On a table are an armillary sphere, some music, a theorbo, a viol, a small lute, a violin and a flared bell recorder only the body and foot of which are visible – the finger holes are clearly shown including paired holes for the lowermost finger. This painting has a pendant in the Accademia Carrara, Inv. 761, entitled Strumenti musicali, sopra un tavolo.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments and Armillary Sphere, oil on canvas, 78 × 119 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Milan: Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Art Gallery, Inv. 725. Ref. Website: gettyimages (2015, col.) n a cloth-covered table beneath a tasseled drape is a jumble of musical instruments, two books, sheet music, a casket and an astrolabe. The instruments are a cello, a guitar a shawm, a violin and a soprano recorder. The latter is in one piece and cylindrical with a gentle flare to the foot. The characteristic beak is clearly depicted but other details are vague. Formerly attributed to Evaristo Baschenis. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
• Still-life, school of Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Vienna: Kunsthisorisches Museum. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Beneath some elaborate fringed and tasseled drapes lie a decorated writing cabinet (on top of which stand a large conch shell and a smaller casket), a globe, a lemon, some manuscript, some books, and musical instruments, including two lutes, violin and bow, spinet, and a small flared-bell recorder beautifully depicted showing its lowermost paired finger holes, beak and window/labium very clearly.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, school of Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Trieste: Collection Count Segè-Sartorio. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Beneath some tasselled drapes lie a globe, some music, a viol, a lute, a violin, a guitar and a flared-bell recorder showing details of beak, window/labium and holes for seven fingers, including paired holes (for the lowermost finger).
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 103 × 147 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 254–255, pl. 52, col.) On a table beneath some richly embroidered and tasselled drapes lie some music, a decorated writing cabinet (on top of which lies a trumpet), a theorbo, a guitar, a violin (leaning against a mirror) and bow, an unusual viola (with only a single pair of corners at the waist and a rose as well as f-shaped sound holes), and a flared-bell recorder (only the foot and body of which are visible).
• Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 120 × 125 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Private Collection. Ref. Francone et al. (1996: 266–267, pl. 56, col.) On a table beneath some richly embroidered and tasselled drapes lie three musical scores, a candlestick and candle, a viol, a cello and bow, a violin and bow, a theorbo, a trumpet, a small lute, a guitar, and a slender flared-bell recorder.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on panel, 98 × 134 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Munich: Bayerische Staatgemäldesammlungen, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Inv. 390 (5663). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 48); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999). A collection of stringed instruments on a table, together with a trumpet and a small ? recorder lying on a book, with its bell end facing the viewer. The bell is flared with wood thickening, but little or no bore expansion, it seems. The stringed instruments include cello, lute, violin, chitarrone, guitar and mandolin. There is also an open music book and a casket.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 73.5 × 96.5 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Kassel: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, GK 1012. Ref. Paris RIdIM (2000); Munich RIdIM (2009: Kksg – 84, attrib. Baschenis); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). There are two other versions of this painting in Boston (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 2000). Beneath some richly embroidered and tasselled drapes, on a table covered with an embroidered carpet lie some music, a letter, a spinet, three lutes (one an arch-lute), a violin and a recorder the beak, window/labium and first four finger holes of which are clearly visible.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On a table beneath some embroidered drapes are books, sheet music, a globe, a casket, a lute, a guitar, a violin, a ? shawm (only the bell is visible) and a small soprano renaissance-style recorder, the beak, window/labium and finger holes of which are clearly depicted.
• Still-life of Musical Instruments and Books all Resting on a Table, painting, School of Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Location unknown: auctioned 07/12/2004 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) On a table beneath some embroidered drapes with a tassel are books, a casket, papers, music, a spinet, lute, guitar, violin, viola, viol and soprano recorder. Only the lower part of the recorder is visible, the rest hidden beneath the viola.
• Musical Instruments with Glass balls and a Male Bust, oil on canvas, 96 × 100 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Private Collection; sold Paris: Galerie Canesso (2008). Ref. TEFAF, Maastricht, March 2008; Constance Scholten ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3123 (2023, col.) On a table beneath an embroidered drape with a tassel are two ornamental glass balls, a male bust, books, sheet music, music tablature, lute, trumpet, violin, viola (with no upper bouts), guitar, and a small perfectly depicted recorder with paired holes for the lowermost finger.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 140 × 72 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Vienna: Dorotheum, Old Masters , 15 April 2008, No. 21. One of a pendant pair. On a draped table beneath a hanging drape lie a globe, books, an apple, sheet music, cello, trumpet, violin, guitar, and a one-piece recorder the head and body visible but the foot occluded.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 97.5 × 121.2 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). London: Sotheby’s, 5 May 2007;  Jan Moust, Old Master Paintings (2010, col.) On a draped table beneath a hanging drape are littered a globe, an armillary sphere, a box, books, papers, music, a wine-cooler and bottle, and musical instruments, including a violin, 3 lutes, a harp, a violin, viola and cello, a guitar or guitar, a trumpet, and a small, slender renaissance-style recorder (the foot of which is hidden behind a wine-cooler).
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, painting, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a draped table beneath a hanging drape are littered a large casket, a large conch shell, a small casket, a guitar, a violin and bow, a spinet, a soprano-sized renaissance recorder the window/labium, flared foot and finger holes for seven fingers, the lowermost offset.
• Still-life (late 17th century), oil on canvas, 96 × 132 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie, Inv. 6989. Ref. Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, 6989 (2022, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1841 (2023, col.) Two lutes, a guitar, a violin, a viol and a flared-bell soprano duct flute (probably a recorder, though only six finger holes are evident) lie scattered about a bench with a globe, some books and an open music book. Possibly by Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677), his pupil Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p.1687, a.1700) or the latter’s son Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718).
• Still -life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639–p. 1687, a. 1700). Poggio a Caiano: Museo della Natura Morta, Villa Medicea. On a table beneath a hanging drape, lie scattered a casket, a globe, a cello, two lutes, a guitar with a vaulted back, a violin and a soprano-sized duct-flute the beak, window/labium and six finger holes in line, and flared bell clearly depicted.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 66 x 62 cm, Bartolomeo Bettera (1639-c.1688). Munich: Hampe, Online Auction, 26 September 2018, Lot 842A. On a table lie a glove, a folded ?wallet, two music books, a violin, and a perfectly depicted baroque alto recorder with ivory beak, ferrules and foot.

Bonaventura Bettera (active late 17th to early 18th centuries), Italian

Italian painter who specialised in vanitas still-lifes; born Bergamo (1663), died 1718; son painter of Bartolomeo Bettera (1639 – p.1687, a.1700).

• Still-life with Musical Instruments (1715), 112 × 95 cm, Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718). Moscow: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. 022557. Beneath heavy drapes, a table is covered with a casket, a globe, some books, music and a number of instruments including a cello, a violin, a lute, and an alto-sized renaissance-style recorder with a flared bell.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments (1718), 115 × 92 cm, Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718). Moscow: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. 022556. Beneath heavy drapes, a table is covered with a casket, a globe, some books, music and a number of instruments including a viol, a guitar, a violin, a trumpet, a lute, and a small tapered recorder.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) On a table covered with an orange tapestry are books, a lemon, a pair of calipers, a bell, an inkwell and quill, two small lutes, and a strongly flared renaissance-style recorder viewed from the end and in side profile.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, Bonaventura Bettera (1663–1718). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) Beneath a heavy, tasselled curtain on a table draped with carpet are scattered a globe, a statue, a book, papers, sheet music and musical instruments, including a cello, four lutes, guitar, trumpet, violin, and a flared-bell renaissance-style recorder viewed end on, the window/labium and finger holes of which are clearly depicted.
• Still-Life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, 52.5 × 96.0 cm, Bonaventura Bettera (1663-1718). Auctioned London: Sotheby’s, Sale: Pelham, the Public and the Private, 8 March 2016, Lot 115.  Ref. Lute Iconography, Item LI-1509 (2023, col.) Offered for sale with another similar still-life. A number of instruments lie tumbled on a table beneath a folded drape. They include a guitar, violin, cello, lute, theorbo, and a soprano-sized recorder with details of the window/labium and seven finger holes visible, the lowermost offset (somewhat blurry). There are also two boxes, two books, and two pieces of music.

Bernardino di Betto = Pinturicchio

Bernardino da Milano (c.1462-1520), Italian

Possbily the Italian sculptor and architect who designed San Lorenzo Cathedral, Lugano (Switzerland); born Bissone (1465) died 1520.

• Virgin and Child Between Saint Ambrose and Saint Marguerite, painting, Bernardino da Milano (ca 1462–1520). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). The Virgin stands holding the Holy Child. On the left is St Ambrose and on the right St Marguerite. In front of them are two putti, one of whom plays a tambourine (with jingle rings), the other a narrowly cylindrical pipe with an abruptly flared bell, possibly a duct flute.

Hermann Bever

German artist born Würzburg (1845), died Munich (1912).

• The Unmusical Dachshund (1885), wood engraving, after an original painting by Hermann Bever (1845–1912). Published in Illustrierten Zeitung (1885). Ref. Archiv Moeck. A girl sits on a bench holding a dachshund who seems most unwilling to listen to her brother seated before them on a tree stump piping away at a soprano duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• The Well-known Genius (Munich, 1893), print, after an original painting by Hermann Bever (1845–1912). Ref. Archiv Moeck. An old lady discovers her grandson in a shed seated on a pile of leaves piping away to himself on a flageolet (only six holes are visible).

J.C. William Beyer

German sculptor of porcelain figurines; active in Ludwigsburg; fl. 1765–1770.

• Recorder Player (ca 1763), porcelain figurine, J.C. William Beyer (fl. 1765–1770). Stuttgart: Landesmuseum Württenberg, Inv. 12611. Ref. Early Music 11 (2): 283 (1983, b&w); Munich RIdIM (2003: Slm – 39). A youth sits cross-legged on a tree stump playing an alto recorder of cylindrical construction with many finger holes; a dog sits growling at his feet.

Abraham (Hendricksz.) van Beyeren [Beheren, Beijeren]

Dutch artist little regarded in his day but now considered one of the greatest of still-life painters; his subjects included seascapes as well as fruit, flower, fish, game and banquet still-lifes; born The Hague (1620/21), died Overschie (1690).

• Ornamental Still-life (1650–1669), oil on panel, 98 × 76 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). The Hague: Maritshuis, Galerij Prins Willem V, Inv. 665. Ref. Mauritshuis Catalogue (1977: No. 665); Mauritshuis: Postcard; Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration ONS9500277 (2014, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). A soprano recorder rampant with a twist of lemon, grapes, peaches, a bread bun, metal bowls, a compass, and crumpled napkins. The recorder has a brass sheath covering the beak; six inline finger holes, paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand, and part of the bell are visible.
• Still-life, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). The Hague: Maritshuis, Galerij Prins Willem V. Ref. Rose 114; Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Similar to the above, but the recorder has smaller finger holes and a stronger bell flare.
• Still-life (1650-1670), oil on canvas, 121.5 × 96.5 cm, ? Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Munich: Private Collection; formerly Richard Green, London, exhibited The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht, March 1993. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 0000025256 (2014, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Still-life with fruit, silver and glass-work, a crab and wineglasses on a dark tablecloth with a white napkin. In an alcove are a music-book, a recorder, and a glass plate. Only the head of the recorder is visible; it is of alto size with a brass sheath covering the beak, and two finger holes can be seen.
• Still-life (1650–1669), oil on canvas, 118 × 108 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Private Collection; formerly New York: Knoedler & Co., Inv. A 4899. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration ONS9500266  (2014, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Still-life with grapes, a crab, a ham and a nautilus shell on a dark tablecloth with a white napkin. Tucked under a music book is an alto recorder with a brass sheath covering the beak; only one finger hole visible. In the background is a landscape.
• Still-life (1650–1669), oil on canvas, 102 × 102 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Johannesburg: J.H. Tresfon; David Koetser, Zürich, exhibited Pictura Maastricht, March 1987 & Burlington House Fair London, September 1987. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration ONS9500287  (2014, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Still-life with fruit, oyster, one rummer and glass- and silver-ware on a dark tablecloth with a white napkin. In an alcove are a music book, a recorder and a glass plate. The recorder, under the music book, has a brass sheath covering the beak, but only the head is visible to just below the window/labium.
• Still-life (1650–1669), oil on canvas, 125.7 × 108.0 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Cape Town: Old Town House, Inv. 14/7. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration Illustration number 1001083840 (2015, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Bridgeman Images BAL74589 (2015, col.). Pronk still-life with nautilus shell, dinner-ware, crab, fruit and roast meat on a dark tablecloth with a white napkin. In an alcove are a music book and a recorder. The recorder, under the music book, has a brass sheath covering the beak, but only the head and one finger hole are visible.
• Still-life (1650–1669), oil on canvas, 118.0 × 101.5 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Private Collection; formerly Amsterdam: P. de Boer (dealer). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 0000025107 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Pronk still-life with a beaked pitcher, a goblet, fruit and roast beef. In an alcove are a music-book, a glass and a recorder, only the head of which is visible. The recorder’s beak is sheathed in brass.
• Still-life (1655), 66.5 × 77.0 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Location unknown: Beeldende Kunst, September 1922, afb. 10, no. 73; Amsterdam: Ksth. D. Komter, 1922. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a draped bench lie a vase of flowers, a skull, a globe, an inkwell and plume, a purse, papers, a document with several seals, a violin and a hand-fluyt, the foot of which is hidden underneath the purse.
• Still-life, (1650–1690), oil on canvas, 103.0 × 100.5 cm, Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621–1690). Montreal: Musée des Beaux-Arts. On a draped table the remains of a banquet are scattered: A rummer, an ornate tazza, drinking glasses, a metal platter and a china bowl with fruit, a partly peeled lemon, oyster shells, grapes, etc. Behind the table is an alcove with a glass of wine, a music book and a recorder only the head of which can be seen with its characteristic beak and window/labium.

Federico Bianchi [Bianche]

Italian 17th century painter, born Milan, op. 1635–1719.

• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 111 × 83 cm, Federico Bianchi (op. 1635–1719). Lucern: Fischer Kunst und Antiquitätenauktionen, Sale 41, 21–23 November 2012, Lot 1064. Ref. Online Catalogue, Sale 41, Old Master & 19th-century Paintings, Cat. 1001-1246 (2012). Watched by a peacock, a putto blowing bubbles gambols amidst a jumble of vanitas objects including a statue, a chalice, flowers, coral, jewellery, a glass vase, books, papers and musical instruments – violin, cittern, flute and a well-depicted one-piece recorder, the beak,window/labium and first four finger holes clearly visible.

Pietro (i) Bianchi [il Creatura di Baciccia]

Italian draughtsman, painter and designer of sculptures; his nickname referred to his youth and small stature; born Rome (1694), died Rome (1740).

• Bacchus and Ariadne, ink, watercolour & gouache, 14 × 14.2 cm, Petro Bianchi (1694–1740). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum, Inv. FP 1006. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DÜk 169). Bacchus crowned by Thyrsus, Ariadne seated on a rock beside him. At the top right of Cupid shoots an arrow on the wing. In the lower right foreground young fauns play a large tambourine, syrinx and a small duct flute, probably a recorder, but the drawing is not meticulous. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

Neri di Bicci (1419-1491?) – see Neri

George Bickham, the elder

English engraver of frontispieces and portraits of contemporary worthies, such as Sir Isaac Newton and the poet Stephen Duck; he made his name as the finest engraver of writing copybooks of his day some 18 titles of which are known, most of them made up solely of engravings after examples of Bickham’s own calligraphy; born London (ca 1684), died London (1758).

• Title Page: The Musical Entertainer, Vol. I. (1738), engraving by George Bickham (ca 1684–1758). Ref. Archiv Moeck. Above and below a decorative frame, musicians hold a flute, a lyre, a cello and a small turned three-piece baroque recorder. The Musical Entertainer was first published in parts, in 1738–1739 in two volumes of 100 plates each, then reissued in 1740–1741, and again in 1765. The music appears below an illustration, with most pieces set for voice and figured bass with a separate part for flute. Named composers include Handel, Lampe, Gladwin, Green, Turner, Carey, Putti, Monro, Popely, Corelli, Holcombe, Stanley, Howard, Leveridge, Henry Purcell, Hudson, Festing, Vincent and Neale. Singers mentioned include Senesino and Isabella Young.
• Tanto tanto, from The Musical Entertainer, Vol. I (1738–1729), engraving, George Bickham (ca 1684–1758). Ref. Archiv Moeck. An illustration at the head of the music shows a fête champêtre in which one member of the group plays the guitar whilst his female companion holds a small pipe (probably a recorder). The song has an obbligato “for the Flute” (ie recorder). The Musical Entertainer was first published in parts, in 1738-1739 in two volumes of 100 plates each, then reissued in 1740–1741, and again in 1765. The music appears below an illustration, with most pieces set for voice and figured bass with a separate part for flute. Named composers include Handel, Lampe, Gladwin, Green, Turner, Carey, Putti, Monro, Popely, Corelli, Holcombe, Stanley, Howard, Leveridge, Henry Purcell, Hudson, Festing, Vincent and Neale. Singers mentioned include Senesino and Isabella Young.

Vittorio (Maria) Bigari

Italian stuccoist, painter and scenery designer who specialized in painting perspective effects and quadratura; he also developed his talents as a figure painter, becoming an elegant stylist whose late Baroque idiom (Barocchetto) was closer than that of any of his contemporaries to the style of the Rococo; born Bologna (1692), died Bologna (1776).

• Meeting of Jephthah with his Daughter, Vittorio Bigari (1692–1776). Rimini: Chiesa di S. Agostino. Ref. Fabbri (1952, 2: 211); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Jephthah greets his daughter behind whom stand a young woman and a young man playing a duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and window/labium are visible).

Felipe Bigarny [Vigarny]

French sculptor and architect, sometimes regarded as Castilian, who introduced into Castile a style related to the late French Gothic; born Champagne or Burgundy (ca 1470), died (1543).

• David and Musicians (1507–1512), woodcarving, Felipe Bigarny (ca 1470–1543). Burgos: Catedral de Santa María, choir stalls. Ref. Centre for Music Documentation (CMD), Madrid (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “Three men are shown playing lute, harp and a largish tenor recorder, which is partly hidden by the harp. The window/labium is clearly depicted but no finger holes show, partly because this section of the instrument is hidden, and partly because the lower, left, hand is in a perfect playing position for a recorder, all fingers down with the little finger outstretched as if to cover an offset hole. The slight bell flare ends in beautifully worked turned decoration” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Marco Bigio

Italian Renaissance artist active in Siena (1530–1570), known for his mythological and religious paintings, and for portraits.

• Concert of Angels, Marco Bigio (op. 1523–1550). San Quirico d’Orcia, Siena: Palazzo Chigi Zondadari. Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2017, col.) Perched on a billowing clouds held up by two cherubim, an angel reads from a banner surrounded by angel musicians singing and playing two recorders and a lysarden; they are surounded by winged angel heads . The two recorders are of tenor size and slender, each with a lightly flared foot.

Jan (Hermansz.) van Bijlert [Bylert]

Dutch painter and important representative of the so-called Utrecht School whose work is characterised by bright colouring, an emphasis on the design of the composition and the use of Carvaggesque dramatic lighting and the choice of subject matter; born Utrecht (1597/98, died Utrecht (1671); son of the Utrecht glass painter Herman Beerntsz. van Bijlert (ca 1566–p. 1615).

• Young Girl with a Flute, (ca 1630), oil on canvas, 108 × 85.8 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Inv. 003.1967. Ref. Middelkoop (1997: 94–95, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w, attributed to Baburen). A young woman smiles directly at the viewer while she indicates a music book lying open on her lap; in her right hand she holds a flared bell recorder of alto size. Her scanty clothing and her enticing attitude seem to suggest there is more at stake than a musical tête-a-tête. There is a companion-piece to this entitled Man Tuning a Lute (ca 1625-1630) which was present in Zurich in 1944 but the current whereabouts of which is unknown (see Middlelkoop 1997: 94, b&w). The lutenist gazes out of the frame with an expression no less merry than that of his girl-friend in the antipodes. There are unsigned versions of both works in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, suggesting that they are a pendant pair.
• Flute Player, canvas, 100 × 95 cm, attributed to Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Moscow: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. Burlington Magazine 107: 428, fig. 53 (1965); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). Identical to Bijlert’s Girl with a Flute in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (see above) and the Master of the Stockholm Musicians Young Woman with Rose and Recorder in a private collection.
• Shepherd with a Flute (ca 1630-1640), oil on panel, 27.3 × 21.6 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Barnard Castle, County Durham, Ireland: Bowes Museum, Inv. B.M.228. Ref. The Recorder & Music Magazine 8(12): front cover (1986); Bridgeman Art Library (2002: Image BWM152544). Similar to the painting of the same title in the Centraalmuseum, Utrecht, (see below) although the shepherd seems more gaunt, and other details differ. A young man with a mantle of fur draped all’antica style over his bare shoulder and a feathered hat. He holds a small, more or less cylindrical pipe, left hand lowermost with the little finger crooked, perhaps to cover the hole. No details of the beak or window/labium are visible. There is a pendant to this painting, namely Woman Dressed as a Shepherdess (Bowes Museum B.M. 227).
• Shepherd with a Flute (1639), oil on canvas, 77.4 × 63.7 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Utrecht: Centraalmuseum, Inv. No. 6730. Ref. Nicolson (1979: fig. 228); Kettering (1983: fig. 10); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: Centraalmuseum, Utrecht (2001); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000307 (2009, b&w). A man in a buttoned hat decorated with a rose holds a small more or less cylindrical recorder with a flared bell left hand lowermost with the little finger crooked to cover the hole. The instrument’s beak is very short and the left hand seems very close to the top. Replica of a smaller painting in a private collection in Wiesbaden, possibly that offered for sale in 2002 (see below)
• Shepherd with a Flute, oil on canvas, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Private Collection: auctioned 3 December 2002 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Web Gallery of Art (2007, col.) A man in a buttoned hat decorated with a rose holds a small more or less cylindrical recorder with a flared bell left hand lowermost with the little finger crooked to cover the hole. The instrument’s beak is very short and the left hand seems very close to the top. Identical to a painting with the same title in the Centraalmuseum, Utrecht (see above).
• Flute-playing Shepherd, 76 × 62 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). New York: Julius Weitzner. Ref. Nicolson (1979: fig. 227); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). A shepherd wearing a feathered cap and a loose cloak gestures with his left index finger for someone out of frame to approach. In his right hand he holds a flared-bell recorder.
• Members of the Van Haeften Family Making Music (ca 1640), oil on panel, 95.2 × 148.2 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). England: Johny van Haeften (Private collection). Ref. Johngh (1986: 43, fig. 29); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche documentatie 154301 (2010, b&w); Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence (2011, b&w). Members of the Van Haeften family make music around a table. The instruments include lute, cello, harp and an alto-sized flared-bell recorder played left hand uppermost. The window/labium of the recorder is clearly visible. The artist has kindly inscribed each musical instrument with the name of the player, so we know the identities of all the participants, from left to right: from left to right: Jacobina Jacoba Deliana Meyen-van Haeften (1611–1655) – lute, Jacob Meyen (m.1641), cathedral of St Marie – recorder, Cornelia van Haeften (1622–1678), Jacob van Haeften (1617–1666), lawyer in the Court of Holland – violin, Sibilla Versteeghe van Haeften (1609–1662) – singer, Johan van Haeften (1614–1653) – viol, Diederik Versteegh (m.1662) – harp.
• Musical Company, 75 × 89 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Location unknown. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 25); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). A woman tunes a violin held vertically in her lap, bowing it back-handed like a viol; at her shoulder, a child gazes out of frame. A second woman seems to be playing a lute; beside her, a child looks heavenwards. A third, with her back to us, plays a soprano-sized flared-bell duct flute, probably a recorder.
• The Concert (1635-40), Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Private Collection. Ref. Buijsen & Grijp (1993); Website: greatbassviol.com (2009); Website: Lute Iconography LI-417 (2023, col.) Two seductive looking young women (courtesans, perhaps) with feathers in their hair play lute and viol. Between them is a singer. Behind them a man holds a pipe to his lips, probably a small recorder.
• Concert, oil on canvas, 103 × 144 cm, attributed to Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Warsaw: National Museum. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XIR203224, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A group of musicians sing and play around a table. A man in a plumed hat plays the lute; opposite him a young woman plays a small viol; behind her stands a singer conducting the others with his hand; in the centre a young boy plays a small cylindrical recorder.
• Musical Company, panel, 68 × 95.5 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). The Hague: Gemeentemuseum, Music Department, Inv. Sch. 9. Ref. Buijsen & Grijp (1993); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image HGM79817, col.); Badiarov (2005:, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche documentatie 1181 (2010, col.) A group sit around a table playing their instruments including violin, cittern, viol, and a young boy plays a pipe (possibly a duct flute); a lute lies on the floor.
• Untitled, mezotint engraving by John Smith (? p. 1654–1742) after Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). The Hague: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “A man (not identified as a shepherd) holds a cylindrical alto duct flute (very probably a recorder) in his left hand. The foot of the instrument is off the picture. The mouthpieces is slightly beaked and the window/labium is visible. There is a single offset hole for the lowermost little finger at the very edge of the picture. The other holes are not visible as they are in shadow with heavy print” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• Flute Playing Shepherd (ca 1625), painting, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Poughkeepsie (New York): Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Accn. 1966.23.10. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000301 (2009, b&w). A shepherd wearing a leafy wreath holds a flared-bell soprano recorder, right hand uppermost.
• Flute Player, oil on canvas, 67 × 50 cm, Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Vienna: Dorotheum, Old Master Paintings, 21 April 2010, Lot 164. A man in a feathered cap holds a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder), left hand uppermost.
• Shepherd with a Flute, Pointing, painting, copy after Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000285 (2009, b&w). A shepherd wearing a feathered cap points with his right hand and holds a flared-bell soprano recorder in his left hand.
• Shepherd with a Flute, Beckoning, painting, ? Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000289 (2009, b&w). A shepherd wearing a feathered cap beckons with his left hand and holds a flared-bell soprano recorder in his right hand.
• Shepherd[ess] with Staff and Flute, painting, ? Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Location unknown; sold Christie’s, London. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000280 (2009, b&w). A shepherdess with a flower in her hair, holds a staff in her left hand and a flared-bell soprano recorder in her right hand.
• Flute Playing Shepherd, painting, attributed to Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000271 (2009, b&w). A shepherd wearing a leafy wreath plays a slender pipe, his fingers well-deployed for recorder-playing. The beak is of a markedly lighter colour than the body of the instrument, but no details of the window/labium are visible.
• Flute Player, after Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). ? Location. Ref. Website: Wikigallery.org (2011, col.) A shepherd in a cap and torn shirt, a fur cape draped over his arms, holds a cylindrical alto-sized duct=flute, probably meant to represent a recorder, but inexpertly drawn or restored.
• Shepherd Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, 96 × 81cm, circle of Jan van Bijlert (1597/8–1671). Sold 19 May 2017. Ref. Website: MutualArt (2020, col.) An elderly shepherd wearing a turban-like hat and a leafy wreath, another sprig of branches in the crook of his arm, plays a slender, narrowly flared pipe, right hand uppermost. Details of the window/labium are unclear, but the beak appears to be of a different material to the body of the instrument.  He appears to be playing a g#”, and the hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand is clearly visible.

Marie Marq-Antoine Bilcoq (1755–1838), French

• Music Lesson, painting, Marie Marq-Antoine Bilcoq (1755–1838). Location unknown. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A woman playing a chamber organ accompanying a very small boy sitting on a cushion at her feet playing a perfectly depicted baroque recorder.

Giovanni Pietro [Giampietrino] Birago

Italian miniaturist, engraver, illuminator and priest; active (mostly in the Sforza court, Milan) from 1470s to ca 1513; known as the Master of the Sforza Book of Hours, after the prayer book of Bona Sforza, which he illuminated.

• Sforza Book of Hours: Assumption of the Virgin (Obsecro te) (ca 1490), illumination on parchment, 13.0 × 9.5, cm, Giovanni Pietro Birago (15th century). London: British Library, add ms 34294 f170r. Ref. Evans (1992: pl. 38, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1760 (2023, col.) Watched by praying Saints the Virgin ascends surrounded by angel musicians playing lute and (fretted) rebec, and two groups of three putti playing straight trumpets, lyre, double pipes, cymbals, and a long slightly flared pipe (possibly a recorder). One of the finest surviving Renaissance manuscripts, the Sforza Book of Hours, or personal prayer book, was originally owned by the widow of the Duke of Milan. The decoration was completed in two stages, as a substantial part of the original work by artist Giovanni Pietro Birago was stolen. Thirty years later, the Flemish artist Gerard Horenbout painted 16 additional miniatures to complement Birago’s work.

Tommaso e Matteo Bisaci di Busca (15th century), Italian

• The Last Judgement (1474–1483), fresco, Tommaso e Matteo Bisaci di Busca (15th century). Detail. Albenga: Chiesa di San Bernardino. Ref. Website: Anges musiciens (2010, col.) The church dates from 1466 and was completed in 1483. On the right wall of the nave is a cycle of frescoes depicting the Last Judgement set in four horizontal bands between which are representations of the Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. Held up by four hovering angels, God in his mandorla is worshipped on the right by a crowd of musical angels. those on the right sing or pray, but two play lutes, one plays a rectangular psaltery, one bangs cymbals and one plays a slender conical pipe, possibly a recorder. Beneath him a crowd of frightened people, some naked, others in winding sheets, pray desperately for forgiveness, led by two saints. Elsewhere, sinners are broken on a wheel on which they are either strapped or impaled by its enormous pointed spokes, some are burnt in the fires of hell, the lacerated bodies of others are thrown into an enormous cauldron, still others are eaten by monsters. These frescoes were restored in 1966.

Father Bartolomeo Bismantova

Italian wind player in Reggio Emilia and Ferrara whose manuscript was dated 1677, although the version that has come down to us seems to be that prepared for publication in 1694. A note by the author informs us that it was not published because of the death of his patron, the abbot Ferrante Bentivoglio, that year.

• Recorder (1677), Bartolomeo Bismantova Compendium musicale …: Regoloa per suonare il flauto italiano (MS, Ferrara, revised 1694), Bartolomeo Bismantova. Ref. Heyghen (1995: 27), Legêne (1995: 107). Depicts a three-piece baroque style recorder in g’.

Cornelis Bisschop

Dutch painter of trompe-l’oeil, and humorous genre scenes; born Dordrecht (1630), died Dordrecht (1674).

• Women Musicians, Cornelis Bisschop (1630–1674). Location unknown; sold Fischer, Lucerne (June 1961), Lot 1954. Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Paris RIdIM (1999). Standing in front of some elaborate drapes, two women sing from a single score accompanied by three others on cello, violin and a duct flute, probably a recorder. A fifth woman sits thoughtfully in their midst her hand to her mouth.
• Mercury, Argus and Io, oil on canvas, 99.4 × 126.5 cm, Cornelis Bisschop (1630–1674). Dordrecht: Museum (City Art Gallery). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau Kunsthistorische Documentatie 2031 (2010, b&w). Mercury dressed as a shepherd draws his sword while the naked Argus sleeps. On the ground is a wave-profile flared-bell recorder of soprano/alto size with six in-line finger holes and the seventh offset. The mouthpiece and window/labium are in shadow. Behind them, Io (as a heifer) looks on, woefully.

Jan de Bisschop

Dutch lawyer and dilettante draughtsman who travelled extensively and made accurate wash drawings of the paintings and sculpture he examined; his works are valued today because many are records of lost works; also made exquisite drawings of the scenery he encountered in his travels; born Amsterdam (1628), died The Hague (1671).

• The Lovers (1667), brown pen and pencil heightened with white gouache on paper, 183 × 130 mm, Jan de Bisschop (1628–1671), after Titian. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Print Room, Inv. RP-T-1966:45. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 32320 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The lovers, from Titian’s Three Ages of Man, done against the background of a baroque fountain. All three soprano recorders in the original are reproduced, but with slightly more flared bells.
• Dancing Nymphs and Satyrs, brown wash over black chalk on paper, 252 × 330 mm, Jan de Bisschop (1628–1671). Edinburgh: National Gallery of Scotland, Inv. D 1478. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 8933 (2010, b&w). Watched by their companions, a nymph and a satyr dance on a hilltop. The satyr holds a slender, cylindrical pipe which may be a duct flute. A seated nymph holds a large tambourine with jingle rings.
• The Muse Euterpe Playing a Flute, brown wash over pen & brown ink, black chalk & white highlights on blue paper, 424 × 269 mm, Jan de Bisschop (1628–1671). Munich: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Inv. 21086. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 118091 (2010, b&w). Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry), standing, plays a slender, gently conical pipe no details of which are visible. This appears to be a study of a detail from  an anonymous fresco transferred onto canvas, namely Apollo and the Muses on Parnassus from the Palazzo Bufalo at Rome now in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Munich , Inv. 34817.

Giambattista [Giovanni Battista] Bissoni

Italian painter whose works decorate the churches and convents at Padua and Ravenna; born Padua (1576), died 1636.

• A Glory of Angels, fresco, Giambattista Bissoni (1576–1636). Padua: Chiesa del Santa Maria dei Servi, lunette. Ref. Paulo Biordi (pers. comm.); Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence (2011, b&w); Website: greatbassviol.com (2012, col.) Angels sing and play vielle, lute, theorbo, cornetto, dulcian, viol, and a narrowly tapering recorder, the window/labium and offset hole for the lowermost finger of which are just visible.

William Blake

English Romantic printmaker, painter and poet; his most original work is to be found in hand-printed books of prophecy, which developed a personal mythology, in which text and design are completely integrated in what he called ‘illuminated’ printing; he also made many pen and watercolour drawings, prints in various media and a small number of tempera paintings, in which his aims were primarily theological and philosophical: he saw the arts in all their forms as offering insights into the metaphysical world and therefore potentially redemptive of a humanity he believed to have fallen into materialism and doubt; born London (1757), died London (1827).

• The Book of Job (1823–1826), plate 21: Job and his Family Restored to Prosperity (“Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord”), watercolour, 23.4 × 28 cm, William Blake (1757–1827). Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1943.3.9018; Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. 49b; Auckland; London: Tate Gallery; Ref. Ford (1986: 139). Job plays harp and nine men and women play double pipe, two folded trumpets, two coiled horns, two lutes, lyre, and a long slender duct flute with a strongly flared bell. Two women hold scrolls of music. An audience of sheep sit listening contentedly in the foreground. The beak and window/labium of the duct flute (probably imaginary, but possibly a recorder) are clearly depicted.
• The River of Life, pen and watercolour, 30.5 × 33.6 cm, Wiliam Blake (1757–1827). London: Tate Gallery, N.05887/B525. Ref. Roger-Marx & Gwyer (1962: 35, fig.). This work illustrates lines from the Book of Revelation. The River of Life flows from the throne of God to the Tree of Life. A female figure with two infants at her side float down a wide street, watched by the inhabitants of classical-style buildings on either side. In the foreground another female figure scoops something up. Either side two standing female figures play pipes, their backs to us. That on the right appears to be playing a cylindrical transverse flute. The one on the left plays a flared bell pipe which could easily be a recorder. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) comments: “Blake’s symbolism here is that endowing an inanimate flute or recorder (he shows both, though the flautist plays to her left!) with a stream of breath recreates in its music the life (or soul) of the wood. This ancient belief parallels the idea that playing an instrument made from an animal’s bone or horn (e.g. a shepherds pipe made from a sheep’s bone) gives utterance to the spirit of the dead animal. The stream of breath is, as it were, the river of life.”
• Frontispiece, Songs of Innocence: Piping Down the Valleys Wild (1794/ca 1825), relief etching and watercolour, Wiliam Blake (1757–1827). London: Tate Gallery; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Looking up at at a putto flying on a cloud above him, a man wearing what seems to be a body suit walks in front of a flock of sheep through the trees. He is holding an ambiguous slender pipe with a flared bell. The title comes, of course, from the introductory verse to Blake’s Songs of Innocence (1789):

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:—

“Pipe a song about a lamb:”
So I piped with merry cheer.
“Piper, pipe that song again:”
So I piped: he wept to hear.

“Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe,
Sing thy songs of happy cheer!”
So I sang the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.

“Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read—”
So he vanished from my sight;
And I plucked a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stained the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

Thomas Blanchet

French painter, draughtsman, architect, sculptor and printmaker of Poussin’s circle; His engravings of antique tombs and his prospettive were much admired; born Lyon (1614), died Paris (1689).

• Study of a Faun and Fauness, Thomas Blanchet (1614–1689). Paris: Louvre, Drawing Collection, Inv. 23788. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A sleepy faun reclines with a syrinx in his hand; a fauness reclines with a small cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in her hand, the outline of the beak and a number of finger holes clearly shown.

Gerbrand [Gerbrandt] Quirijnsz. van Blanckenburgh

Dutch organist and carillioner said to have written Onderwyzinge … at the request of the publisher Paul Matthysz; born ca 1620, died 1707.

• [Recorder] (1654), from Onderwyzinge Hoemen alle de Toonen in halve Toonen, die meest gebruyckelyck zyn op de Handt-fluyt zal konnen t’eenemael zuyver blaezen, en hoe men op yeder ‘t gemackelyckst een trammelant zal konnen maken, heel diensitgh voor de lief-hebers [Instructions for how one can learn to play all the most usual tones and semitones on the recorder in tune and make a trill in the easiest way on each one – very useful for music lovers], Gerbrand Quirijnsz. van Blanckenburgh (ca 1620–1707). Published in Amsterdam by Paulus Matthysz. Ref. Dart (1952: 57–60) Morgan (1984); Legêne (1995: 110–114, pl. 5c). Included with some copies of Jacob van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-hof (1649). Presents a picture of a hand-fluyt with the holes labelled and fingering instructions which include separate fingerings for enharmonically equivalent notes. Reprinted in 1871 and 1989.

Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe, France

French painter working mainly in gouache; with his brother he specialised in seascapes and scenes of military encampments and battles; miniatures by the brothers often decorated snuff boxes and small objects d’art; born 1741, died 1826; son of the painter Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe (1716-1794), grandson of the Flemish battle painter Jacques-Wilhelm van Blarenberghe (ca 1679–1742).

• Masked Ball (late 18th century), oil on canvas, 122 × 109 cm, Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe (1741–1826). Lille: Palais des Beaux Artes, Inv. P 934. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). At a masked ball in a salon, musicians play violin, cello and duct flute (flageolet or recorder); there are servants, a dog, and a couple in polite conversation. Not seen.

Johann Blaubirer

Medieval German printer of bibles, religious tracts, emblem books, almanachs, etc.; active Augsburg, 1481–1486.

• From Johannes Vintler’s Buch der Tugend [Book of Virtue], Augsburg (1486): Conversation Between a King and a Fool with a Recorder, woodcut, Johann Blaubirer (op. 1481–1486). Ref. Bartch (1843–1876, 85: 228, no. 1486/207); Schramm (1943: 698); Wiese (1988: fig. 43); Archiv Moeck; Rasmussen: Bells (2004: Bells); Card, Musica Pretiosa, Vilsbiburg (2004). Published by Johann Blaubirer, Augsburg, Germany. A fool with tiny bells in his cap holds a recorder whilst a king appears to be telling him how to play it.

Dirk Gerritsz. Bleker

Dutch painter; born Haarlem (c.1621), died Den Haag (c.1679).

• Flautist, painting, attributed to Dirk Gerritsz. Bleker (ca 1621–ca 1679). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A young man wearing a floppy hat sits beside a bank playing a more-or-less cylindrical pipe with a slightly flared foot. He doesn’t seem to have it in his mouth and there is no sign of a window/labium of a recorder or the embouchure hole of a flute. It could be either, but a recorder seems more likely in view of the flared foot.
• Concert, painting, Dirk Gerritsz. Bleker (ca 1621–ca 1679). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A young man sits at a table playing a perfectly depicted soprano  hand fluyt. On the table are a violin, a cornetto, a book and a sheet of music. Two women and a man sing from an open book.

Gerrit Claesz. Bleker

Dutch painter and skilled draughtsman; his subjects included landscapes, bucolic scenes of cattle and rural life, and biblical scenes; born Haarlem (ca 1592), died Amsterdam (1656).

• The Cowherd (1638), Gerrit Claesz. Bleker (ca 1592–1656). Ref. Bartsch (1854–1870, 4: 110/6). A cowherd sits with his four beasts, playing a pipe (? duct flute), left-hand lowermost, six fingers down. No finger holes or window/labium are visible. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
• Shepherd and Shepherdess, Gerrit Claesz. Bleker (ca 1592–1656). Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001, artist as “Jerrit Claude Bleker”); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The shepherd holds a perfectly depicted soprano hand fluyt with both hands. His right hand is lowermost but three finger holes and the offset little finger hole are visible.

Abraham Bloemaert

Influential Dutch mannerist painter and engraver of landscapes, mythological, biblical and pastoral scenes; born Gorinchem (1564), died Utrecht (1651); son of architect, sculptor Cornelis I Bloemaert (ca 1540–1593); brother of Adriaen Bloemaert (ca 1609–1666), Hendrik Bloemaert 1601/2–1672),Frederick Bloemaert (ca 1616–1690), Cornelis II Bloemaert (1603–? 1684).

• Boy with a Flute, oil on canvas, 67.3 × 57.2 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Brodie Castle, Scotland. Ref. Recorder & Music 14 (2): front cover (1994, col.); Hersom (1994). A young lad in a feathered cap and a jerkin with slashed sleeves holds a flared-bell recorder and smiles at the viewer.
• A Boy Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, 79 × 61 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Location unknown: offered for sale by Paul Brandt, Amsterdam, April 1975, Lot 49. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Constance Scholten (2009); Rijksbureau Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 942 (2014, b&w). A youth wearing a feathered cap holds a flared-bell soprano recorder which he is about to play. The rather large window/labium is clearly visible, and the lad is fingering an f”. There seems to be no hole for the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand, but this may be hidden in shadow. Formerly attributed to Hendrick Bloemaert (ca 1601–1672).
• Shepherd and Shepherdess (1627), oil on canvas, 60.0 × 74.5 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Hanover: Nidersächsiches Landesmuseum. Ref. Kunstkartendruch, Vontobel: postcard; Bernt (1969, 1: 122); Kettering (1983: fig. 108); Sutton (1984: pl. 42); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Buijsen & Grijp (1993: 227, footnote 13); Lasocki (2023: 117). At the foot of a hillside, beneath a tree, watched by a sheep, a shepherd is pushing a duct flute (probably a recorder) up under his protesting companion’s skirts. Rembrandt was to use this motif in one of his etchings from 1642.
• Shepherdess Reading a Poem (1628), 104 × 75 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Toledo, Ohio: Museum of Art. Ref. Kettering (1983: jacket & fig. 107); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). A young shepherdess in a plumed hat with a rose pinned to it, her crook over her shoulder, reads a poem. Beside her, a young shepherd (the author, perhaps) looks intently at her, holding a soprano recorder the head of which is hidden behind the letter. The lowermost finger hole of the recorder is characteristically offset from the other two which are visible.
• Pastoral Scene (1630), 27 × 38 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Location unknown; formerly Jozef Cremer Collection, Dortmund. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 110); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). Two shepherdesses are camped beneath a tree with their beasts. One is quite naked, lying with her back to us (she must be sunbathing); the other sits playing a flared-bell pipe (probably a recorder) of soprano/alto size.
• Ian Pattagie, engraving by Frederick de Widt, after Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Ref. Archiv Moeck. A young man in an elaborate hat and a loose robe holds an alto recorder of peculiar construction. The windway entrance is under the labium/window level! The engraving illustrates the following verse:
  

  Al ben ick vreemt en vies fatsoen
  Soo kant myn fluytien braesies doen
  Want als ick daer op tierelier
  Van lachen souje barsten schier.

• Mercury, Argus and Io (ca 1592), oil on canvas, 63.5 × 81.3 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Utrecht: Centraalmuseum, Inv. No. 22657. Ref. Centraalmuseum, Utrecht (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 6753 (2010, col.) Mercury sits astride a boulder, his caduceus at his feet, playing a cylindrical pipe one-handed to a very sleepy Argus. Mercury’s lowermost (right-hand) little finger is too near the bell for a shawm, so his instrument possibly represents a recorder, though no detail is given of the window/labium or finger holes. In the background Io (as a white heifer) looks back at the scene wistfully. This work is said to be the earliest representation of this theme in Dutch art (Centraalmuseum, Utrecht, loc. cit.)
• Mercury and Argus (ca 1635), Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Location unknown. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Playing a large, slender, flared-bell duct flute (probably a recorder), Mercury lulls Argus to sleep beneath a spreading tree on the edge of a forest, watched by Io, priestess of Juno, whom Jupiter has transformed into a white heifer. The figure of Argus is very similar to the 1645 painting of the same subject (see below) but in reverse, and here Mercury has a winged hat and boots.
• Mercury, Argus and Io (1645), oil on canvas, 79.3 × 104.0 cm, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Vienna: Palais Liechtenstein, Inv. 349. Ref. Website: Bernard Huyvaert, Dutch 17th Century; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007); Rijksbureau Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 0000113056 (2014, col.) Playing a large, slender, flared-bell duct flute (probably a recorder), Mercury lulls Argus to sleep beneath a spreading tree on the edge of a forest, watched patiently by Io, priestess of Juno, whom Jupiter has transformed into a white heifer. All fingers of Mercury’s lowermost (left) hand appear to be in use, the first finger lifted. The figure of Argus is very similar to the 1635 painting of the same subject (see above) but in reverse, and here although in disguise wearing a blue cloak, floppy felt hat and bare feet, he rather incautiously hides his caduceus behind his back.
• Mercury and Argus, sketch, Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 5 November 2002, Lot 19. (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 60426 (2010, col.) . Mercury plays a pipe with a large bell to Argus who is slumped drowsily beside him.
• Hearing (1632–1620)), print, 10.5 × 15.5 cm, engraving & etching by Frederick Bloemaert (1610-1669) after Abraham Bloemart (1564–1651). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-BI-153. Beneath a tree on a hillside, a shepherdess sits beside a shepherd who plays a narrowly conical pipe, probably meant to represent a duct flute, possibly a recorder. Their sheep graze further down the slope.

Hendrik Bloemaert

Dutch poet and painter of religious works, mythological and genre scenes and portraits in which he combined the style of the Utrecht Caravaggisti with the decorative manner of his father; as a poet, he is best known for his rhymed translation of Guarini’s Il pastor fido (Venice, 1590); born Utrecht (1601/2), died (1672); son of architect and sculptor Cornelis I Bloemaert (ca 1540–1593); brother of Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651), Adriaen Bloemaert (ca 1609–1666), Frederick Bloemaert (ca 1616–1690), Cornelis II Bloemaer (1603–? 1684).

• Mercury and Argus, Hendrik Bloemaert (ca 1601–1672). Ref. London: University of London, Warburg Institute; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Mercury plays a rather conical pipe (very small at the mouth), left hand lowermost, two lower finger holes visible, possibly a recorder. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).
• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 77.0 × 66.5 cm, Hendrik Bloemaert (ca 1601–1672). Utrecht: Centraal Museum, Inv. 2568. Ref. Rijksbureau Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 70 (2014, b&w). Seated on a bank at the foot of a tree, Mercury pipes Argus (and his dog) to sleep on a flared pipe, possibly a recorder. Io (as a white heifer) looks backwards at Argus.
• Shepherd with a Flute  (ca 1630), oil on canvas, 75.8 × 64.2  cm, Hendrik Bloemaert (ca 1601–1672). Bratislava: Slovenské Národné Múzeum, Inv. O 250. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig 13); Griffioen (1988: 438–439). A youthful shepherd in a wide-brimmed hat and loose cloak holds an alto-sized recorder in his left fist. The Slovenské Národné Múzeum are now (2022) of the opinion that this could be by Hendrick Bloemaert. However, their website attributes it to Giovanni Bilivert (1585–1644).

Maximilian Bloemart [Blommaerdt] (op. 1696–1697), Flemish

• Family Portrait, Maximilian Bloemart (op. 1696–1697). Private Collection. Ref. Mirimonde (? date: 231, fig. 35); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A family are gathered around a table on a terrace; a man holds a cello, and a young lad plays a turned, 3-piece alto baroque recorder.
• The Concert, Maximilian Bloemart (op. 1696–1697). Ref. Web site: Joele Morton, greatbassviol.com (2004, col.) A couple seated at a table play lute, cello, and a pipe (possibly a recorder). Beside them stands a statue and a man (? servant). A dog plays in the foreground, and music and a number of instruments are littered on the ground, including two lutes, a small harp, and a long wind instrument (probably a bassoon).

Jan-Frans van Bloemen [Orizzonte]

Flemish painter who became a member of the Schildersbent, the confraternity of Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome; his facility for producing panoramic landscapes earned him the nickname Orizzonte (It.: ‘horizon’), which had previously been applied to Claude Lorrain; born Antwerp (1662), died Rome (1749); brother of Pieter van Bloemen (1657–1720) and Norbert van Bloemen (1670–ca 1745).

• Landscape, copper, 20 × 28 cm, Jan-Frans van Bloemen (1662–1749). Location unknown; offered for sale by Robert Finck Gallery, Brussels, Cat. No. 57 (1976). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A young woman on a swing between two trees chats to a male companion; opposite, sit two couples; one of the young women plays a baroque-style tenor recorder with turned joints and foot; in the background, across a pasture with some sheep, is a village at the foot of a mountain.

Pieter [Peter] van Bloemen [Blommen; Bloms]

Flemish painter and draughtsman; most of his works are landscapes with figures and animals, caravan scenes with camps and resting travellers and animals, military and genre scenes and horse markets; he also painted animals for works by other artists; his style is characteriized by carefully grouped ‘still-lifes’ of animals, open, Italianate landscapes with one or two monuments to convey the ‘Roman’ atmosphere and the lively colouring of the figures’ costumes contrasted to the more sombre greys and browns of the herds and ruins; born Antwerp (1657), died Antwerp (1720); brother of Jan-Frans van Bloemen (1662–1749) and Norbert van Bloemen (1670–ca 1745).

• A Landscape with a Herdsman Playing the Flute, oil on canvas, Pieter van Bloemen (1680–ca 1745). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.). A herdsman sits on a rock before a stable playing a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) to a horse and a goat.
• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 55.3 × 67 cm, Pieter van Bloemen (1680 – ca 1745). St Petersburg: Hermitage. Beneath a tree, Mercury plays on a conical, flared-bell pipe to Argus who stands beside him, leaning on his staff. In the foreground, beasts graze amongst some ruins, with them Io (as a white heifer). The pipe is played left-hand uppermost and all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand are deployed, the first raised, the rest covering their holes, so this may represent a recorder –a shawm would hardly seem appropriate. An identical painting was sold by the Dorotheum, Vienna in 1997 (see below).
• Argus and Io, oil on canvas, 52.5 × 67 cm, Pieter van Bloemen (1680–ca 1745). Vienna: Dorotheum, 4 March 1997, Lot 305. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000, col.); Rijksbureau Kunsthistorische Documentatie 20428 (2010, col.) Beneath a tree, Mercury plays on a conical, flared-bell pipe to Argus who stands beside him, leaning on his staff. In the foreground, beasts graze amongst some ruins, with them Io (as a white heifer). The pipe is played left-hand uppermost and all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand are deployed, the first raised, the rest covering their holes, so this may represent a recorder –a shawm would hardly seem appropriate. Identical to Bloemen’s Mercury and Argus in the Hermitage, St Petersberg (see above).

Reyer [Reijer] Jacobz. van Blommendael

Dutch artist about whom little is known; his extant oeuvre consists of a few pastoral scenes, history paintings and half-length figures making music; born Amsterdam (1628), died Haarlem (1675).

• [Shepherds Making Music], 95 × 71 cm, Reyer van Blommendael (1628–1675). Location unknown: auctioned by J. Dupont, Paris. Ref. Hoyer (1992: 30–31, no. 30); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). Two shepherdesses and a shepherd make music in the shade of hillside, their fields and sheep in the distance. One shepherdess sings, another plays a lute. The shepherd, wearing a leafy crown, plays an alto-sized hand-fluyt.

Jacques François Blondel & Marie-Michelle Blondel

The French architectural engraver Jacques (le Petit) Blondel developed into a conservative and thorough architect, whose rationally ordered mind consolidated French classical tradition and practice,he was among the earliest founders of schools of architecture in France; born Rouen 1705, died 1774; grandson of the architect Francois Blondel (le Grand Blondel).

• Musical Trophy, engraving after Jacques Dumont (le Romain), by Jacques François & Marie Michelle Blondel (1705–1774). Ref. Fitz-Gerald (1973: 41, pl. 40, b&aw.) This trophy includes an open book of music, trumpet, oboe, guitar, sistrum, flute, pan-pipe, tambourine (with jingle rings), anvil, triangle (with jingle rings) and beater, cornetto, and a baroque recorder the head and upper body of which are visible.

Pieter de Bloot

Dutch painter of landscape and low-life genre scenes; born and died Rotterdam (ca 1601–1658).

• Peasants in an Inn, oil on panel, 42 × 61 cm, Pieter de Bloot (ca 1601–1658). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Inv. 1453. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr – 15). A group of lads drink, smoke, sing and play recorder. One of the singers reads from a score. In the corner opposite them is a clutter of pots and pans, a birdcage, a cat drinking from a bowl. An old man with a walking stick is coming in the door at the back of the room. The window/labium of the recorder is absolutely clear; there is a single incised ring at the bell end; there is a hint of a hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• The Sense of Hearing: Peasants Music-Making in a Barn, oil on panel, 28.3 & 25.6 cm, Pieter de Bloot (ca 1601–1658). Amsterdam: Christie’s, 4 May 1999, Lot 59. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Doucmentatie, 59266 (2010, col.) Three peasants make music in a barn. One, standing holding a sheet of music (or words) sings; a second, seated, plays the violin and sings; a third, also seated, plays a flared-bell recorder. The beak is hinted at, and the player’s hands and fingers are well postioned for recorder playing, including the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand which appears to be covering its hole. In the foreground right and spread out on the floor is a pile of kitchen utensils.
• Singing and Music-making Peasants in a Tavern, oil on panel, 24.9 × 37.6 cm, Pieter de Bloot (ca 1601–1658). London: Sotheby’s, 5 July 1995, Lot 142. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Doucmentatie, 3384 (2010, col.) In the style of Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6-1638). Around a table peasants sing to an accompaniment provided by one of their fellows on a small narrowly conical pipe. Although no details of the pipe can be seen it could easily be a recorder. On small table in the foreground are a jug, bread and books; and on a smaller table in front of that are a violin, ? gemshorn and small flute.

Tim Bobbin – See John Collier

Pedro Atanasio Bocanegra

Spanish artist of the high baroque whose enthusiastic style with its rich colouration point to the rococco; a follower of Alonso Cano, he became the major painter in Granada; many of his religious works and altar-pieces were painted in situ; born Granada (1638), died Granada (1689).

• The Vision of St Bernard, Pedro Atanasio Bocanegra (1638–1689). Granada: Catedral, wall to the right of the Sanctuary arch, facing the nave. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). St Bernard looks up to the Virgin with the Christ-child on her lap, surrounded by a heavenly host, amongst them angel-musicians. The latter include a singer, and players of alto cornetto, guitar, harp and a probable tenor recorder. The latter is fingered but not actually played. No window/labium or finger holes are visible, but the right-hand little finger is lifted as if for action and the playing position is recorder-like. The beaked mouthpiece is absolutely clear.

Boccaccio Boccaccino

Italian artist of the Emilian School, known for his frescos in Cremona Cathedral depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin, and for paintings characterised by a subtle, singing colour; born Ferrara (before 1466), died Cremona (1525); father of artist Camillo Boccaccino (1504/5–1546).

• Concert, Boccaccio Boccaccino (before 1466-1525). Milan: Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. Ref. Burlington Magazine (1998). Includes two recorders.

Faustino Bocchi

Italian artist; active in Brescia, who specialized in bizarre genre paintings of dwarfs, specifically bambocciate di nani or arte pigmeo, generally seen as humorous or satirical, and often scabrous pieces; some resemble the decorative conceits of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526/7–1593); others suggest the nightmarish world of Hieronymus Bosch (ca 1450–1516); many of Bocchi’s works in this peculiar idiom depict the battles, fights, games, dances, feasts, and triumphs of dwarfs, hunchbacks, pygmies, and animals; born Brescia (1659), died Brescia (1742).

• Village Fête, canvas, 71 × 100 cm, Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). Location unknown; sold Palais Galliera, 14 March 1970. Ref. Sale Catalogue (1970: No. 7, photo.); RIdIM (2000). The villagers (all of whom appear to be dwarfs) gather around a makeshift stage on which musicians (including animals), conducted by one of their number waving a roll of paper.  A child and two birds sing; a monkey plays a cello, a child a lute, a cat a harp, and a mole a pipe (possibly a recorder). Above them, children play on a flying fox attached at one end to the tall building behind the stage and at the other to the base of a nearby tree against which leans a man on stilts. Pandemonium reigns throughout.

• A Townscape with an Orchestra of Dwarfs Playing Music with Masked Onlookers, oil on canvas, 44 x 70 cm, Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). London: Sotheby’s, Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Day Auction, Part II, Lot 315, 2023, 7 July 2023. Frome a private collection, Amsterdam. Within the walls of a town a fête is taking place. Some of the citizens are cloaked, a couple are masqued. In the foreground musicans play lute and fiddles; one blows into an enormous recorder carried on another’s shoulders. Propped up on long crutches, a serenading dwarf stands on the top of a pyramid of dwarfs. Above him, the object of his imploration leans out of the window of an inn , watched by a companion.

• Parody Concert, oil on canvas, 124.5 × 202.0 cm, Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Website: gallica (2010-b&w); Website: MutualArt (2021, col.) Beside a river, a harpsichord seems to have foundered on top of a hill. A horde of dwarfs tumble down the hillside getting into all sorts of mischief along the way. Some clamber all over an enormous violin and three of them attempt to drag the bow across the strings. One perches on the tailpiece of the violin, blowing a huge recorder, his little hand at the side of the window/labium area. Lower down, beyond his reach extends a line of three finger holes, but two other men (seen from above) hold up the foot end: one trying (presumably) to reach up as far as the bottom holes (not visible), the other helping by blowing air into the open bore end! A huge grey and white cat is about to pounce on two dwarfs in the process of attacking others below. A caption at the bottom right in an Italian dialect which is just being completed by a scribe using a most unusual ink reads: “Sel Capriccio inpregnasse la Chimera per far prole di mostri e bizzarie apresso a questo le saria stampate che quà de i schiribizzi e la mineva ese, un disesse di me in cortesia che istoria è questa, caro el mio scritor divia del caramal sente fodor ma l’invencion ná sò cosa la sia.” The complete Parody Concert was copied in the early 18th-century as Concert with a Cat (see below) And the would-be musicians reappear in The Orchestra, Musée des Beaux Artes, Rouen, Inv. G 54-6 (see below).
• Concert with a Cat, oil on canvas, 155 × 210 cm (framed), School of Brescia (early 18th-century), after Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, Old Master Painting, 11 December 2018, Lot 96. A fair copy of Bocchi’s Parody Concert (see above).
• The Orchestra, oil on canvas, 47 × 82 cm, studio of Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). Rouen: Musée des Beaux Artes, Inv. G 54-6. Ref. BnF: Fonds Albert Pomme de Mirimonde, Collection de documents iconographiques, Boîte 17, Concerts parodiques – Exotisme; Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2011, b&w); Joconde Website (2021, col.)  Said to be one of a pendant pair. Tiny men clamber all over an enormous cello. Three of them attempt to drag the bow across the strings. One perches on the tailpiece of the cello, blowing a huge renaissance-style recorder, his little hand at the side of the window/labium area. Lower down, beyond his reach extends a line of nine finger holes, but two other men (seen from above) hold up the foot end: one trying (presumably) to reach up as far as the bottom holes (not visible), the other helping by blowing air into the open bore end!” This reproduces a section of Bocchi’s Parody Concert (see above).
• Lilliputian Village, painting, Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742). Location unknown. Ref. BnF: Fonds Albert Pomme de Mirimonde, Collection de documents iconographiques. Boîte 17, Concerts parodiques – Exotisme; Website: gallica (2011, b&w). All is hustle and bustle in a village inhabited entirely by dwarfs, hunchbacks, and pygmies. Instead of a giant, a group of these little men have captured a perfectly depicted three-piece baroque recorder which they are carrying down a steep hillside on the edge of town. In the bottom left corner, a band plays shawms and drums.
• Tarantella Players, oil on canvas, 84 × 128 cm, circle of Faustino Bocchi (1659–1742), after Jacques Callot (1592–1635). Rome: Minerva Auctions, Old Masters and Art of the  XIX Century – Auction 80, 15 November 2012, Lot 41 (unsold). Ref. RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Image 1001090744 (2014, col.) On the left of the couple dancing a tarantella a man plays a tambourine; on the right, a man in a bird-like mask and costume plays a lute. The dancing man plays a flared-bell pipe, almost certainly a recorder. Curiuosly, both dancers wear spectacles! All four figures are taken directly from Jacques Callot’s etchings Les Caprices (1617, nos 32 & 34).
• Glorious Entry of an Army of Dwarfs Carrying Loot, oil on canvas, 74 × 97 cm, Faustino Bocchi (1659-1742). The Hague: Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder. Ref. BnF: Fonds Albert Pomme de Mirimonde, collection de documents iconographiques, FRBNF39894855 (b&w). An army of dwarfs are towing an upended rooster down hill with ropes. Beside them, more dwarfs carry a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt much bigger than themselves; one dwarf blows the instrument; others sing from sheet music. In front of the recorder, two singing dwarfs ride atop a tortoise; another travels by snail; and two dance as they play a xylophone and a tambourine. Behind the rooster, a veritable horde of dwarfs advance, at least seven in the front line playing recorders! On a rickety platform, high in the trees, onlookers jostle for a view of the procession, some falling from their perch. One of the latter has been caught by a passing dragon-fly. Beside a river at the foot of the slope more onlookers sit on the cap of a scarlet mushroom, one playing a fiddle. A dwarf walks beside the river on stilts. On the other side of the river more dwarfs crowd forward from their pumpkin homes. In the bottom left-hand corner sits a seriously disabled dwarf who looks for all the world like Stephen Fry. In the bottom right-hand corner a lizard enjoys the spectacle.
• Grotesque Figures, oil on copper, 24.5 × 30 cm, Faustino Bocchi (1659 – 1741). London: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings Part Two, 8 December 2005, Lot 348. Ref. Website: Sotheby’s (2021-col.) In one of a pair of paintings, a gang of dwarfs struggle to play an enormous violin, one team near the nut attempting to what look like beads on the strings, another pulling and pushing the bow. A dwarf sitting on top of the bowl of a lute plays a pipe of some kind, another dozes against the lute’s end. A female dwarf sits at an appropriately sized harpsichord into which a dwarf composer clutching a rolled manuscript seems to have fallen. Hovering above the scene a small dwarf is borne away by a spider. Lying on the ground bottom right, half out of frame, lies a renaissance -tyle recorder with only the foot and lower body visible.
• Music-making Dwarfs, oil on canvas 26 × 56 cm, attributed to Faustino Bocchi (1659-1742). Location unknown. Auctioned 22 March 2001. Ref. Artnet (2021, col.) Whilst three dwarfs warm themselves around a fire, three more carry an enormous recorder blown by a fourth dwarf towards two others who sing from broadsheets. The recorder is of one-pieces renaissance style but with a prominent beak which is oriented upside down to the body of the instrument! One of a pendant pair.

Godfriedt van Bochoutt [or Bochoudt]

Dutch artist; active in Bruges (1659–1666).

• Still-life (1659), oil on wood 51 × 64 cm, Godfriedt van Bochoutt (fl. 1659–1666). Munich: Kunsthandel. Ref. Bernt (1970: fig. 142); Mirimonde (1971: 265, #60); Archiv Moeck; Paris RIdIM (1999); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 12172 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website Wikimedia (2019, col.) On a table a number of objects are scattered including books, a pearl necklace, a candlestick, a watch, some flowers, some sheet music, and a recorder with a slight bell-flare and only six finger holes visible. The sheet music is the bass part of a Padovana (pavan), a popular courtly dance in the 17th century.

Hans Bock [Boc, Boek), the Elder

Swiss Mannerist painter active in Basel; a pupil of Hans Kluber whose house he purchased from Kluber’s widow in 1587; born Zabern (ca 1550), died Basel (1624).

• The Bath at Leuk and the Galant Meal (1597), Hans Bock (ca 1550–1624). Basel: Öffentliche Kunstsammlung. Ref. Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1967, 69: 339); Lesure (1968, English: pl. 40; 1966/1968, German: pl. 46); Mirimonde 1 (1977: 153, pl. 90); Rasmussen (2002, Lute); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte, AKG38890 (2014, col.) Men and women disport themselves in a public bath, amongst them two musicians, one playing a crumhorn (or bladder pipe), the other a cylindrical recorder; and there are singers. Some eat and drink, and passers-by lean over a fence, pointing and ogling at the goings on.

Arnold Böcklin

Swiss artist, much influenced by his study of classical originals; a somewhat eccentric painter who, like Da Vinci, experimented in his garden with human flight; he disliked giving titles to his pictures and declared that he painted in order to make people dream; born Basel (1827), died Florence (1901).

• Nymph with a Flute (1891), oil on wood, 80.0 × 54.8 cm, Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901). Darmstadt: Landesmuseum. Ref. Krimmel (1977: 215, pl. 95). A nymph holding a narrowly conical pipe, purely fanciful but conceivably a duct flute of some kind.
• Sirens (1827), oil on canvas, 46 × 31 cm, Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901). Berlin: Staatliche Museen, Inv. No. A I 754. Ref. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 02530586, col.); Website: Wikiart (2014, col.) Two sirens do their best to lure a passing sailboat onto their island. The sirens are depicted as chimeras, half woman, half ostrich. A pile of human skulls lies at their feet. One of the sirens plays a slender, conical pipe, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder – a hole for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand is clearly depicted.

Theodor Boeyermans

Flemish painter who may have received his artistic education in the studio of Van Dyck whose influence is noticeable in his works; he became master of the Guild of Antwerp in 1654; his subjects include history paintings and altarpieces; born Antwerp (1620), died Antwerp (1678).

• Allegory of the City of Antwerp (ca 1660), 84 × 118 cm, Theodor Boeyermans (1620–1678). Germany: Private Collection; offered for sale by Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris (2011). Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) A somewhat enigmatic painting. In an architectural caprice presided over by a classical statue of a man holding a pipe (aulos), Fame (holding a trumpet), give her hand to an old man lying on the ground with a shovel in his hand, littered on the floor to the right are musical instruments of all kinds, an anvil, a costume, books, a cutlass, several busts, two paintings (one of the old man perhaps), an astrolabe, compass, dividers and sextant, two woodworking planes, an artist’s palette, and a statuette. Further to the right, four putti gambol, one with a tambourine (with jingle rings), one with a slender, cylindrical pipe (probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder), and one with a small side drum; the fourth has fallen over. In the foreground, right a small spaniel joins in the fun. The musical instruments include two lutes, a pochette, a violin, a large tambourine (with jingle rings), a guitar, a xylophone, a very large triangle (with jingle rings), a travelling spinet, a double bass, a tromba marina, and (immediately behind the astrolabe) a small cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder). The window/labium of the latter is clearly depicted, but only three finger holes are visible. One interpretation of this painting sees it as an Allegory of the Scheldt (Symbol of Antwerp), and the old man as a river god. Another interpretation sees the male character as a personification of Chronos who tries in vain to bury the glory of human achievement.

Louis-Leopold Boilly (1761-1845)

French painter and printmaker; known for his genre scenes on moralizing and amorous subjects; born La Bassée, near Lille (1761), died Paris (1845); son of the wood-carver, Arnould Boilly (1764–1779).

• Les Aveugles [The Blind] (1825), lithograph by François de Delpech (1778–1825) after Louis-Leopold Boilly (1761–1845). Paris: Galerie d’Art Paul Prouté. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Macmillan (2008: 134); Flickr: Perkins School for the blind Archive (2012: AG129_21_0005 , col.) Two shabby blind musicians play fiddle and chalumeau (or clarinet), and a young beggar boy holds out his hat. The mouthpiece of the wind instrument might easily be mistaken for the beak of a recorder, but there is a block-mounted key on the front below it; there is  no sign of a reed or ligature.
• Le Concert (ca 1820), lithograph by François de Delpech (1778–1825) after Louis-Leopold Boilly (1761–1845). London: Martin Randall Collection. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A lady and four gentlemen, all well past their prime, engage with considerable gusto in music-making, closely grouped together and shown in half-length. The lady (ecstatically) and a gentleman (very vigorously) at the front sing from music. At the back, a man with tousled hair plays a one-keyed traverso, and in the middle a bald gentleman with very distended cheeks and bulging eyes sounds a horn. At the left, side-on, a gentleman with a crooked nose concentrates on playing a pipe with a curved beak which is possibly a duct flute (recorder, flageolet or csakan), only the beak of which is visible (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.) I am inclined to think this, too, is a chalumeau rather than a recorder.

Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680), Dutch.

Dutch painter of portraits, allegorical scenes, history pieces, and biblical themes, amongst the most successful of his day; born Dordrecht (1616), died Amsterdam (1680).

• Gaius Fabricius Luscinus’ Intrepidity in Pyrrhus’ Camp (1656), oil on canvas, 48.5 × 35.0  cm, Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680). Amsterdam: Amsterdam Museum, Inv. SA 3807. Ref. Haak & Willems-Treeman (1984/1996: 360, fig. 760); Griffioen (1988: 438-9); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 3837 (2016, b&w); Wikimedia Commons (2016, col.) Study for a decorative item in the Koninklijk Paleis on Dam Square, Amsterdam. Fabricius Luscinus (i.e. one-eyed) was a Roman commander and statesman whose incorruptibility and austerity were frequently regarded as models of the early Roman virtues. After the defeat of the Romans by Pyrrhus at Heraclea (280), Fabricius was sent to treat for the ransom and exchange of the prisoners. All attempts to bribe him were unsuccessful, and Pyrrhus is said to have been so impressed that he released the prisoners without ransom. In this painting, Fabriciuis stands bravely on the steps with Pyrrhus who, protected by his guard, suddenly draws aside a curtain to disclose an elephant A man and two children tumble down the steps at their feet, the smallest holding a tiny duct flute (possibly a recorder) with a distinct beak and foot. In the final work (Amsterdam Museum, Inv. A 35807)  the boy has lost his pipe.
• Woman with a Lyra da Gamba (1653), oil on canvas, 111.4 cm × 87.8 cm, Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. GG 9050. Ref. Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). A beautifully dressed woman wearing a cap plays a tenor-sized lyra viol which stands on a table before her. Underneath the viol is a sheet of music; to the right lies a tapering one-piece recorder of soprano size.

Hans Bol

Flemish Mannerist draftsman, illuminator and painter; renowned for his landscapes and miniatures which combined artifice and naturalism in panoramic or intimate views of the Flemish countryside, often including small figures in biblical, mythological, allegorical, or genre scenes; born Mechelen (1534), died Amsterdam (1593); stepfather of the artist Frans Boels (1555–1596) .

• Feast in a Garden Pavilion / The Parable of the Prodigal Son (1559), engraving (from two plates), Bartholomeus de Momper after Hans Bol (1534–1593). Ref. Hollstein (1949–: 53, no. 218); Gitarre & Laute 1980, II/3: 28–29); Rasmussen (2002, Lute; 2004, Bagpipe; 2007, Flute). “The principal scene depicts the Prodigal Son among the whores. Outside the pavilion a woman plays a lute. On the ground beside her there are a lute case (open), a flute case, a flute and a recorder. Inside the pavilion a woman plays a virginal and men play flute and shawm” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.
• Banqueting Scene in a Garden / The Parable of the Prodigal Son (1570), pen and brown ink, brown wash, 14.6 × 20.2 cm, Hans Bol (1534–1593). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 1972.118.4. Ref. Slim (1976: 12); Rasmussen (2002, Lute; 2007, Flute). “The foreground scene represents the Prodigal Son among the whores and includes a woman playing a lute and a man playing a flute. On the ground there are a lute case (open) lying on top of a flute case, a generic woodwind instrument (probably intended to represent a recorder) and an open music book” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) The “generic woodwind instrument” seems rather more likely to be a shawm, with its strongly flared bell.

Schelte [Schelderic] (Adamsz.) (à) Bolswert (ca 1581-1659)

Dutch engraver and publisher; engraved prints after such artists as Jordaens, Rubens, Vinckboons, Gillis van Coninxloo III and Abraham Bloemaert, but later devoted himself mainly to religious prints; born Bolsward (ca 1586), died Antwerp (1659); brother of Boetius Bolswert, also an engraver (1580–1633).

• See entries under Jordaens and Rubens.

Valentin Boltz von Rufach

German writer and poet, theologian and evangelical pastor, playwright and actor, and miniature painter; born Rufach in Alsace (a.1515), died Binzen (1560).

• Illuminirbuch kunstlich alle Farben zu machen und bereyten Allen Schreibern Brieffmalern und andern solcher Künsten liebhabern gantz lustig und fruchtbar zu wissen Sampt etlichen newen zugesetzten Kunststücklein vormals im Truck nie außgangen (?1610–1630): frontispiece, woodcut, Valentin Boltz von Rufach (a. 1515–1560). Published in Nuremberg by Jörg Singer and Christoff Lochner. Weidenhain: Katrin Hofmann, sedulitas kunstmarketing (2013). A unique copy of this edition of an illumination book, first published in 1549 in Basel, offered for sale on eBay. It describes a variety of techniques for applying varnish on different substrates, gilding techniques, the preparation of colors and inks, as well as the preparation of printing plates and the production of brushes and pens. The woodcut frontispiece depicts the author at a desk in his workshop with all his technical paraphernalia around him. Amongst the latter are two musical instruments: a violin and a recorder. The recorder has rather too many finger holes but is otherwise clearly depicted with its characteristic beak, window/labium, slightly tapering body and flared foot. Doubtless both instruments are included as examples of the kind of thing that could be coloured with so-called lake pigments and other dye-stuffs.

Filippo Bonanni

Italian Jesuit and curator of the collection of antiquities formed by Athanasius Kircher preserved in the Jesuit College; he was himself a skilled copper plate engraver; his many works included treatises on fields ranging from anatomy to music; he created the earliest practical illustrated guide for shell collectors in 1681 and is considered the father of conchology; his Cabinetto Armonico contains 152 unsigned engravings of musical instruments from around the world, presumably designed by himelf, but engraved by Arnold van Westerhout (1651–1725); born and died in Rome, Papal States (1638–1732). 

• Cabinetto Armonico: Flauto (1722, 1723, 1776): Plate 19, Flauto, engraving by Arnold van Westerhout (1651–1725) ? after ? Filippo Bonanni (1638–1732). Ref. Bonanni (1716/1964: pl. 19, b&w). An old man kneels beside a stream and plays a one-piece cylindrical recorder with a slightly flared bell. The artist who designed the plate is not indicated, but was presumably  Bonanni himself.
• 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.”

Francesco Boneri [Buoneri] (called Cecco del Caravaggio)

Painter working in Italy during the first half of the 17th century; variously thought to have been Flemish, French or Spanish; most recently Gianni Papi (1992) has given him Italian origins and the name Francesco Boneri; a follower of Michelangelo Merisis called Caravaggio (1571–1610).

• Interior with Still-life and a Young Man Holding a Recorder (ca 1615–1620), oil on canvas, 103 × 138 cm, Francesco Boneri (ca 1589, fl. 1621). Oxford: University of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Weldon Gallery, No. 451b. Ref. Nicolson & Vertova (1990: 91, pl. 463); Recorder & Music 3 (10): 382, b&w (1971); Brejon de Lavergnee (1993: 205); Roberts-Jones (1965: No. 81); Moir (1967, I: 100, 4 & II: 118, 1); Bodart (1970: 165, 206); Longhi (1943: 27, pl. 59); Marini (1979: 76, No. 46); Papi (1992: 26–27); Porzio (1989. II: 716 & No. 851); Cuzin & Bréjon de Lavergnée (1973: No. 6); Waterhouse & Ashton (1938); Spear (1971: No. 23; 1972: 157, No. 21); CD Cover: Canzoni e Sonate, Tarquino Merula, Collegium Pro Musica [Stefano Bagliano], Dynamic CDS 191 (1999 detail,, col.); Postcard: Royal Academy of Arts, London (2001, col.); Exhibited: The Genius of Rome, 1592-1623, Royal Academy (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image AMO98737, col.); Ausoni (2009: 316, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A man wearing fashionable clothes and a feathered cap holds a wide-bore, alto recorder with a thickened ring between the foot and the centre-joint of the instrument, seated at a table surrounded by fruit, a bagel, crockery, vegetables, and other domestic items, including a violin and bow. Variously attributed to Ludovicus Finsonius and Velazquez.
• Young Man Playing the Flute (1620–1630), oil on panel, 92.0 × 72.5 cm, Francesco Boneri (ca 1589, fl. 1621). London: Sotheby’s: Old Master Paintings Day Sale LO8037, Lot 128, December 2008. Ref. Anonymous Sale, Tajan, Paris, Lot 26 (22 June 2006); Catalogue: Sotheby’s Sale, LO8037 (2008); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 344096 (104, col.) A young man in a magnificent feathered hat wearing a jacket with slashed sleeves and an ermine stole around his shoulders sits at a table playing a perfectly depicted renaissance tenor recorder, the beak, window/labium, finger holes (doubled for the lowermost finger) clearly visible. Before him lie smoking implements and playing cards.

Giotto di Bondone = Giotto

Bonifazio [Bonifacio] de’Pitati [Bonifazio Veneziano; Bonifazio Veronese]

Italian painter of the Venetian school whose paintings have been confused with those of Giorgione, Titian and Veronese; born Verona (1487), died Venice (1553).

• Gardens of a Villa in the Veneto, Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Private Collection. Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.P681.8Ve; Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Rowland-Jones (2003b: 9, fig. 5 , b&w). Detail from a long panel painting. “In the center foreground a musical ensemble with men playing viola da braccio, bass viol and recorder(?) and a woman playing a lute. A man with a music book presumably sings” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) In fact there is no recorder here. “A woman sings and keeps time, and another woman strums or plucks a small lute. A man plays a bass viol and another man a cornetto, the lower part of which is hidden by the table so that it could be either an alto or a tenor (lysarden) … They all play and sing from part books … ” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• The Parable of the Rich Man’s Feast (Dives and Lazarus), Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Detail. Venice: Galleria della Accademia. Ref. Landon & Norwich (1991: pl. 12, col., detail); Anthony Rowland-Jones (2002g: 7 & fig. 5-b&w.). Oblivious to the pleas of a beggar kneeling before them, the wealthy Dives and his two female companions are seated at a table listening to three musicians playing lute, viol and a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) who all bend forward to concentrate on the open music-book held for them by a negro boy servant. Bonifazio has chosen to make the musicians the centre-piece for his composition, thereby completely disassociating Dives from the begging Lazarus.
• Musical Party, oval painting, painting, Circle of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Location unknown: auctioned 22/10/2003. Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.) A copy of part of Bonifazio’s The Parable of the Rich Man’s Feast showing the musicians and the listening woman at the end of the table engrossed in the performance.
• Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1525), oil on panel, 118.1 × 152.4 cm, Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Birmingham: City Museum and Art Gallery, Inv. 1955P101. On the far right, a rather doubtful young man looks on the central scene holding a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) of which only the head is visible;  There are 11 versions of this painting, all different (Rowland-Jones, pers com.) I see no recorder in this version of the painting: The young man in question looks as if he is having a religious experience of some kind and holds only a very long staff!
• The Finding of Moses: Moses Brought Before Pharaoh’s Daughter, oil on panel, 26.2 × 76.6 cm, studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Detail. Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Inv. 1149. To the left of the central scene three musicians play lute, viol and an ambiguous pipe which, judging by the inflated cheeks, the placement of the mouthpiece to one side of the mouth, and the absence of a windway is most likely a straight or mute cornetto. However, the bell appears to be flared, like that of a recorder.
• The Finding of Moses (ca 1540–1550), studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487-1553). Vienna: Gemäldergalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2002, in press). A reworking of an original by Bonifazio in the Palatine Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Florence. The baby Moses in a cradle is handed to a patriarch-like figure, with six personages grouped side by side on the same level in the manner of a sacra conversazione. At the right, beyond a tree-trunk which divides the composition, musicians sing and play lute, viola and a recorder watched by a turbaned man.
• The Finding of Moses, studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Frankfurt: Collection of Dr F. Dreyfuss. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2002g). Musicians to the left of the central group play viol, lute and an ambiguous pipe which might be a recorder.
• The Finding of Moses, studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Location unknown: Auctioned Sotheby’s, July 1983. Ref. Rowland-Jones (2002, in press). Musicians seated at a low table play lute, viol, reading from two music-books.
• Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1523), oil on panel, 118 × 168 cm, Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Madrid: Museo del Prado, 269. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The head ends of two duct flutes, each clearly showing the beaked mouth-piece and window/labium, emerge from the pannier of a young shepherd in conversation with Joseph.
• Concerto, ink sketch, 17.5 × 26.9 cm, Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, No. 1454 E. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001, 2002). A group of musicians with a small keyboard instrument (harpsichord or clavichord), a lute, two singers holding a music book, and a man playing what could be a cylindrical recorder of alto or smaller size, with a medium bell flare (mainly wood thickening) which is held right-hand lowermost. At the bottom of the sheet is a small sketch of a woman (?) playing a transverse flute. On the right is a standing figure, probably a woman, holding a sheet of ? music, probably in the act of listening to the performance. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Allegory of Music, panel, 19.5 × 20 cm, Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Paris: Étude Tajan, Old Master Paintings, Sale 9529, 21 June 2010, Lot 12. A personification of music sits at a table on which stands an organetto. In one hand she holds a viola da braccio, in the other a bow. on the ground beside her are a lute, a cornetto, a slender, slightly flared recorder, and a musical score. In the background is a villa behind which are craggy mountains. Formely attributed to Andrea Schiavone (ca 1510-1563).
• The Gardens of a Villa in the Veneto, studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Melbourne, Derbyshire: Melbourne Hall, Kerr Collection. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Seated around a table musicians sing and play a small lira da braccio, lute, recorder and bass viol.
• Concert champêtre (16th-century), studio of Bonifazio de’Pitati (1487–1553). Bourges: Musées des Arts Decoratifs, Hôtel Lallemant. Ref. Zaniol (1984, November: 7, footnote 13); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 12, fig. 6B); American Recorder 38(1): cover, col. (1997); Lesure (1966/1968: pl. 10); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Rowland-Jones (2002g: 4-13 & fig. 1); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1124 (2023, col.) In a beautiful garden against a backdrop of mountains, woman plays a cylindrical recorder accompanied by a man on lute and two other women on virginals, and a cello. The window/labium of the recorder is quite clearly shown, though all fingers of both hands seem to be employed covering the vents.

Giuseppe Bonito

Italian painter of the Rococo period, active in Naples; known for genre depictions of urban scenes with folklore details and figures of commedia dell’arte, but also painted portraits and religious subjects; born  Castellammare di Stabia (1707), died Naples (1789)

• Company Making Music (1735–1740, ), Giuseppe Bonito (1707–1789). Sotheby’s, 17 December 1998, Lot 67; currently with the antiquarian Giovanni Giorgi, Imperia (Porto Maurizio). Ref. RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History; d’Avena Braga (2015: 227, fig. 3.13).  A group of men and women make music together. The men play a transverse flute, a 3-stringed double bass, a violin and, in the background, an oboe. A baroque recorder can be seen on the table; under it a music sheet faintly reads “Aria di Soprano”, the seated young lady probably being the singer who is looking down at her score.

Henri Bonnart

French painter and engraver; born and died Paris (1642–1711); brother of artists Robert (1652–1729), Jean-Baptiste (1654–1726) and Nicolas (ca 1637–1718) Bonnart; father of engraver Jean Baptiste Henri Bonnart (1678–1726)

• La Musique, engraving, Henri Bonnart (1642–1711). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Oa 71, pet. fol. Ref. Pottier (1992: 37, pl. XXIII); Mirimonde (1995: fig. 68); Pottier (1995: 132, pl. 5); Archiv Moeck. Depicts a female singer at whose feet lie a viol and a one-piece, cylindrical recorder, the window/labium and seven finger holes of which are clearly visible.
• Euterpe, engraving by Henri Bonnart (1642–1711), after Robert Bonnarat (1625-1729). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Oa 71, pet. fol. Ref. Pottier (1988: 42, pl. XXVIII); Pottier (1992: 41, pl. XXVII); Pottier (1995: 133, pl. 6); Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Euterpe  (Muse of music and lyric poetry) is seated at the organ; at her feet lie a badly depicted recorder and oboe; the recorder is small, one-piece, conically shaped, with a single ferrule at the foot.
• L’Air, engraving, Henri Bonnart (1642–1711). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Oa 52-56, pet. fol.; London: British Museum, Ref. Pottier (1992: 37, pl. XXI & XXII). Not seen.

Nicolas Bonnart

French engraver, editor and publisher; born ca 1637, died 1718; son of Henri Bonnart (1642–1711).

• Four Elements: L’Air, engraving, 27.5 × 18.5 cm, Nicolas Bonnart (ca 1637–1718). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Oa 56, pet. fol.; London: British Museum, Inv.1896,0511.219. Ref. Pottier (1992: 33, pl. XX); Pottier (1995: 130, pl. 4); Archiv Moeck. A child plays a one-piece, conically shaped, flared-bell recorder, sitting at the feet of a female organist. Birds are settling in a tree in the garden behind. A caption beneath reads:

Sans moy entendroit-on le son des Instrumens?
Non, même les humains, qui sont tous mes Amans.
Verroit-on ces Oiseaux sémpresser pour me suivre?
S’ils ne respiroient plus, ils cesseroient de vivre.

• Joëur de flûte ou de haubois [Flautist or oboist], engraving, Nicolas Bonnart (ca 1637–1718). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, est ED 113 t2. Ref. Pottier (1992: 51, pl. XXXVII); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A man in a flowing robe stands in a garden playing an outsize tenor recorder, right hand uppermost. The instrument is one piece and almost cylindrical but with a strongly flared bell. The window-labium is clearly visible and there are rather too many finger holes. A caption beneath reads: “Jouër de flûte ou de haubois qui deuant le Doge de Venise toutes les fois qui’il marche en Céremonie. Il a une veste rouge sur un habit ordinaire” [A flautist or oboist who always walked before the Doge of Venice in ceremonial processions. He has a red jacket and an ordinary gown.]

Robert Bonnart

French painter and engraver, born and died Paris (1652–1729); brother of Henri (1642–1711), Jean-Baptiste (1654–1726) and Nicolas (ca 1637–1718).

• Euterpe, engraving by Nicholas Bonnart (ca 1637–1718), after Robert Bonnart (1652-1729). London: British Museum, Inv. 1886,1122.30; Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie Oa 72 pet. fol. Ref. Mirimonde (1975, 1: pl. XXIV, fig. 68); Pottier (1992: 43, pl. XXXIX); Pottier (1995: 133, pl. 7); Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012, b&w). From a series of 10 prints depicting Apollo and the Muses. Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) holds an alto baroque recorder with turned mounts. At her feet lie a lyre, a shawm, a ?curtal, and a triangle with rings. A caption below reads: Mon agreable humeur, et mes enjouiements, Qui joints à ma beauté, me rendent sans pareille; Avec l’air de ma voix, et de mes instrumens, J’enchante des humains, et la Coeur et l’oreille.

Sebastiaen [Sebasteiaan] Bonnecroy

Flemish painter of still-lifes, trompe-l’oeil and portraits, working in Antwerp; active 1650-1676.

• Vanitas Still-life, oil on canvas, 74.2 × 63.3 cm, attributed to Sebastiaen Bonnecory (op. 1650–1676). Amsterdam: Sotheby’s, Sale AM0902, Old Master Paintings, 04 November 2003, Lot 28 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Databank (2007, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 156567 (2014, col.) On a ledge lie a watch, a candlestick, a letter, a music score, a bottle and a renaissance-style recorder only the head and body of which are visible. Bubbles float above.

Giorgio Bonola (1658–1700) – see Valentine de Boulogne

Gerard ter Borch [Terborch]

Dutch genre and portrait painter of the Golden Age; born Zwolle (1617), died Deventer (1681); son of Gerard ter Borch the Elder (1583–1662); step-brother of Gesina er Borch, also a painter (1633–1690).

• The Artist’s Stepsister, with her Younger Sister Catharina Giving her a Flute (1651), oil on canvas, Gerard ter Borch (1617–1681). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Images CH378322 (2016, col.) A young lady in a beautiful satin gown accepts a pipe from her younger sister who is dressed more plainly. Both girls hold houlettes and wear floral hats and there is a sheep in the background. The pipe is proffered foot first and only the lower part is visible; but the foot is flared and there appear to be paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand, so this is likely to be a recorder.

Jaspar [Gaspard] van der Borcht

Flemish tapestry maker who worked in the family workshop in Brussels which continued to operate under his sons’ management until 1763; born op. 1684, died 1742; son of Jacob van der Borcht; father of Jan-Frans van der Borght  (m. 1774), and Peter van der Borcht (m. 1763).

• Shepherds, tapestry, 264 × 199 cm, Jaspar van der Borcht (1703-1742). Munich: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Inv. T 3941. Ref. Munich RIdIM Mbnm-119 (ex Anthony Rowland-Jones, 2003b). Sitting on a hillock in a clearing on a forested hillside, surrounded by his sheep and watched by an older shepherd, a young shepherd plays a flared-bell pipe (probably a recorder, given that the little finger of his lowermost (right) hand is covering its hole, though no sign of a window/labium is present.

Pieter van der Borcht

Flemish painter, engraver and draughtsman; born Mechelen (1545), died Antwerp (1608).

• P. Ovidii Nasonis Metamorphoses Expositae: Mercury and Argus (Antwerp, 1591), woodcut, Pieter. van der Borcht (1545–1608). Ref. Kinney & Styron (2003). Argus sits on a rock at the foot of a hill, dozing as Mercury pipes to him on a curved pipe with a flared bell. Io (as a heifer) grazes in the background. Above, Mercury can be seen flying from the heavens on a cloud.

Paris Paschalinus Bordone [or Bordon]

Italian painter, a pupil of Titian, became one of the most famous artists in Venice, his preference was for architectural settings and he was an accomplished portraitist, but was best known for his mythological, biblical and allegorical cabinet pictures; born Treviso (1500), died Venice (1571).

• Shepherd and a Nymph Crowned by a Cupid, canvas 100 × 35 cm, Paris Paschalinus Bordone (1500–1571). Location unknown; sold by Galerie G. Petit, Paris, 2 June (1914). Ref. Sale Catalogue No. 10; RIdIM (2000). A naked shepherd leaning against a tree unclothes a nymph who reaches across as if to grasp the cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder, the window/labium and at least four finger holes clearly visible) he holds beside him in his hand. Above them flies Cupid, about to crown them with a wreath.

Abraham Borm

German-born genre painter about whom little is known; in 1653 he was a pupil of the Dutch artist Karel Slabbaert (1619–1654); in 1657 he became a member of the Middelburgse Guild (in Holland); he died in 1668.

• Young Man with a Fortune Teller, oil on panel, 43.5 cm × 33.7 cm, Abraham Borm (op. 1653–m. 1668). Middelburg: Zeeuwsmuseum, Inv. M02-001. Ref. Sotheby’s New York, Sale NY7313: Important Old Master Paintings, 28 May 1999, Lot 122 (sold); Website: Zeeuwsmuseum (2007, col.) A young man in a hooded cloak consults a fortune-teller who holds an open book with one hand, and points with her other hand to an alcove on the wall which contains vanitas objects, including a book, a bottle, a jar and a clearly depicted hand-fluyt. In the foreground is an astronomical globe, shrouded with a crimson cloth.

Johannes Borman

Dutch painter, influenced by the work of Jan Davidsz de Heem; known for his still-lifes, early examples of which are characterised by their dark tonalities and strong light sources; born ? The Hague (ca 1630), died ? Amsterdam (ca 1670).

• Vanitas Still Life with a Skull, Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (1552–1660), oil on canvas, 62.2 × 47.3 cm, Johannes Borman (ca 1630–1670). London: Rafael Valls, from 2004. Ref. Catalogue Recent Acquisitions, Rafael Valls Ltd (2004, col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.); Rijkbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 104286 (2010, col.); Website: Warburg Institute (2014, col.) On a shelf are a terracotta vase of flowers, a pau shell, and the upper part of a skull underneath which are some crumpled pages from a book and a hand-fluyt, only the head of which is visible. A maker’s mark shows clearly below the window/labium.
• Still-life, oil on panel, 60.5 × 84.5 cm, Johannes Borman (ca 1630–1670). Berlin: Laurisch & Lipp, advertised in Weltkunst (1 December 1988: 3615). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 47075 (2014, b&w). On a cloth-covered bench before a window alcove are shells, a bunch of grapes, peaches, drinking glasses, oysters, a butterfly, a casket and a recorder only the head and upper body of which are visible. The recorder has a maker’s mark below the window/labium.

Helmut Bornefeld

German organist, choral conductor, recorder player, composer, poet and artist; born Stuttgart (1906), died Heidenheim (1990).

• Balkenspiel [Playframe] (October 1962), collage of coloured wood veneer on pasteboard, Helmut Bornefeld (1906–1990). Stuttgart: Württembergischen Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. Ref. Braun (2006). Included because it is by a prominent recorder player and composer for the instrument. An abstract work, possibly depicting a playground climbing frame.

Lluis Borrassá

Spanish painter, a master of stylization who possessed a strong personal colour sense with a fondness for lively reds and greens, and who brought the so-called International Gothic style to Catalonia; born Gerona (ca 1360), died Barcelona (1426).

• Angeles músicos a la izquierda de al Virgen, Lluis Borrassá (ca 1360–1426). Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1997: 11, fig. 9B). Shows an angel musician playing a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder) whilst others play harp a, fiddle, etc. Borrassá has a very distinctive style.
• Madre de la Divina Gracia (early 15th century), attributed to Lluis Borassà (ca 1360–1426). Barcelona: Museu Diocesà de Barcelona, Cat. 47. Ref. Gudiol (1986: 398, pl. 47); Ballester (1990: 148); Rowland-Jones (1997: 15). The Virgin and Child with six musical angels: three on the left singing from a music book; three on the right playing a guitarra morisca, a lute and a cylindrical recorder.

Loek Bos (contemporary), Netherlands

Contemporary Dutch sculptor, cartoonist and painter much of whose work is figurative; a number of his pieces depict music-making; born The Hague (1946). Artist’s Website.

• Toontje (1984), statuette, Loek Bos (1946–). The Hague. Ref. Recorder Magazine 19 (3): front cover (1999 , col.) ‘Toontje’ is a pun on the diminutive of ‘Anthony’ which also means ‘a short note’. A small boy sits on a wall holding a soprano recorder of modern design.

Pieter van den Bos

Dutch genre painter who worked in Amsterdam from 1645 to 1660; he may have been living in London in 1663; born ca 1613/1615; died after 1663.

• Recorder Player in a Kitchen, oil on panel, 23.5 × 21.0 cm, Pieter van den Bos (1613/1615–p. 1663). Bâle: Musée des Beaux Artes, Inv. G.1958.12. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). In a kitchen, a tall man leaning on a staff and a young child watch and listen as a woman plays a slightly flared recorder. Two dead fowls lie on a metal dish in her lap – a sad comment on her playing, perhaps!

Hiëronymous Bosch (Hiëronymous/Jehronimus/Jerome/Jeroen/Joen van Aken/Aeken/Aquen, Jheronimus Bos, Jeroen Anthoniszoon)

Eccentric Netherlandish painter of enigmatic panels illustrating complex religious subjects with fantastic, often demonic imagery; born Hertogenbosch (ca 1450), died Hertogenbosch (1516).

• The Garden of Earthly Delights: Hell (inner-right wing of the triptych), Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Detail. Madrid: Museo del Prado 2823. Ref. Sopeña Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 63, col.); Ausoni (2009: 167, col.); Wikimedia (2016, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1657 (2023, col.) If, as the Book of Revelations has it, pipers are to be heard no more in Babylon, they are certainly to be heard in other places. The fellow holding up the giant shawm (to the right of the hurdy gurdy) plays what can only be a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in a most unusual manner. Doubtless he is sounding a bum note or two! Perhaps he is a music critic! In the event, this vulgar instrument is cylindrical and only two finger holes are visible, the rest being ‘hidden’ (or to follow)! See Pittaway (2021) for a discussion of the symbolism involved here.
• Hell, panel, 99.0 × 137.8 cm, Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). London: Christie’s, 15 April 1992, Lot 14; formerly Private Collection, Comte de Fursac. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 2825 (2010, col.) A copy of a panel from Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights (Museo del Prado, Madrid). If, as the Book of Revelations has it, pipers are to be heard no more in Babylon, they are certainly to be heard in other places. The fellow holding up the giant shawm (to the right of the hurdy gurdy) plays what can only be a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in a most unusual manner. Doubtless he is sounding a bum note or two! Perhaps he is a music critic! In the event, this vulgar instrument is cylindrical and only two finger holes are visible, the rest being ‘hidden’ (or to follow)!
• The Seven Deadly Sins: Lust and Paradise (ca 1480), panel, 120 × 150 cm, Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Madrid: Museo del Prado 2822. Ref. Sopeña Ibañez & Gallego (1958: 58 , col. & 59, col.); Mirimonde (1977: 192, pl. 120); Hammerstein (1974: no. 152, p. 96); Paris RIdIM (1999, 2000); Rasmussen (2004, Drum: 3-4); Web Gallery of Art (2009); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). In Lust a man in a tent caresses a woman. In the front, another couple indulge themselves. On a table a fine meal is prepared, with an apple, a peach, and a plate of cherries; beside it is a flagon of wine. To their right, two fools jest. In the foreground lie a harp, a small drum, and a flared-bell recorder. To the far right a nun gestures towards a portrait of Christ. The recorder has a very clear window/labium, and the mouthpiece is in a much darker material than the rest of the instrument. The double finger holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand are at slightly different distances from the foot of the instrument. There is a very slight bell-flare to what is an otherwise cylindrical instrument. It is of about alto size. Additionally, in the roundel at the right of the picture representing Paradise, three angels play a rectangular psaltery, a harp similar to the one in Lust and a small wind instrument which could be a recorder. It has a black mouthpiece similar to the one in Lust. It has been argued that this work is by a student or imitator of Bosch (see Pittaway (2021, Part 3).
• Concert in an Egg (ca 1561), oil on canvas, 108.5 × 126.5 cm, after Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Lille: Musée des Beaux Artes, Inv. P 816. Ref. Wangermée (1968: 248, pl. 89, col.); Fischer (1972: 14 & 36); Joconde Website (1999); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999); Bridgeman Art Library (2002: Image XIL16717, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 60898 (2010, b&w); Wikipedia (2014, col.) This is a 16th-century copy of a lost original by Bosch. It is similar to an engraving by Hieronymus Cock. A satirical scene depicting alchemy and anthropomorphism which includes an egg containing a singer (with a musical score setting the words ‘Toutes les nuits que sans vous je me couche …‘ [‘Every night that I sleep without you …’], a monk, and female musicians playing a pipe and a harp. The mouth-piece shape and the upper hand position of the pipe show that a straight cornetto is intended, although the lower part of the instrument is hidden. There are other copies in Paris (RKD 60899) and Basel (RKD 60900).
• Triptych: The Last Judgement (1550s): oil and grisaille on panel, Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Vienna: Akademie der bildenden Künste. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007); Web Gallery of Art (2007, col.) The outer wings (in grisaille) depict St James the Greater (left) and St Bavo (right). The right wing depicts Hell. The left wing depicts Paradise. Amongst the many punishments depicted in Hell a small scene shows three dreadful black devils, one of whom, with a red skull-cap, forces an emaciated naked woman to sing from a music-book; she had, one supposes, devoted her life to music rather than to God. So beware! A second devil bends over with a bagpipe chanter in one hand and a instrument resembling an alto, cylindrical, slightly flared recorder in the other. As in The Garden of Earthly Delights, the body part used for blowing this instrument is decidedly unconventional. In the central panel representing The Last Judgement itself, on the flat roof of a house, an ape plays a lute which lies on his head, and a long-haired naked woman is being ogled by an appalling black dragon. Behind her, to the left, a creature in boots but with an egg-shaped blue body has a swan-like neck and a head like a crane’s, but the beak (still all blue) turns into a tenor recorder! The fingering is again very recorder-like, except that this character has only three fingers (and a thumb) on each hand. The lower (left) hand is far too near the start of the bell-flare for this to give the impression of representing a shawm – but with Bosch, who knows?
• Het scheren van de zot [Shaving the Fool], engraving by Pieter van der Heyden (ca 1530–p. 1572), after Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Ref. Kockelbergh & Moens (1994: 128, no. 83); Rasmussen (2004: Bells). Published by Hieronymous Cock. “Includes a fool with a fiddle leaning on the chair beside him and with a pellet bell on his costume. A child holds a recorder” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen, but this sounds very much like the following work.
• Het scheren van de zot [Shaving the Fool] (1596), engraving on paper, 10.6 × 8.5 cm, printed in Frankfurt am Main by Johann Theodor de Bry (1561–1623), engraved by  Pieter van der Heyden (ca 1530–p. 1572) after an Anonymous artist, possibly Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516), see above entry. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-BI-5198; Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Inv. Cgm 8349, ol. 53 r. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Mbs – H 472).  In the 16th century the shaving of criminals, vagabonds and madmen so they were recognizable as such was a customary ritual at jesters’ festivals. In a room before a fireplace, a woman sits on the lap of a man who embraces her. In one hand she holds a glass of wine, the other has found its way into her companion’s purse. This fool is easily parted from his money. The landlady keeps tally of the drinks. In the foreground, a man who is identified by his narrestaf as foolish or crazy, is being shaved by a barber. Gazing up at the fool is a young boy, perhaps his son, with a pellet bell on the back of his costume and who who holds a narrowly concial pipe which might be a recorder. There is the hint of a window/labium, three fingerholes can be seen, and the boy’s hand may hide more. A small fiddle with a fixed bridge leans against the barber’s chair, and a dog is pawing at a bowl of soup on a trivet. Another dog gnaws a bone. A caption beneath reads RADERE TONSORUM DECET, HAVD DEGLVBERE METVM which might be translated as ‘The barber’s razor has no fear of skin’.
  
• Triptych: Adoration of the Magi (1510–1520), oil on panel, 85.5 × 133.6 cm, follower of Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Detail. s’Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch): Noordbrabants Museum. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2004). The left panel shows two shepherds arriving at the manger, with ox and ass in the background, and the shepherds’ dog. One shepherd points with his foreigner of the left hand to the Nativity in the main panel, clutching his pipe in the same hand. It is shaped as a soprano hand-fluyt with a medium to strong bell-flare. The beaked end and the window/labium are absolutely clear, but only four finger holes are shown, one above his thumb (which crosses the instrument and could cover another finger hole) and three below.
• Two Shepherds, oil on panel, 37.5 ×  22.5 cm, attributed to Hieronymus Bosch (ca 1450–1516). Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Inv. 1275. Left wing of a triptych, cut down on all sides. Three shepherds walk towards the Holy Child. One holds a dog on a leash with one hand and his houlette with the other. Before him, a second shepherd holds a hat (which has a spoon thrust through the rim) in one hand and a well-depicted duct flute with the other. He seems to have dropped his houlette. The duct flute is likely to represent a recorder, though only four finger holes are visible (a fifth is probably hidden beneath his thumb); the beak, window-labium and flared bell are clearly shown. Behind them, the third shepherd, also holding a houlette, is entering through a doorway around which a nun peers at the scene. In the background, an ass and a cow enjoy a meal of hay together. The corresponding right wing of the altarpiece (Inv. 1275) depicts the Retinue of the Magi.

Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613–1654)

Flemish painter, heavily influenced by Anthony van Dyck with whom he may have studied; he collaborated with many artists of his time, including Rubens; he contributed to the the decorations of the Oranjezaal (Orange Room) in the Huis ten Bosch that included both Dutch and Flemish masters; born Bergen op Zoom (16130, died Antwerp (1654).

• Triumph of Love and Beauty (1630), oil on canvas, 200 × 155 cm, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613–1654). Madrid: Museo Lázaro Galdiano. Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2013, col.); Lute Iconography, Image LI-1957 (2023, col.) On a rocky hilltop, cupid points to two faithful hounds amidst a pile of vanitas objects, amongst them a suit of armor, two rifles, a flag, two signal horns, a drum, an artist’s palette, a globe, a portrait of a woman, a statuette of a pensive woman, a watch and a number of musical instruments. The latter include a harp, a theorbo, a kit, a flute and a recorder with only the head and upper body visible. Love is depicted as victorious over war, music, art and science, but his crossed legs indicate that he is unstable.

Balthasar van den Bossche

Late Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in histories, genre and picture gallery interiors; born Antwerp (1681), died (1715); he is said to have died by striking his head on a window while instructing his pupils.

• Elegant Company Making Music on a Terrace, oil on canvas, Balthasar van den Bossche (1681–1715). Location unknown: auctioned by Christie’s, 17 November 1994 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w). Two women and a man are seated on a terrace, an open music book at their feet. One of the women plays a theorbo. A man seated opposite plays a narrowly conical pipe, possibly a recorder: the first finger of his upper (left) hand is raised and all four fingers of his lower (right) hand seem to be covering their holes. The bell is hidden behind the lutenist’s sleeve. Behind them another woman appears to listening intently. A spaniel fusses at the hem of the man’s cloak. To the group’s right is a bust. On a wall opposite is a bird.

Abraham Bosse (1602-1675)

French engraver, painter and architect; some 1600 etchings are attributed to him, with subjects including daily life, religion, literature, history, fashion, technology and science; most of his works were illustrations for books (amongst them the famous frontispiece for Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes), but many were also sold separately; many of his images give fascinating and informative detail about middle and upper-class daily life in the period; born Tours(1602), died Paris (1676).

• Les navires d’Enée poursuivis par Polyphème / [The ships of Aeneas pursued by Polyphemus], Abraham Bosse (1602–1675). Detail. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Print Collection, Cliché BN 20 680. Ref. Pottier (1992: 64, pl. L); Archiv Moeck; Website; gallica (2012, b&w). Polyphemus strides through the water holding a pine tree in one hand, a giant-sized flared-bell recorder slung around his neck, chasing a number of boats rowing as fast as they can out to sea.
• From La Rhétorique des Dieux by Denis Gaultier (S. 79): Under the Phrygian Mode (1655), engraving, Abraham Bosse (1602–1675), Robert Nanteuil (1623–1678) & Eustache Le Sueur (1617–1655). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kuperferstichkabinett (West). Ref. Fabbri (1952, 2); Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 785); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-863 (2023, b&w). A winged putto sits on top of an ornate column labelled “Joys Phrygien” strumming a lyre. On either side stand winged putti, that on the right dressed as a soldier. Scattered against and around the column are musical instruments including four viols, harp, lute, sistrum, another lyre, and three flared-bell duct flutes. Although the latter have too few finger holes (and one of them no thumb hole) they may be intended to represent recorders as this was not the shape of the French flageolet at the time. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999, 2000).

Materno Bossi

Italian member of a family of stucoists from Lomardy, active 1778-1791.

• Stucco decorations, Materno Bossi (op. 1778–1791). Kloster Ebrach (Northern Bavaria): under and on lower part of West organ, on gallery over entrance to Nave. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). Deep relief stucco decorations which show musical instruments in excellent detail, in swags with ribbon scroll work, including portative organ, harp, bassoon, two oboes, triangles with flares and two recorder-like small pipes. Under the gallery, on the ceiling are two equal-sized crossed instruments, one a clear duct flute with well-shaped beak, and clear labium. Three finger holes are visible (others occluded). There are six moulded decorative rings at points along the instrument, including the bell. The instrument is roughly cylindrical but its internal bore widens at the bell end. The other instrument is of the same proportions, but it shows what appears to be a thumb hole and could thus represent a second recorder seen from underneath as a neighbouring boss decoration has two crossed oboes.

Andries Both

Dutch genre painter, one of the bamboccianti  who worked in Rouen, Rome and Lucina; his work is noted for its humorous and outrageous quality, mixed with objectivity and harsh reality, depicting the seamier side of Italian life; born Utrecht (1612/1613), died Venice (1642) where he drowned in a canal after some festivities;  brother of the painter Jan Both (ca 1618-1652), son of a glass painter.

• A Company Playing and Singing in an Interior (1630–1639), 32 × 43 cm, Andries Both (1612/1613 – 1642). Location unknown. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 193898 (2014, b&w).  Formerly attributed to Jan Miense Molenaer. A man plays a lute, another a violone, three women sing and a man with one leg on a small table plays a very slender duct flute, very like surviving instruments by the Rafi family. The two other instruments are well-illustrated.

Jan Both

Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher, who made an important contribution to the development of Dutch Italianate landscape painting; he worked in his native Utrecht, Rome and Madrid; born Utrecht (ca 1618), died Utrecht (1652); brother of the painter Andries Both (1612/1613–1642), son of a glass painter.

• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, Jan Both (ca 1618–1652). Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). In his right hand, Mercury holds his pipe near Argus’ ear. The instrument is too small to identify. Io (as a white heifer) looks on as Argus falls asleep.
• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 66 × 88 cm, Jan Both (ca 1618–1652) & Nikolaus Knüpfer (1603–1655). Location unknown: auctioned Dorotheum, Vienna, Alte Meister, 21 March 2002, Lot 124 (unsold). Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col. & 2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration  135405 (2014, col.) In his left hand, Mercury (in a red cloak, his helmet on the ground behind him) holds his pipe near Argus’ ear. The instrument is too small to identify. Io (as a white heifer) looks on as Argus falls asleep.
• Mercury and Argus (ca 1650), Jan Both (ca 1618–1652) & Nikolaus Knüpfer (1603–1655). Vienna: Künsthistorische Museum 9031. Ref. Website: Greek Mythology Link, Catalogue of Images, by Carlos Parada (2002). Creeping towards him, Mercury (naked, apart from his winged helmet) plays (one-handed) a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) into the drowsy Argus’ ear. Io (as a heifer) wanders away from them.
• Mercury Lulls Argus into Sleep by Making Music, painting, Jan Both (ca 1618–1652). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0023082 (2009, col.) Before a ruined temple, Argus leans drowsily against a piece of broken column whilst Mercury plays his narrow cylindrical pipe. The instrument’s window/labium can be seen and the fingers are deployed appropriately for recorder-playing. Io (as a white heifer) looks on, other cattle browse, and a dog lies sleeping.

Sandro Botticelli [born Alessandro Filipepi]

Italian artist, painter of allegorical, mythological and religious scenes famous for their characteristic blend of melancholy, morbidity, low-toned lament and dreamy abstraction, for their wonderful colour sense, and for their imaginative draughtsmanship; born and died Florence (1445–1510).

• Coronation of the Virgin, tempera on panel, 280 × 192 cm, Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510). Florence: Conservatorio delle Montalve, of the Villa la Quiete, Castello, in Sesto Fiorentino. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: Fondazione Federico Zeri (2012, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image 3258 (2023-col.) In Heaven, the Virgin is crowned by God the Father (who wears a triple crown), to a blaze of music by angels playing straight trumpets, fiddle, harp, organetto, lute, psaltery, nakers, and a perfectly depicted cylindrical recorder (the paired holes for the lowermost finger clearly shown). Below, here on Earth, a crowd of Saints are gathered.
• St Francis of Assisi with the Angels (ca 1475–1480), tempera and oil on panel, 49.5 × 31.8 cm, Sandro Botticelli (ca 1445–1510). Detail. London: National Gallery, Inv. NG598. Ref. National Gallery Publications, London: card (1995, col.); Rowland-Jones (1995: 45, footnote 8); Paris RIdIM (1999, detail); Guardian Unlimited, 1 March (2003); Hijmans (2005: 222); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-45 (2023, col.) A small devotional panel in imitation of much earlier pictures which shows St Francis holding a crucifix, which he is contemplating. His meditations on Christ’s suffering on the cross were so intense that Christ’s wounds, known as the stigmata, were miraculously transferred to his body during one of his visions. The stigmata can be seen in his side, hands and feet.. On either side of him are beautiful music-making angels, one of whom plays a small flared recorder with paired holes for the little finger of his lowest hand and with a mouthpiece of contrasting (darker) material. Other instruments include psaltery, large fiddle, small lute, harp, tambourine, ? mute cornetto, and small ? drum or another tambourine. This painting was formerly thought variously to be by Filippino Lippi or by a follower of Botticelli, but its attribution to the master himself has recently been confirmed.
• Virgin and Child (ca 1490), tempera on panel, 88.9 × 55.9 cm, studio of Sandro Botticelli (ca 1445–1510). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Fogg Art Museum, Accession No. 1943.105. Ref. Lightbrown (1978: 122); Belozerskaya (2002: 265-166); Nuttall (2004: 206–207); Anthony Rowland Jones (pers. comm., 2007). The Christ Child holds a pomegranate, a fruit whose red seeds foreshadow the crucifixion and resurrection. However, examination of this painting using infrared light reveals that the artist originally sketched the child holding a recorder! This panel is one of many renditions of this composition created by members of Botticelli’s workshop and was created by a recognizable hand within it. The northern-inspired landscape and buildings betray the cultural interchange between Florence and northwest Europe in the fifteenth century. Notes from wall label, Fogg Art Museum.

Francesco Botticini

Italian painter of the Florentine school, generally viewed as an imitator of Rosselli, Verrochio and Botticelli; born Florence (active 1446), died Florence (1497); father of Raffaelo Botticini (op. 1474–1520).

• S. Gerolamo Altarpiece: St Jerome in Penitence with Saints and Donors (ca 1490), Francesco Botticini (ca 1446–1497). Detail. London: National Gallery, NG 227. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers com. (1998). Six prominent angels, each playing a musical instrument, are depicted in the upper corners of the painting. The instruments are two trumpets, a lute, a fiddle, a psaltery, and an ambiguous woodwind instrument of tenor size. The latter is slightly conical with a flared bell and a narrow mouthpiece with a shadowy blur where the window of a duct flute would be found. Thus it probably represents a recorder, even though it has rather too many finger holes. Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) has suggested that Botticini deliberately showed more finger holes than the recorder actually has to suggest a super-human, angelic, and even more glorious instrument.
• Seven Musical Angels (ca 1475-1497), tempera on panel, 36 × 121 cm, Francesco Botticini (1446–1497) & Raffaelo Botticini (op. 1474–1520). Detail. Empoli: Museo della Collegiata di Sant’ Andrea. Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University 372.B 658.36[a]; Rasmussen (2002, Horn); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image ACI64871-4, col.) Seven musical angels play oliphant, bagpipe, triangle, tambourine, fiddle, duct flute (probably a recorder), lute. The recorder is slender with a slightly flared bell. The window/labium is visible and the instrument is played left hand lowermost.

Samuel Bottschild

German painter, draughtsman, graphic artist and writer on art; his output includes religious and mythological themes, portraits and decorative work; born Sangerhausen, Thuringen (1641), died Dresden (1706); son and pupil of painter and engraver Andreas Bottschild II (ca 1590–1657); brother of painter Johann Andreas Bottschild (1630–p. 1670).

• Concert of the Muses, sketch, pencil on paper, 20.5 × 33 cm, Samuel Bottschild (1641–1706). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Z 2672. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr – 315). Seated on a cloud, Apollo plays his lyre accompanied by the Muses who sing and play viol, transverse flute, lute, lyre. A large instrument with an ornate head and a bocal, possibly a bass recorder, is held by Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry). In the bottom RH corner is a globe.

Jacques Philipe Bouchardon

French sculptor, who became first sculptor to the king of Sweden; born Chaumont-en-Bassigny (1711), died Stockholm (1753); brother of Edme Bouchardon (1698–1762), considered the greatest French sculptor of his time.

• Three Music-making Cherubs, drawing, 21 × 26 cm, by Guillaume Thomas Raphael Taraval (1701–1750) after Jacques Philipe Bouchardon (1711–1753). Uppsala: Universitet, Bibliotek, Davidsson 5349b, H992. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Two cherubs play tambourine and cylindrical recorder. The window/labium of the latter is clearly depicted; all fingers are down, an there is no bell flare. A third cherub has put his straight trumpet down. Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

François Boucher

French designer, engraver and painter whose galant pastoral and mythological scenes are regarded as the perfect expression of frivolity and sensuousness of the French Rococo, described by Diderot as “A charming profligate”; born Paris (1703), died Paris (1770); active in Paris and briefly in Rome.

• The Enjoyable Lesson (1748), oil on canvas, 92.7 × 76.9 cm (oval), François Boucher (1703–1770). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. EI-1982. Ref. Hoff (1983: cover, col.) Boucher painted seven works based on the play Les Vendanges de Tempé by Charles-Simon Favart. It is the love story of the shepherdess Lisette and the ‘Little Shepherd’, centred around the trials that their relationship endured before they gained parental consent for their marriage. The Enjoyable Lesson is from Scene Five, in which the Little Shepherd is teaching Lisette how to play the flute. The erotic overtones of the scene are clearly not ignored by Boucher who posed the figures in an intimate and blatantly suggestive way. A gently flared pipe is played jointly by the Little Shepherd (who fingers the instrument) and Lisette (who blows it). There is a sphinx on the LHS behind the figures, sheep and a goat in the LHS foreground, and a basket of flowers on the RHS foreground. Though ambiguous, the pipe is played with the little finger in the correct position for a recorder, and a window/labium is depicted, albeit simply. Porcelain figurines based on this painting are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Bayerischen Nationalmuseum, Munich; an engraving after it is in the State Gallery, Stuttgart. And a similar scene appears on one of the panels of a 19th century Sèvres coffer and table in the British Royal Collection (Inv. 21637).
• The Flute Lesson, painting, François Boucher (1703–1770). London: Phillips. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image PFA13911, col.) A seemingly perfect copy of The Enjoyable Lesson in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (see above).
• The Enjoyable Lesson (p. 1748), etching & engraving, 43.6 × 35.7 cm (image), René Gaillard (ca 1719–1790) after François Boucher (1703–1770). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. P87-1982; Stuttgart: Staatsgalerie. Ref. Wiese (1988: fig. 85); Archiv Moeck. A gently flared recorder is played jointly by a shepherd (who fingers the instrument) and a shepherdess (who blows it). There is a sphinx on the LHS, a tree behind, sheep and a basket of flowers on the RHS. Based on the painting in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, but reversed. Dedicated to Monsieur Le Comte de Coigny.
• The Enjoyable Lesson, engraving by Johannes Esaias Nilson (1721–1788) after an original painting by François Boucher (1703–1770). Ref. Storck (1910: 310, fig. 301); Archiv Moeck. A gently flared recorder is played jointly by a shepherd (who fingers the instrument) and a shepherdess (who blows it). There is a sphinx on the LHS, a tree behind, sheep and a basket of flowers on the RHS.
• The Enjoyable Lesson (1750), mezzotint, 20.5 × 16.5 cm, after François Boucher (1703–1770 ). Printed in London. Offered for sale on Ebay.com, Item 160463672546 (August 2010). A gently flared pipe is played jointly by a shepherd (who fingers the instrument) and a shepherdess (who blows it). There are only trees in the background. Though ambiguous, the pipe is played with the little finger in the correct position for a recorder, but no window/labium is depicted.
• Fontaine de la Verité [Fountain of Truth] / A Shepherd Teaching a Shepherdess to Play the Flute, oil on canvas, circle of François Boucher (1703–1770). Location unknown: 13 December 200 (unsold); auctioned 11 July 2003 (unsold) Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A mirror image of The Enjoyable Lesson with a few minor differences.
• The Mysterious Basket (1748), oil on canvas, 92.7 × 78.9 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. E2-1982. In another scene from Charles-Simon’s play  Les Vendanges de Tempé, the Little Shepherd discovers the shepherdess Lisette asleep and is carefully placing a basket of flowers with a love note beside her. Her dog seems unconcerned. In his right hand the Little Shepherd clutches a duct flute (possibly a recorder), its window/labium clearly depicted.
• The Mysterious Basket (p. 1748), etching & engraving, 43.6 × 35.6 cm (image), René Gaillard (ca 1719–1790) after François Boucher (1703–1770). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. P88-1982; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.557.18. In another scene from Charles-Simon’s play  Les Vendanges de Tempé, the Little Shepherd discovers the shepherdess Lisette asleep and is carefully placing a basket of flowers with a love note beside her. Her dog seems unconcerned. In his right hand the Little Shepherd clutches a duct flute (possibly a recorder), its window/labium clearly depicted. Based on the painting in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, but reversed. Dedicated to Madame La Marechale Duchesse de Duras.
• Bacchante Playing a Pipe, François Boucher (1703–1770). Detail. Moscow: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, #41. Ref. Murphy (1979: 27, col.; 114–115, b&w). A most seductively arranged Bacchante plays a small cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder); a tambourine lies beside her and four putti gambol in the background.
• Sleeping Shepherd, attributed to François Boucher (1703–1770), French. Chartres: Musée des Beaux-Arts (stolen in 1996). Includes a recorder (Rowland-Jones, pers com.)
• Madame de Pompadour (1754),  pastel over sanguine and light grey-blue washes,36.5 × 28.1 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Inv. 1482-5. A head and shoulders portrait within a flora wreath around which three winged putti clamber. Beneath is a jumble of objects including a book, an open musical score, a partially rolled document, an artist’s palette, brushes and daub, a sculpted bust, and a pair of calipers. From behind the music book the foot and head respectively of two wind instruments can be seen. The former has a flared bell and might represent an oboe; the latter has the distinctive beak of a duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Allegory of Music (1764), oil on canvas, 10.35 × 13.00 cm, François Boucher, French (1703–1770). Washington: National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection 1946.7.2. Ref. Mirimonde (1975: pl. XV, fig. 27, b&w); Ford (1986: #146); Pottier (1992: 46, pl. XXXII, b&w); Dynamic Classical Catalogue 1996 – a CD catalogue from Italy); Archiv Moeck.; Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). This exquisite painting shows a personification of Music surrounded by doves and cherubs (winged putti) one of whom plays a lyre while he proffers her a cylindrical recorder, the beak, window/labium and seven finger holes clearly visible. A straight trumpet lies beneath Music’s knee, an open music book by her elbow.
• Allegory of Music (1764), pen and brown ink with red wash on laid paper, oval, 16.7 × 23.0 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). Washington: National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1979.15.1. Detail shows what looks like a baroque recorder lying across an open music book; a cherub (winged putto) in Music’s lap strums a lyre.
• La Musique, engraving after François Boucher, French (1703–1770). Location unknown. Ref. Bibliothèque Forny (photocopy); Pottier (1992: 46, pl. XXXII). Not seen.
• Venus and Cupid, painted ivory, 55 × 78 mm, after François Boucher, French (1703–1770). London: Wallace Collection. Ref. Pottier (1992: 45, pl. XXXI). Not seen.
• Seated Nymph with Flutes (1752), oil on canvas 96 × 140 cm, workshop of François Boucher (1703–1770). London: Wallace Collection, Inv. P481. Ref. Summary Illustrated Catalogue of Pictures (1979: 28, P481, b&w); Pearson (1998: 39, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 170676 (2014, col.) A nymph plays a slender duct flute (flageolet or recorder, but only one) and a putto plays a timbrel for Cupid. Another cupid offers her a wreath. Since the ‘nymph’ has cast her crook (as well as her clothes) aside she is probably a shepherdess.
• Reclining Nymph Playing the Flute with Putti, painting, François Boucher (1703–1770). Location unknown: auctioned 6 July 2005 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) Another version of the Seated Nymph with Flutes in the Wallace Collection, London (see above). A nymph plays a slender duct flute (flageolet or recorder) and a putto plays a timbrel for Cupid. Another cupid offers her a wreath. Since the ‘nymph’ has cast her crook (as well as her clothes) aside she is probably a shepherdess.
• La Poésie pastorale, engraving by Claude Duflos after François Boucher (1703–1770). Location unknown. Ref. Pottier (1992: 47, pl. XXXIII); Archiv Moeck. A young woman sits beneath a tree beside a stream playing a slender, cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder).
• The Element Earth or An Allegory of Music, oil on canvas, Johannes Stortenbeker (1821–1899) after François Boucher (1703–1770). A copy of one of a series of over-door decorations depicting the Four Elements. Three putti floating on a cloud play tambourine (with jingle bells), timpani and a small pipe, probably a duct flute.  A straight trumpet is falling to earth.
• The Flute Players, tapestry, 294 × 268 cm, after cartoons by François Boucher (1703–1770). Hursley Park (Hampshire). Ref. Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition: France in the Eighteenth Century, No. 1033 (1968); Archiv Moeck. One of a set of Beauvais tapestries, Nobel Pastorale (1755), designed in 1755 and woven between 1758 and 1778. There is another copy in the Cleveland Museum of Art, USA. Three couples disport themselves amongst a garden. One couple share the playing of a cylindrical duct flute with a prominent beak (probably a flageolet but possibly a recorder), he fingering and she blowing. They are watched by one of the other couples from behind a hedge: the girl points at them with a somewhat alarmed look on her face whilst the young man, with a particularly lascivious gleam in his eye, offers her his own flute. The third couple gaze rapturously at the first, as does a shepherd boy with his dog.
• The Flute Players (1758–1778), wool & silk tapestry, 363 × 376 cm, designed by François Boucher (1703–1770). Cleveland: Museum of Art, 42.822. Ref. Ford (1991: #204, fig.) One of a set of Beauvais tapestries, Les beaux pastorales, designed in 1755 and woven between 1758 and 1778. There is another copy at Hursley Park, Hampshire, UK. Three couples disport themselves amongst a garden. One couple share the playing of a cylindrical duct flute with a prominent beak (probably a flageolet but possibly a recorder), he fingering and she blowing. They are watched by one of the other couples from behind a hedge: the girl points with a somewhat alarmed look on her face whilst the young man, with a particularly lascivious gleam in his eye, offers her his own flute. The third couple gaze rapturously at the first, as does a shepherd boy with his dog.
• Bacchantes (ca 1745), oval, 117.3 × 97 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). San Francisco: de Young Museum (currently removed to Palace of the Legion of Honour). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Nash et al. (1999: 99, col.) The pendant of Diane et Callisto. A woman sits beneath a tree playing a slender cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute) accompanied by a second scantily clad woman on a tambourine with pellet bells and jingle rings. The window/labium of the pipe may be represented by a shadow; the little finger of the player’s lower (right) hand is poised above its finger hole; there are two holes between the hands, and although finger 3 of the right hand is underneath the instrument there is actually a hole for it. Thus a recorder remains a possibility.
• Cupid Musicians, oil on canvas, 93.5 × 121.9 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). San Francisco: Californian Palace of the Legion of Honour. Ref. Mirimonde (?date-4: 329, fig. 19); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Three pretty putti rest on clouds. One writes music with a quill pen (there are three books of open music spread around this picture); one, above, holds a roll of paper; the third, further above, leans forward playing a short cylindrical pipe with his left hand lowermost. The latter could possibly be a recorder. At the left, a fourth putto blows a small straight trumpet. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. (1999).
• Pastorale, oil on canvas, 87 × 70 ml, after François Boucher (1703–1770). Beaune: Musée des Beaux-Arts et Musée Marey, Inv. 866.2.1. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). Copy of an original by Boucher. A scene in which a couple guard their sheep, one playing on a duct flute (flageolet or recorder), near a fountain, surrounded by flowers. Not seen.
• The Clever Rabbit, oil on canvas, 24 × 25, attributed to François Boucher (1703–1770). Marseille: Musée des Beaux Artes, Inv. 816 000PE013616. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A girl, a boy with a duct flute (flageolet or recorder), an erect rabbit and a fountain. Not seen.
• The Flageolet Player (1766), oil, 55.5 × 44.5 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum, D 6/1970. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DÜk 11). A beautiful young woman reclines in a garden, a basket of flowers on a wall behind her, a dog at her feet. Beside her, a young man plays a cylindrical duct flute, probably a flageolet (as the title suggests) given the position of the thumb of the uppermost hand.
• Arcadian Scene with Couple Dancing, ? pencil drawing, François Boucher (1703–1770). Paris: Unknown collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A seated shepherd plays a pipe for the dancers. His instrument is of alto size and is played right hand lowermost.
• Pastoral Scene, François Boucher (1703–1770). Germany: Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A young shepherd holds a small pipe (possibly a recorder) in his right hand to his lips. No details of the instrument are visible beyond the presence of the beak characteristic of duct flutes and an angular, short flare at the foot. A passing shepherdess with a rake over her shoulder listens to the music.
• The Lonely Shepherd, François Boucher (1703–1770). Paris: Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A shepherd sits at the foot of a tree with his pipe and what appears to be sheet music. His instrument is cylindrical and of soprano/alto size. Five finger holes are visible, the upper ones hidden by the music. The foot joint is of a lighter material attached with a strong decorated ring, and there is a small tuning hole in the side of the bell.
• The Flute Lesson (1751), oil on canvas, 63.2 × 101.0 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). Zurich: Rau Collection. Ref. Exhibition: La Collezione Rau, Sei secoli di Pittura Europea, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo (2002). To pass the time while minding their sheep, two children amuse themselves by playing on a narrow cylindrical duct flute. Sitting beneath a tree, he fingers the instrument whilst she blows. Their dog looks on.
• Lyric Poetry, black chalk on cream paper, 27.3 × 25.7 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). New York: Frick Collection, 67.3.100. Ref. Ford (1987b: #26, fig.) “A child in a landscape writes on a scroll. A wind instrument, a lyre, and two small recorders lie on the ground in front of him. (This work was probably a design for an engraving, done subsequent to the painting entitled Poetry …)” (Ford, loc. cit.) The ‘recorders’ could just as well be flageolets. Their characteristic beaks are visible as are the window/labium and several finger holes of one of them. On the ground there are also a tambourine and a shawm (or possibly a straight trumpet).
• The Arts and Sciences: Poetry; Music (1750–1752), oil on canvas, lined and mounted on wood, 217.2 × 96.5 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770). New York: Frick Collection, 16.1.14. Ref. Mirimonde (1975: pl. X , b&w); Ford (1987b: #27, fig.); Frick Collection (2001). “In the upper scene (Poetry) a small boy in a landscape writes on a scroll. A wind instrument and a lyre lie on the ground in front of him. Two small recorders, lying with these instruments have been painted over, but are visible by means of infrared photography. (See the previous entry.) In the lower scene (Music) a similar child in a landscape plays a pipe and reads from a music book (which has visible but illegible notation). A violin rests on the ground” (Ford, loc. cit.) The wind-instrument has a markedly flared bell and seems to be blown with a cup mouthpiece, but his hand position is suggestive of a recorder. “It seems likely that they [ie these panels] once decorated an octagonal library adjoining Madame de Pompadour’s bedroom in the Château de Crécy, near Chartres, the first property the Marquise acquired after her official recognition as royal mistress in 1745 … Tapestries were woven after them by Neilson at the Gobelins manufactory in the Spring of 1752; they were upholstered to furniture frames delivered to Bellevue, another of Madame de Pompadour’s residences at the time, and examples of them have survived” (Frick Collection, loc. cit).

• The Flute Player (1746), oil on canvas, oval, 80.8 x 68.5 cm, François Boucher (1703-1770). Paris: Sotheby’s, Tableaux Dessins Sculptures 1300-1900, Session I, Including Treasures from the Antony Embden Collection, Lot 59. 14 June 2022. A young man seated beside his dog and a basket of flowers, plays his pipe to a charming young woman dressed as a shepherdess. Beside her is a child and on her lap a lamb. The pipe is a duct-flute, the beak and window/labium clearly depicted. However, the lowermost two fingers of the player’s left hand are supporting the instrument from beneath, so this is a flageolet rather than a recorder.

  An enchanting and idyllic vision of a lost arcadian world, The Flute Player is one of the first paintings in which François Boucher painted his protagonists wearing contemporary dress. Unlike the realistic depictions of peasants in the Dutch tradition that he painted early in his career, this painting is typical of the works that made Boucher’s name. His light-hearted reinterpretation of the pastoral theme opens the way to Rococo painting with masterly assurance. Presented at the 1747 Salon with a pendant, Are They Thinking about the Grapes? (Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Inv. 1973.304), this charming composition demonstrates the maturity François Boucher had acquired by this time, at the height of his success.
  

  The subject of this pastoral scene is borrowed from Charles-Simon Favart, a friend of François Boucher and a dramatist who transformed comic opera by endowing it with the characteristics of pastoral poetry. He wrote Les vendanges de Tempé, the story of a thwarted love affair between a shepherd and a shepherdess named Lisette. Reference is made to this by the Parfait brothers in the Dictionnaire des Théâtres de Paris: ‘Monsieur Boucher, a painter famed for his graceful compositions, borrowed the idea for some of his paintings, and that is a far from minor tribute paid to the Pantomime of the Vendanges du Tempé’ (Parfaict, 1756, VI, p. 70). Indeed, created in 1745 as a pantomime, this story inspired many of François Boucher’s paintings and drawings, as well as models for porcelain groups for Vincennes and Sèvres.

• The Flageolet Player (1766), oil on canvas, 55.3 × 44.5 cm (oval), François Boucher (1703–1770). Location unknown: Sotheby’s Sale NO7871, Important Old Master Paintings including European Works of Art, 23 January 2003, Lot 90 (sold). Ref. Catalogue, Sotheby’s Sale NO7871 (2003: Lot 90, col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) Boucher painted seven works based on the play Les Vendanges de Tempé by Charles-Simon Favart. It is the love story of the shepherdess Lisette and the ‘Little Shepherd’, centred around the trials that their relationship endured before they gained parental consent for their marriage. The Flageolet Player is from Scene Five, in which the Little Shepherd is teaching Lisette how to play the flute. At the bottom of a garden a young man sits beneath a tree playing a cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) to a beautiful young girl, a dog at their feet. This work fetched a price of US $904,000! Formerly in the collection of Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.

• Allegory of Autumn (1753), oil on canvas (irregular, more or less oval), 113.7 × 161.9 cm, François Boucher (1703–1770) & workshop. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 69.155.1 Ref. Baldassare (?date: 2); Metropolitan Museum of Art (2002 , b&w); Constance Old (ex Amanda Pond, pers. comm., 2002). Three putti gambol on a cloud strewn with flowers, fruit, a tambourine (with jingles) and a slender cylindrical pipe (transverse or duct flute) with four finger holes but no other details visible. This painting has a companion-piece of the same date, size and shape entitled Allegory of Lyric Poetry.
• Shepherd Couple (1765), wool & silk tapestry on settee, 55.9 × 87.5 cm, design after François Boucher (1703–1770). New York: Frick Collection, 18.5.48. Ref. Ford (1987b: #31). “A young shepherd couple sits in a landscape. The man holds an alto recorder” (Ford, loc. cit.)
• Apollo and Clytie (ca 1756–ca 1761), tapestry weave (wool & silk), 372.75 × 323.22 cm, design by François Boucher (1703–1770). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, Inv. 1-1949; Minneapolis: Institute of Arts, Inv. 42.16. From The Loves of the Gods, a series of tapestries made by the Royal Beauvais Manufactory under André-Charlemagne Charron. Apollo (with his lyre) and Clytie float amongst the clouds in a golden chariot. Helios rides in his chariot towards them. Beneath, are two water nymphs: one plays a duct flute (possibly a recorder); the other looks up, leaning on a ewer from which water flows, holding what looks like a small duct flute in her left hand. Clytie was a water nymph, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys in Greek mythology, who loved Helios but was abandoned by him and was turned into the flower sunflower (Helianthus) which grows in the foreground is the emblem of Clytie’s devotion to Apollo. According to the legend Clytie was transformed into a sunflower, after pining away with grief following her abandonment by the god, always turning her head to follow the sun on his course through the heavens. Apollo and Helios are often confused though both were distinct in Greek and Roman mythology. Attributed to Charlemagne Charron who succeeded to the dictatorship of the Beauvais factory in 1755.
• Study of a Young Boy Playing a Recorder, black, red & white chalk, 169 × 157 mm, follower of François Boucher (1703–1770. New York: Sotheby’s, Old Master Drawings, 20 May 1994, Lot 166. Ref. Artfact (2003). Not seen.
• Shepherd Boy Playing a Flute, engraving by Gilles Demarteau (1722–1776) after François Boucher (1703–1770. Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w) A boy sits on a knoll, his hat, water bottle and staff beside him, playing a flared-bell duct flute whilst his dog dances in front of him. A pendant depicts a young scullery maid sitting before the doorway of a kitchen offering a drink of milk to the same dog.

Louis Boulanger

French Romantic artist who painted the portrait of several personalities of the era, including the most famous example, Balzac in a Monk’s Robe; illustrator of several Romantic works of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, as well as a series of strange lithographs on fantastical themes fashionable amongst artists at the time; born (Vercelli, Piedmont (1806), died Dijon (1867).

• Woman and Child Listening to a Flute Player, Louis Boulanger (1806–1867). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, RF 41993, Recto. A woman sits on the ground hugging her knees as she and her child listen to a man sitting on a rock playing a narrowly cylindrical vertical pipe, possibly a duct flute.

Bon Boullogne

French artist; known for his copies of famous works intended for reproduction as Gobelins tapestries; his painting, especially the mythological work, shows great affinities with the work of the Bolognese school; he was also influenced by Nordic art, as demonstrated in his female portraits framed by plant-like motifs, a device taken up by his pupil Robert Tournières; born and died Paris (1648–1717); son of Louis Boullogne (1609–1704).

• Justice, ceiling panel, paint on wood, Bon Boullogne (1649–1717). Paris: Musée Carnavalet. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). The subject of this large panel is ‘Justice assuring the maintenance of Peace and the protection of the Arts’. Music is represented by two young men (naked) playing a 5-string instrument with no frets which looks like a cello, and a perfect baroque design alto recorder. He has his right-hand lowermost, but it only obscures two finger holes, so four upper holes are visible and below the hand one further hole in-line and one off-set to the right. The ceiling was originally in the eleventh Chamber of Petitions in the French Parliament building. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Jephtha’s Daughter, painting, Bon Boullogne (1649–1717). St Petersburg: Hermitage. Ref. Exhibition: Russia! Guggenheim Museum, New York(2005); Anita Randolfi (pers. comm., 2005); Rowland-Jones (2009: 242, fig. 9, col.) For the promise of victory over the Ammonites, Jephtha had vowed to God to sacrifice the first creature that would come out of the door of his house to meet him when he returned. It was, of course, his young daughter whose death is symbolized by the clearly depicted recorder held by a maidservant. I note that Montéclair used recorders in his cantata Jephtha of 1732), and that recorders feature frequently as symbols of death in vanitas paintings (such as those by Simon Renard de St André), which were popular in Paris during Lully’s time.
• Tribune des Musiciens (1710), painting, Bon Boullogne (1649–1717). Chateau de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, organ tribune ceiling. Ref.Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2035 (2023, col.) A personification of Music waves a banner above a group of musical angels who sing and play flute, harp, violin, bass viol, theorbo and a very clearly depicted baroque alto recorder. The banner reads: DOMINE•SALVUM•FAC•REGEM [God save the King!] The Royal Chapel and its decorations have recently been the subject of a major restoration.

Genevieve Boullogne

French artist; born Paris (1645), died Aix-en-Provence (1708); daughter of the painter Louis Boullogne (1609–1704).

• Still-life, oil on canvas, Genevieve Boullogne (1645–1708). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) Musical instruments, scores, a dead grebe, a peacock, a macaw parrot perched on a chair, before a classical urn and other objects on a terrace. The musical instruments include violin, guitar, two lutes, and what seems to be a wide cylindrical recorder, the head and upper body of which project from in between the guitar and an old ? rocking-horse. The characteristic beak of the recorder can be seen and a number of finger holes.

Jean de Boullogne

French artist; born Coulomniers-en-Brie (1594), died Rome (1632).

• Concert, oil on canvas, 175 × 214 cm, Jean de Boullogne (1594–1632). Paris: Louvre. Ref. Daudy (1967: 21, pl.); Liesbeth van der Sluis (pers. comm., 2001). Four people sit at a table: two women, a man and, at the centre, a boy playing a small duct flute, probably a recorder since three fingers of his uppermost (left) hand and all four finger of his lowermost (right) hand are covering their holes. The others listen; the man pours wine; one woman eats something, and the other has a glass of wine in her hand, looking at the boy. Apart from the dimensions, this seems identical to Valentin de Boulogne’s Reunion dans un Cabaret, Louvre Inv. 8255.

Louis Boullogne [called Boullogne the Younger]

French artist who, like his brother Bon, made copies of paintings to be reproduced as tapestries; born and died Paris (1654–1733); son of Louis Boullogne (1609–1704).

• Love Holding a Flute (1675–1715), black crayon on white paper, 19.7 × 18 cm, Louis Boullogne (1654–1733). Paris: Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, INV 24869, Recto. Ref. Joconde Website (1999); Paris RIdIM (1999). A naked putto holds a perfectly depicted three-piece turned baroque recorder.
• Tityrus and Meliboeus (1675–1715), pencil and white crown on blue paper, 27.9 × 27.2 cm, Louis Boullogne (1654–1733). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 24931. Ref. Joconde Website (1999); Paris RIdIM (1999). Tityrus (a shepherd) sits beneath a tree playing a large baroque style recorder. His companion, Meliboeus, points to the cows in the clearing nearby. A cartoon below reads “Non patrame fugimus tu titire lintus in ombra formosame resonare doseae omelibe deus nobis nec osia fecit” (from the First Eclogue of Virgil).
• Minerva, Protector of the Arts, sketch, Louis Boullogne (1654–1733). Paris: Louvre. Ref. Lallement & Devaux (1997). Sketch for circular ceiling painting of the Cabinet des Beaux-Arts of Charles Perrault. Includes a duct flute. Not seen.
• Bacchus and Ariadne, 65 × 81 cm, follower of Louis Boulogne (1654–1733). Location unknown; offered for sale by Étude Tajan, Paris (March 2001). Ref. Étude Tajan, Sale Catalogue (29 March 2001: 32, pl.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Bacchus discovers Ariadne surrounded by putti. In the foreground lie an assortment of objects including the foot of a recorder which projects from beneath Ariadne’s train. The offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand, and a brass ring at the bell can be seen, but the rest of the instrument is obscured.

Valentin de Boulogne (Boullogne or Boullongne) [called Valentin or Le Valentin]

French painter of impressive and fantastically naturalistic pictures in the tenebrist style of Caravaggio; born Coulommiers (1594), died Rome (1632).

• Reunion dans un Cabaret (ca 1625), oil on canvas, 96 × 133 cm, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Paris: Louvre, Inv. 8255. Ref. Lallement (1997: 209-210); Joconde Website (1999); Paris RIdIM (1999). Seated around a table, a man pours some wine into a glass from a cane-covered pitcher; a dark-skinned woman holds her full wine-glass aloft; a fair-complexioned woman looks on, as a young boy plays a small flageolet rather than a recorder since only six fingers are covering their holes with the little finger of the lowermost hand beneath the instrument. Apart from the dimensions, this seems identical to Valentin Boulogne’s Concert (see above).
• Hermione Amongst the Shepherds, oil on panel, 134.6 × 185.6 cm, Jean Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek 937 (4812). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 677, b&w). Hermione talks with the shepherds, her horse’s reins in one hand, gesticulating with the other. A small shepherd boy (bottom left-hand corner) holds a cylindrical recorder with seven finger holes (the lowermost offset) and a decorated bell.
• Figures in an Inn / Musicians and Soldiers, Jean Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Strasbourg: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Harrison & Rimmer (1964: no. 119); Boyden et al. (1984: 773, pl. 10 , b&w); Rasmussen (1999c). A young man plays a violin violin/viola; to his right a ? woman plays a tambourine with jingle rings in two rows; to his left another man plays a small, cylindrical recorder.
• Musical Company, oil on canvas, 97 × 143 cm, after Jean Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. No. GG_9044. Ref. Salmen (1969: 57); Mirimonde (1975–1977, 1: fig. 124); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine; 2002, Lute); RIdIM Innsbruck 596 (2001); Prof. Tilman Seebass (pers. comm., 2001); Brini et al. (2000: 25); Ferino-Pagden & Marques (2000: 273, no. v.11, col., as after Le Valentin); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1479 (2023, col.) Around a table a man plays a violin, a woman plays a tambourine, a man (with his back to us) plays lute, an old man with a beard and hat who seems to be singing holds a small duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and body with six fingers down can be seen). A man wearing a cuirass (breast plate) drinks a glass of wine. Identical to a painting auctioned by Southeby’s in 1993 (see below).
• Musical Company, oil on canvas, Valentin de Boulogne (1594-1632). Location unknown: Auctioned Sotheby’s, 8 October 1993 (sold). Ref. Burlington Magazine 102 (1960, June supplement: pl. IX); Gabrius Data Bank (2002, b&w); Rasmussen (2002, Lute). Around a table a man plays a violin, a woman plays a tambourine, a man (with his back to us) plays lute, an old man with a beard and hat who seems to be singing holds a small duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and body with six fingers down can be seen). A man wearing a cuirass (breast plate) drinks a glass of wine. Identical to Musical Company, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (see above).
• Musical Company (ca 1620), oil on canvas, 117 × 168 cm, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Darmstadt: Hessisches Landesmuseum, Inv. GK 704. Ref. Munich RIdIM DAhl-26 (2013, b&w). Around a table a man plays a violin, a woman plays a tambourine, a man (with his back to us) plays lute, an old man with a beard and hat who seems to be singing holds a small duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and body with six fingers down can be seen). A man wearing a cuirass (breast plate) drinks a glass of wine. Identical to Musical Company, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and another version auctioned by Sotheby’s on 8 October 1993 (see above).
• Musical Party (1626), oil on canvas, 111.7 × 146.6 cm, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Los Angeles: County Museum of Art, AC1998.58.1. Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2013, col.) Around a table a man plays a violin, a woman plays a tambourine, a man (with his back to us) plays lute, an old man with a beard and hat who seems to be singing holds a small duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and body with six fingers down can be seen). A man wearing a cuirass (breast plate) drinks a glass of wine. Identical to Musical Company, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and other versions  (see above).
• Musical Company (ca 1600–1625), engraving by J.J. Huber (18th century) after Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum. Ref. Walls (1998: 54: 9, fig. 4, detail , b&w). Around a table a man plays a violin, a woman plays a tambourine, a man (with his back to us) plays lute, another seems to be singing with a score in his hand, and an old man with a beard and a hat holds a small duct flute (probably a recorder, though only the head and body with six fingers down can be seen). A man wearing a cuirass (breast plate) drinks a glass of wine.
• The Concert, oil on canvas, 123 × 160 cm. , Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Indianapolis: Museum of Art, Inv. 56.162. Ref. Wikipedia (2012, b&w); Website: gallica (2015, b&w); Website: Music in Paintings (2015, col.). Three young ruffians sit around a table, one playing a lute, another playing a pipe seen end-on, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder). The third glances at a woman standing at the rear whose companion is shown slyly picking the pocket of the lutenist in front of them. A soldier in a cuirass (breast-plate) and helmet standing on the right pours some wine into a glass.
• Three Men Making Music (1616), oil on canvas, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Chatsworth Hall: Devonshire Collection. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003); Website: art.com (2016). A group of men drink, sing and play their instruments. One has a guitar and another what seems to be a Dutch-style hand-fluyt of sopranino size, almost too small for his big hands (right-hand lowermost). Only the shape of the instrument can be discerned.
• Musicians and Soldiers, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632), oil on canvas  128 × 181 cm, London & Rome: Cesare Lampronti (offered for sale 2017). Ref. Ref. Dmitry Badiarov (pers. comm.); Barry Pearce (pers. comm., 2017). Musicians play tambourine, violin and a pipe (probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder). At a table in front of them someone is pouring some wine into a glass. One of a pair of paintings offered for sale by Lampronti, the other described “as an interior scene with a palm-reader, musician, drinker and thief”.
• Apollo Dressed as a Shepherd, oil on canvas, Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2001, col.) A young shepherd in a red shirt and leather jacket holds a perfectly depicted cylindrical recorder with a flared bell, with four holes for the fingers of the lowermost (right) hand clearly visible. Sold 11 May 1997; auctioned 11 December 2000 (unsold). Doubtfully the original on which Valentin’s A Young Shepherd Wearing a Crown of Laurel Leaves and Holding a Recorder was based, although their shepherd has softer features (see below).
• A Young Shepherd Wearing a Crown of Laurel Leaves and Holding a Recorder, oil on canvas, 75.7 × 60.5 cm, attributed to Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). New York: Sotheby’s Sale, Lot 175, 31 January (2019-col.), sold, formerly Milan: Private collection (1958-2019); Monaco: Christie’s, 19 June 1988, Lot 53; London: Sotheby’s, 6 July 1994, Lot 56; Ref. Longhi (1958: 61, 66 & fig. 5); Nicholson (1979: 1990: 204); Simon (1988: 86 & fig. 3); Mojana (1989: 244, no. 157); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm., 2001); Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Artfact (2009), Sotheby’s Sale Catalogue (2019). One of a number of versions of the composition, others being in a private collection, New York (formerly in the collection of Carlasten Guntreb, Germany), the Museé du Perigord, the Volpe Collection, Bologna, and sold Monte Carlo, Sothebys, 20–22 February 1988, Lot 17. Sotheby’s (2019, loc. cit),  now attribute this solely to Valentin de Boulogne, noting that scholars agree that the composition would date from early in Valentin’s career, when he had first moved to Rome and was working under Simon Vouet, circa 1620-25.. Apart from the present picture and another in Atlanta, the New York version is the only other one which has claims to be considered an autograph original by Valentin, although Mojana (loc. cit.: 202–3, 244–5, nos 75, 155, 156, 158) is inclined to classify all the known versions as copies after a lost original (Artfact, loc. cit.) A young shepherd in a red shirt and leather jacket holds a perfectly depicted cylindrical recorder with a flared bell, with four holes for the fingers of the lowermost (right) hand clearly visible. This work was auctioned 6 July 1994. This work has been attributed  to Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667) and jointly to Jean de Boullogne (1594–1632) & Moïse Valentin (ca 1591–1632). It is doubtfully based on Valentin de Boulogne’s Apollo Dressed as a Shepherd. 

• Apollo Disguised as a Shepherd, oil on canvas, 74.23 × 63.2 cm, Jean Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632).  Atlanta: High Museum of Art, Inv. 1988.41. One of a number of versions of the composition, others being in a private collection, New York (formerly in the collection of Carlasten Guntreb, Germany), the Museé du Perigord, the Volpe Collection, Bologna, and sold Monte Carlo, Sothebys, 20–22 February 1988, Lot 17. Sotheby’s (2019, loc. cit),  now attribute this solely to Valentin de Boulogne, noting that scholars agree that the composition would date from early in Valentin’s career, when he had first moved to Rome and was working under Simon Vouet, circa 1620-25. Apart from the present picture, the New York version is the only other one which has claims to be considered an autograph original by Valentin, although Mojana (loc. cit.: 202–3, 244–5, nos 75, 155, 156, 158) is inclined to classify all the known versions as copies after a lost original (Artfact, loc. cit.) 

• Flute Player, attributed to Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Location unknown. Ref. Instituto Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0007364 (2009, b&w). A man holds a soprano-sized recorder right hand uppermost.
• A Young Shepherd with a Wreath on his Head, red chalk on paper, 47.5 x 29.4 cm, by Giorgio Bonola (1657–1700) after Valentin de Boulogne (1594–1632). Warsaw: Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Inv. Rys.Ob.d.80. Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2017, col.) A drawing at the National Museum of Warsaw, from the now dispersed 17th century Codice Bonola. A wide-eyed shepherd boy wearing a leafy wreath holds a flared bell duct flute in his left hand. Only two finger holes are visible, but this may have been intended to represent a recorder. Possibly after a lost painting by Valentin de Boulogne, Apollo Dressed as a Shepherd. 

Sebastian Bourdon

French painter and engraver; his subjects included portraits, landscapes, the cappricci of ruins, mythological, religious and genre themes; he spent most of his working life outside France and was made first court painter by Christina of Sweden in 1652; born Montpellier (1616), died Paris (1671).

• Portrait of an Artist, painting, school of Sebastien Bourdon (1616–1671). Location unknown: auctioned 31 October 2003 (sold) Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.) A moustachioed sculptor holds a hammer and chisel before an intaglio oval portrait bust of a classical figure. On a table are a pot of chisels and a pipe. The latter is small and in two parts with metal ferrules at the joint. The foot is hidden but the window/labium of a recorder is clearly depicted.

Juan de Borgoña (c. 1470–1536)

High Renaissance painter born in the Duchy of Burgundy (c. 1470) and active in Spain from  1495 to 1536.

• Assumption of the Virgin, Juan de Borgoña (fl. 1495–ca 1536). Toledo: Cathedral. Ref. Pari s RIdIM (1999). The Virgin ascends into heaven from her tomb watched by the praying disciples and greeted by a heavenly host of angels to the music of singing and instruments, including rebec, lute, shawms, and a flared-bell recorder of tenor size.

Hubert François Bourguignon d’Anville, called Gravelot

French painter, draughtsman and engraver who studied under Boucher; he worked in Paris, Rome and London where he engraved some of Hogarth’s first plates; known principally for his illustrations of books by Boccaccio, Corneille, Racine, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses; born Paris (1699), died Paris (1773); younger brother of the celebrated geographer, Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville.

• La flûte lui tint lieu de lyre chez Admète (The Flute Took the Place of the Lyre at the Home of Admetus), 15.3 × 8.9 cm, engraving by Claude-Augustin-Pierre Duflos (1700–1786), after Hubert François Bourguignon d’Anville (1699–1773). London: British Museum, 1867,0309.1110; Washington: Library of Congress, Dayton Miller Flute Collection, 0585/L.  Finished state of illustration to Comédiens, in the eighth volume of Bernard de Fontenelle’s Oeuvres, 10 vols (Paris: Brunel, 1752). A shepherd stands at the edge of the woods on the right. He plays a wind instrument with a flared bell. A flock of sheep lies resting at the left. A dog sits at the lower right, and a crook and lyre lie on the ground before him. A few buildings are in the left distance. As a punishment from Zeus for killing the Cyclopes for the death of his son, Asclepius, Apollo was ordered to serve as a mortal for one year. Thus it was that Apollo served as a herdsman for the mythical King Admetus of Pherae in Thessaly. The lyre in the etching identifies the shepherd as Apollo who played it with great skill but, in this image, the lyre is discarded in favour of the ‘flute’ while he watches over the flock belonging to Admetus. If we take the title at its word then the instrument must be a duct flute, but no window/labium is visible and it looks far more like a shawm.

Arnould Bourlin – see Antoine Avernier, Arnould Bourlin & Alexandre Huet

Aelbrecht [Albert, Aelbert] Bouts

One of a family of Flemish painters active primarily in Leuven; his style is unmistakable, with strong colors, rich texture and fine details; born Leuven (ca 1450), died Leuven (1549); son of the painter Dirk Bouts (ca 1415–1475), brother of Dieric Bouts the Younger (ca 1448–1490).

• Tryptych, central panel: Assumption of the Virgin (ca 1490), painting, Aelbrecht Bouts (ca 1450–1549). Brussels: Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, No. 574. Ref. Staedel (1935: 78, pl. 31); Friedländer & Norden (1967-, III: Cat. no. 57, pl. 69–70); Brussels MRBA Bulletin 8 (1959: 209); Institut Royale du partimonie artistique Bulletin 1 (1958: 146 – before and after restoration); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 374.1.B666.31As1); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). As she is raised to heaven, angel musicians in the sky around her play vielle, lute, harp and tenor recorder (top left). The latter is of alto size, cylindrical except for a short sharp bell flare; holes 6 and 7 are clearly shown with 7 offset; the window/labium area is clearly shown; it is played right hand down; left-hand finger 2 is raised; the thumb is in position underneath (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
• Adoration of the Shepherds, Aelbrecht Bouts (ca 1450–1549). Antwerp: Art Gallery, No. 223. A shepherd on the right holds a smallish duct flute (possibly a recorder). The window/labium area is clear; the bell end is covered by the shepherd’s hand, but three lower lower holes are visible. The angels in this picture are not musicians (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)

André Bouys

French portraitist and painter of genre pictures and still-lifes; among his sitters were a number of musicians; born Hyères (1656), died 1740.

• Caecilia de Lisorez, Vide, & Audi (1704), mezzotint, 34 × 24.5 cm, André Bouys (1656–1740). London: Tony Bingham. Ref. Haynes (1988: 332, fig. 19, b&w; 2001: pl. 5.1). A portrait of a beautiful young woman, the celebrated singer Caecilia de Lisorez. Beneath is a trophy of musical instruments including a baroque recorder (head only) with flutes, oboe, bassoon, violin, harpsichord, organ pipes, ? organetto, viol.

Bow Porcelain Factory [also known as ‘New Canton’]

This factory, established at Stratford-le-Bow, Essex, ranks as the earliest British manufacturer of transparent porcelain. Specimens, especially the pre-1760 articles, are rare and desirable, but many pieces do not bear a factory mark. The factory operated from ca 1744 and closed ca 1776.

• Shepherd and Shepherdess (ca 1755), porcelain figures, 15.2 cm high, Bow Porcelain Factory (ca 1740–ca 1776). New York: Sotheby’s, English Furniture 20–21 October 2003, Lot 29. Ref. Artfact Services (2003). A shepherd, wearing a rosette trimmed hat and floral jacket and knee-length trousers, stands cross-legged leans against a tree stump playing a recorder with his dog curled at his feet. His companion, her apron filled with flowers and holding a small bouquet, stands with a sheep recumbent at her feet. Both are on on low mound bases applied with flowers and leaves. Formerly, property of R.T. Brookman, Esq.; sold, Sotheby’s, London, May 10, 1945, lot 73. Some minor chips and restoration. A similar pair is illustrated in Bradshaw (1992: 153, fig. 159). Estimated price was $3,500–4,500.
• Shepherd Playing a Flute (ca 1754), porcelain figure, 15.3 cm high, Bow Porcelain Factory (ca 1740–ca 1776). Leyburn: Tennants, Antiques, Collectables, 25 April 2002, Lot 182. Ref. Auction Catalogue: Antique, Collectables – 25 April 2002 (2003). A shepherd, wearing a rosette trimmed hat and floral jacket and knee-length trousers, stands cross-legged leans against a tree stump playing a recorder with his dog curled at his feet. On low mound bases applied with flowers and leaves. Some damage and restoration. Formed a pair with Shepherdess with Flowers. A similar pair is illustrated in Bradshaw (1992: 153, fig. 159).

Michel Boyer

French artist; the son of a painter from Puy-en-Velay, with whom he studied; a protégé of Cardinal Melchior de Polignac, he visited Rome in 1689; upon his return to France, he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Painting in 1701, which had held a monopoly in France for art teaching since 1654; he finished his career as the King’s regular painter for architecture and perspective; born Puy-en-Velay ( 1668), died 1724.

• Trompe l’Oeil of a Lute, a Viol and a Recorder, with Books of Music in a Curtained Stone Niche, oil on canvas, 130 × 97 cm, Michel Boyer (1668–1724). New York: Christie’s, Sale 9402, Important Old Master Paintings, 29 January 1999, Lot 164. Ref. Artfact (2004); Website: Lute Iconography LI-918 (2023, col.) A trompe l’oeil of a lute, a viol and a pipe (probably a flute rather than a recorder (only the body is visible), with books of music in a curtained stone niche signed ‘Boyer fecit’ on the musical score and inscribed ‘ACTE TROISIEME le Theatre represente le Jardin du palai. que Circ … SCENE PREMIERE LA REYNE TVRNVS …’ and ‘OPERA DE ROLAND’. This painting can be compared to three pictures by Boyer’s contemporary, Pierre-Nicolas Huilliot (1674-1751), in which Huilliot used the same musical scores and instruments. The book on the shelf inscribed ‘Opera de Roland’ is a tragedie en musique, inspired by an episode of Orlando Furioso by Ariosto, with the music written by Jean-Baptiste Lully (a favorite of Louis XIV) and the text by Jean-Philippe Quinault. This tragedy was played for the first time on 18 January 1685 at the Grande Ecurie de Versailles. The open book inscribed ‘Acte troisieme …’ is also a tragedie en musique, entitled Eneé et Lavinie with the text by Fontenelle and music by Pascal Colasse. It was played for the first time at the Academie Royale de Musique in 1691.

Giovanni Battista Bracelli

Italian painter and printmaker; a Bracelli born in Genoa who died aged 25, a Bracelli from Florence who was a pupil of Giulio Parigi, a painter called Bracelli nicknamed ‘il Bigio’, and a Bracelli who was a follower of Jacopo da Empoli and who among other works published, in Livorno in 1624, some interesting etchings referred to as Oddities. While the Genoese and the Florentine Bracelli are clearly distinct personalities, the other references may possibly concern the same individual. The name Bracelli appears after 1624 in a series of engravings printed in Rome. In 1632 an extremely rare and bizarre Illustrated Alphabet was printed in Naples and appears closely related to the fantastic vein of the Oddities.

• Musicians (ca 1607), engraving on paper, 7.5 × 9.5 cm (image), Giovanni Battista Bracelli (17th century). Berlin: Kunstbibliothek, Inv. Pg 1, Bl. 17. Ref. RIdM Munich (2009, Bkb 408). Two standing musicians who play a bass shawm or recorder and a tenor shawm or recorder respectively. Not seen.
• Musicians, engraving, Giovanni Battista Bracelli (17th century). Location unknown. Ref. Website; gallica (2012, b&w). Two standing musicians who play a bagpipe and a slender, very narrowly flared duct flute, probably a recorder since the window/labium is indicated and the all fingers of the lowermost (right) hand are covering their holes.

Johann Brabender

German cathedral sculptor from Münster; active 1415-1425.

• Altar reredos: Nativty with the Three Kings, relief sculpture with painting, sandstone, Johann Brabender (op. 1415–1425). Münster: Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Inv. D 485 LM. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2003: MÜlm – 90); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). Above Joseph, on each side of a column, a man plays an internal duct flute. On the left hand instrument the window/labium is visible.

Dorothy Bradford

British artist whose work was inspired by music and motion; her favourite subjects were musicians, ballet dancers, and horses and riders; outstanding musicians and groups portrayed by Bradford included Sir Charles Groves, Maxim Shostakovich, countertenor James Bowman, pianist Rosalyn Tureck, composer John McCabe, lutenist Robert Spencer, Ida Carroll, principal of the then Northern School of Music, and the Amadeus and Allegri string quartets; there were also many drawings, made during rehearsals at the Sadler’s Wells theatre, north London, of dancers, including Frederick Ashton, Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann; born Dorothy Bassano in Cockermouth (1918), died 2008.

• John Turner Playing “Lizard” by Alun Hoddinott at the Bridgewater Hall, 29 Sep. 1998, drawing, (1998), Dorothy Bradford (1918–2008). Ref. Recorder MusicMail, Catalogue of Recorder Music (Autumn 2003 – front cover). A very sketchy likeness of the English musician John Turner playing a recorder which captures playing posture and his personality well.
• [Recorder Players], Dorothy Bradford (1918–2008). Ref. Website: Recorder MusicMail (2015, col.) Lounging on chairs, four young men  play recorders. They appear to be stark naked!

Richard Brakenburgh

Dutch painter; born Haarlem (1650), died Haarlem (1702).

• Dance in a Peasant Cottage, oil on wood, 66 × 83 cm, Richard Brakenburgh (1650–1702). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM 356. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Peasants dance to a hurdy-gurdy, violin and an ambiguous pipe (possibly a recorder). The player’s right hand obscures the head of the pipe at his lips. The left hand has the first finger raised; the second and third are down, and the fourth seems to be hovering, so it could be a small recorder of the hand fluyt type. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Leonard [Leonardt, Leonaert] Bramer (1596-1674), Dutch

Dutch painter best known for probably being one of the teachers of Johannes Vermeer, although there is no similarity between their work; primarily a genre and history painter, but also made some unique frescoes, not very often found north of the Alps; born Delft (1596), died Delft (1674).

• Musicians on a Terrace, 208 × 215 cm, Leonard Bramer (1596–1674). Private Collection. Ref. Haak & Willems-Treeman (1984/1996: 325, pl. 692); Griffioen (1988: 438-439); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Wikiaart (2018, col.) A group of musicians crowd together on some steps leading up to a house. A female singer is accompanied by two lutes, two violins, shawm (or pommer), and there are another lute, a viola and a cello on the ground. One of the violinists seems to be replacing a broken string. At the top a young man plays a soprano recorder, right hand lowermost. The window/labium and finger holes five and six are visible; there is an increased flare to the bell end, although the bore opening at the foot is fairly narrow.
• Recorder Player and Two Other Figures (1636), brown wash over pen & brown ink on paper, ca. 18.5 × 29.5 cm, Leonard Bramer (1596–1674). Loppem: Stichting Jean van Caloen. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 34477 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2001). Three men sit beneath the shade of a tree. They are all dressed quite differently. The first has a soft, sailor’s cap and dress. The second, dressed like a bishop wears a mitre and carries a crook. The third wears a turban and is dressed in Eastern garb, and he plays a pipe for the others’ amusement. The instrument’s mouthpieces is not clear, but it is probably that of a recorder played right hand lowermost, all fingers on with the little finger of the left hand supporting the side of the recorder. There is a brief but strong bell-flare. Who can these fellows be?
• Allegory of Vanity (ca 1646), oak panel, 80 × 61.3 cm, Leonard Bramer (1596–1674). Detail. Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. GG4 413, cat. 1973. Ref. Clemencic (1968: 76, fig 84, col.); Fischer (1972: 91 & 94; 1975: 66); Sutton et al. (1984: xxiii, fig. 12); Griffioen (1988: 438–439; 1991: 390, footnote 26); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip346 (2022, col.) A man wearing a gold necklace sits with his back to us gazing in a mirror. Opposite him a dark, caped lutenist plays for him across a bench on which jewels and treasures lie in disarray. In the foreground lies parts of a highly decorated suit of armour. An alto recorder with an ivory-encased mouthpiece of strange design lies on a table to the right surrounded by damaged string instruments, including lute, volins, cittern, and cello (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) Bramer made an etching of this himself (see below).
• Allegory of Vanity, etching, 28.8 × 23.8 cm, Leonard Bramer (1596–1674). St Petersburg: Hermitage. Ref. Scheurieer (s. dat. 117). An etching of Bramer’s painting, now in the Kunstihistorisches Museum, Vienna (see above). A man wearing a gold necklace sits with his back to us gazing in a mirror. Opposite him a dark, caped lutenist plays for him across a bench on which jewels and treasures lie in disarray. In the foreground lies parts of a highly decorated suit of armour. An alto recorder lies on a table to the right surrounded by damaged string instruments, including lute, volins, cittern, and cello.
• Biblical Figures with Angel Musicians, painted ceiling, Leonard Bramer (1596–1674). Leiden: Stedelijk Museum “de Lakenhal”, Room 10 (Refectory). Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Near the centre of the ceiling, an angel clutches a soprano recorder in his right hand. The window/labium is visible and two or three lower finger holes below the hand. There is a very slight bell flare, but the instrument is basically cylindrical with an almost square beak.

Domenico Brandi

Italian painter active in his native Naples, where he painted still-lifes of birds and animals, as well as pastoral landscape; born Naples (1683) died Naples (1736)

• Shepherd, Domenico Brandi (1683–1736). Vienna: Dorotheum, 30 May 2000, Lot 3 (sold). Ref. Inês d’Avena Braga (2015, pers. comm.) Watched by his goats, a young shepherd sits beneath a tree. He is about to play a slender, one-piece recorder with a flared bell. Draped across a barrel at his feet is a zampogna (double-chantered bagpipe).

Melchior Brassauw

Flemish genre painter; born Malines (1709), died Antwerp (ca 1757); father of the painter Andries Melchior.

• Two Women and a Man Making Music, oil on panel, Melchior Brassauw (1709–1757). Location unknown: Auctioned by Christie’s, 29 October 1999 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, col.) A woman in a wide-brimmed hat plays a guitar, reading from music on a foot-stall on the floor, a long way in front of her. Opposite her, another woman sings from a score held in her hand. Behind them, a man in a feathered hat plays a slender pipe (possibly a recorder) of which no details are visible; he may even be smoking. On a draped table in between the two women is a lute. To the left, almost out of frame, is a plinth on which stands an urn.

Jan de Bray

Dutch artist, a key figure in Dutch Classicalism of the seventeenth century; his works are mainly portraits, often of groups; he specialised in posing specific figures as historical figures, thus creating so-called portrait historié; born Haarlem (ca 1627), died Amsterdam (1697); son and pupil of Salomon de Bray (1597–1664), an poet, architect and painter.

• Emblem for a Musical Collegium (1652), engraving with brown wash and pencil, Jan de Bray (ca 1627–1697). Amsterdam: Collection of J.Q. van Regteren Altena. Ref. Bernt (1948–1970, 4: fig. 117 , b&w). On a plinth surrounded by pillars and drapes, musicians sing and play harpsichord, lute, cello, violins. All around the plinth winged putti and fairies gambol, some playing musical instruments including cymbals, trumpet, violin and a flared-bell pipe (probably a recorder).

Solomon [Salomon] de Bray [Braij]

Dutch painter poet, architect and painter of biblical and allegorical scenes and portraits; wrote a book Architecture Moderna (1631), describing the buildings of Hendrick de Keyser; born Amsterdam (1597), died Haarlem (1664); father of painter Jan de Bray (ca 1627-1697).

• Shepherd (1640–1641), oil on panel, 66 × 49.5 cm, Solomon de Bray (1597–1664). Location unknown: Christie’s, Paris, 24 June 2004 (unsold). Ref. Galerie Philippe Heim, Paris/London, Exhibition: Rembrandt Pupils (?1969: 33); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 188450 (2010, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A young man holds a small one-piece, flared-bell sopranino/soprano recorder. The thumb and first three fingers of the uppermost (left) hand are covering their holes. Only the offset lowermost hole for the lowermost hand is visible.
• Triomftocht: Triumph with Musicians (1649), Solomon de Bray (1597–1664). The Hague: Koninklijk Paleis, Huis ten Bosch, Oranjezaal. Ref. Blanker (1999: cat. 7, col.); Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2013). The Orangerie is completely covered with paintings by Theodoor van Thulden, Caesar van Everdingen, Salomon de Bray, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Jan Lievens, Christiaen van Couwenbergh, Pieter Soutman, Gonzales Coques, Jacob Jordaens, Pieter de Grebber, Adriaen Hanneman and Gerard van Honthorst. In this panel, three boys play shawm, transverse flute and rebec; two men play straight trumpets, a third plays a cornett, and a fourth (on horseback) plays drums; a girl plays a flared-bell recorder, the the hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand not visible and the finger in question supporting the instrument from beneath.
• Triomftocht: Triumph with Musicians (1649), Solomon de Bray (1597–1664). The Hague: Koninklijk Paleis, Huis ten Bosch, Oranjezaal. Ref. Blanker et al. (1999: pl. 7a , b&w). The Orangerie is completely covered with paintings by Theodoor van Thulden, Caesar van Everdingen, Salomon de Bray, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Jan Lievens, Christiaen van Couwenbergh, Pieter Soutman, Gonzales Coques, Jacob Jordaens, Pieter de Grebber, Adriaen Hanneman and Gerard van Honthorst. In this panel, a youth riding a pair of horses plays a small recorder, the bell opening of which is clearly visible.

Ludovico Brea

Italian renaissance painter active mainly in and near Genoa; his subjects were mainly religious; active Nice (1475–1522/3).

• Il Paradiso, cartouche, Ludovico Brea (op. 1475–1522/3). Genoa: Museo di Santa Maria di Castello. Around the lower half of the cartouche of the Trinity and praying Virgin at the top of the picture are many angel musicians, including a group of singers with music. One musician plays what is clearly a duct flute (possibly a recorder) and there are possibly three (or four or five!) others with their backs towards the viewer, or not clear. One musician depicted sideways on has a beaked flute played with the right hand uppermost; the thumbs are under, and the lower little finger is down. Notes from Anthony Rowland-Jones (1999, pers. comm.)
• Enthroned Madonna, oil & gold-leaf on wood, Ludovico Brea (op. 1475–1522/3). Göteberg (Sweden): Konstmuseum, GKM 1085. Ref. Website: Göteberg Konstmuseum (2009). The Madonna and Child sit on a throne in a shell-shaped niche surrounded by the architectural vault in the frame. They are flanked on either side by angel musicians playing lute (right) and a cylindrical pipe (left) of alto/tenor size, probably a recorder.
• Madonna and Child with a Choir of Angels, on gold ground panel, 94.6 × 66.1 cm, circle Of Ludovico Brea (op. 1475-1522/3). London: Christies Sale ‘Important Old Master & British Pictures Day Sale’, 9 July 2008, Lot 253. The Madonna and Child are surrounded by musical angels who sing and play straight trumpets, harp, bagpipe, double pipes, organetto, hurdy-gurdy, triangle, cymbals, fiddle, and two cylindrical pipes. One of the latter has an abruptly flared bell and might be a shawm; the foot of the other is hidden from view and it may represent a recorder similar to that illustrated in Brea’s Enthroned Madonna (see above).

Larry A. Brechner

Contemporary American fine-art photographer, stage & musical theater producer/director, theatrical and concert lighting designer. Web Page.

• Flute Girl, Larry A. Brechner (contemporary). A portrait of a young girl wearing a soft black hat holding a neo-baroque alto recorder standing against a background of trees.

Bartholomeus Breenbergh [Breenberch, Breenberg or Breenborch]

Dutch painter who belonged to the first generation of his countrymen who traveled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by its light and atmosphere; he helped to bring the Italianate tradition of landscape to the Low Countries; he came to specialise in scenes featuring classical ruins into which he introducing biblical and mythological figures; later, he turned to narrative subjects and portraits; born Deventer (1598), died Amsterdam (1637).

• Classical Landscape with Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, Bartholomeus Breenbergh (1598–1637). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) By the side of a lake surrounded by trees Mercury stands playing his pipe to a drowsy Argus who sits leaning on his stave watched by Io (as a heifer). In the background can be seen the ruins of a city.

Quiringh [Queringh] Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam

Dutch painter; best known for his popular paintings of interiors of craftsmen’s workshops, but also produced elegant conversation pieces such as the doctor’s visit and inn scenes; his work is characterised by broad, fluid brushstrokes, slightly blurred faces and strongly modelled folds of clothing; born ? Zwammerdam (ca 1620/21), died Leyden (1668).

• Dutch Interior, Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam (ca 1620/21–1668). Aberdeen: Aberdeen University, Marischal Museum, ABDUA 30007 (formerly in Principal’s Room). Ref. Hersom (1994: 64–65, detail , b&w); Marischal Museum, Lemur Database (2003, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). A maid stands in the centre of the room cleaning pots on top of a barrel. Beside her, a girl and a boy are seated, the latter playing a soprano-sized, flared-bell duct flute (probably a recorder, although details of the window/labium and finger holes are not depicted). There is bread and what appears to be a glass of beer on the table behind the children. There is also a spinning wheel and a basket of dishes in the foreground. The two children appear again in Interior with a Family auction by Soteby’s, London in 1997 (see below).
• Interior with a Family (1650–1660), oil on panel, 62.8 × 51.1 cm, Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam (ca 1620/21–1668). London: Sotheby’s, Sale L08037, Old Master Paintings Day Sale, Session 1, 4 December 1997, Lot 80. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 44774 (2010, col.) Father sits by the fire reading, beside a table covered with the remains of a meal; mother sits by the window with her jewelery box; a small girl sits at a little table watching an older boy wearing an enormous hat sits opposite her playing a slender duct flute with a slightly flared bell (probably a recorder) supervised by his grandmother. However, the young musician’s lower (left) hand is placed on a support or holder of some kind rather than on the instrument itself. The two children appear again in the Dutch Interior at Aberdeen University (see above).
• Interior, oil on panel, Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam (ca 1620/21–1668). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 , b&w). A man sits before a fireplace reading. Beside him, a boy plays a pipe, possibly a recorder.
• Young Woman Seated in an Interior (1653), oil on panel, 62.8 × 51.1 cm, Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam (ca 1620/21–1668). London: Sotheby’s, 04 December 2008, Lot 139. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 166800 (2014, col.) A well-dressed woman sits beside a table covered in a red cloth on which lie a necklace, a feather decoration of some kind, what looks like a pair of ornamental cuffs, an open music book (legible), and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt. In her left hand she holds a pomander; on her right wrist she wears a snake-shaped bracelet. On the floor beside her a dog lies curled up, its eyes partly open. Behind her and to the left is a clavichord. On the wall is a crudely drawn map of Europe and northern Africa hangs on the wall behind.
• Amorous Couple Reading in an Interior (1666), oil on panel, 42.0 × 33.5 cm, Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam (ca 1620/21–1668). Vienna: Dorotheum, Alte Meister, 17 October 2007, Lot 258. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 185754 (2014, col.) Viewed through an arched window a couple sit at a table. She reads from a book. He sits opposite her, listening. Between them, on the table, are a clearly depicted one-piece alto-sized recorder and a façon de Venise wine-glass. On the window-ledge are a jug, some books and a bobbin lace cushion. Behind them are canopy bed surmounted by a globe, an oriental carpet, and an open door.

Daniel Bretschneider, the Elder

German draughtsman and painter active in 16th-century Dresden; known for Ein Buch von allerley Inventionen, a Book of Inventions.

• [Wedding Procession] (1582), drawing, Daniel Bretschneider, the Elder (16th century). Location: ? Ref. Bowles (1989); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2014, b&w). Part of a procession celebrating the marriage of Christian I of Saxony to Sophie, daughter of Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg. Four female musicians playing a pipe (possibly a recorder) with a flared bell, a small keyboard instrument of some kind, a viol and a cornetto follow four male musicians playing a bass recorder with a bocal and a flared bell, two sackbuts, and another cornett.
• Wedding Procession (1584), drawing, ? Daniel Bretschneider (16th century). Location: ? Ref. Bowles (1989); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2014, b&w). Part of a procession in Dresden celebrating during festivities for the marriages of Balthasar Wurm and Anton von Sahlhausen depicting a group of eight male wind players, including three sackbuts, three cornetti, two shawms, one bass recorder with a bocal, a metal key-cover for the lowermost hole, and a flared bell.
• Wedding Procession (1584), painting, ? Daniel Bretschneider (16th century). Location: ? Ref. Bowles (1989); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2014, col.) A procession in Dresden during wedding festivities for Balthasar Wurm and Anton von Sahlhausen depicting a group of eight female wind players playing trombone, lute, cittern, treble viol, tenor viol, transverse flute, a small keyboard instrument and a bass recorder with a bocal, a metal key-cover for the lowermost hole, and a flared bell.

Jörg Breu (or Preu or Prew), the Elder

German painter, draughtsman, illuminator and writer; his work includes altarpieces, history paintings, portraits and frescoes, and designs for wood-engravers and glass painters; his Die Chroniken der deutschen Städte is a commentary on day-to-day events in which he expressed support for the Reformation and the poor in vehement and sometimes radical terms; born and died Augsburg (ca 1480–1537); father of artist Jörg Breu, the Younger (ca 1510–1547).

• Mercurio, copperplate in black and brown, Jörg Breu the Elder (ca 1480–1537). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz , Kuperferstickhkabinett (West). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 69). Mercury flies through the air in his chariot drawn by birds above a street scene in which a banquet can be seen through the open shutters of a window, and musicians play in a courtyard including singers and a pipe organ powered by bellows. In the foreground lie an exotically shaped lyra-viol and a cylindrical duct flute only six finger holes are visible, but the “Virdung” style beak and bell suggest a recorder. The recorder (an instrument requiring particular skill in fingering) is shown with Mercury elsewhere, as the God of intellectual ability. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). The lyra-viol represents the lyre invented by Mercury but bartered with his brother Apollo in exchange for the caduceus.
• Mercury (ca 1515),  pen drawing in green ink, Jörg Breu the Elder (ca 1480–1537). Besançon: Bibliothèque Municipale: drawing in the margin of a printed book of hours (Prayerbook of Emperor Maximillian, fol. 75v.) Ref. Strauss (1974: 165, col.); Rasmussen (2004, Drum: 10–11). “Mercury holds high a recorder. There is a frame drum (V-shaped snare) at his feet” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) The prayer book was printed in 1513 by Johannes Schoensperger at Augsburg. Not seen. There are six known copies of this prayer book, which was printed on parchment in an edition of only ten copies at the behest of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459−1519) for knights of the Order of Saint George. A fragment, of 57 leaves, is in the Municipal Library at Besançon. This part of the work was illustrated by Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473−1531), Hans Baldung Grien (died 1545), and several other artists.
• The Four Temperaments: Melancholy, pen and dark brown ink, tondo, 23 cm in diameter, Jörg Breu the Elder (ca 1480–1537). New York: Metropolitan Art Museum, Inv. 2003.28.  Ref. Rasmussen (1999, Lute). In the countryside, between two trees, a group of melancholics are gathered. A seated woman wearing a bonnet and holding a  distaff seems completely distraught. At her feet a man stares up at the sky in despair. Behind them A young couple dance, the woman clearly distracted and, partially hidden by one of the trees, two men are embracing, one holding what looks like a cudgel. Music (doubtless suitably dolorous) is provided by to men playing harp and lute and a woman playing a cylindrical recorder. A cartoon listss the words MELENCOLICUS / FLEGMATICUS / SANGVNIUS / COLERICUS.
• Judgment of Paris (after 1531), quatrefoil disc, 29.5 cm diameter, circle of Jörg Breu the Elder (ca 1480–1537). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Inv. MM 898, 899th. Ref. Website: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009, col.) Four scenes each in a separate leaf surround a coat of arms. The topmost leaf depicts the three naked goddesses (Hera, Athena and Aphrodite) at the Court of Paris, after a woodcut of Albrecht Altdorfer (1511). The right-hand leaf depicts the entrance of Helen of Troy. The left and lowermost leaf depict two musical gatherings. That on the left has players of lute, viol (played horizontally across the lap), transverse flute and a long slender pipe, possibly a recorder. The lowermost leaf depicts a singer/lutenist performing for an audience of men and women seated around a fountain.

Jörg Breu, the Younger

German painter and designer of woodblocks; few of his paintings survive; his woodcut designs include some of the best German examples of the 16th century; born and died Augsburg (ca 1510–1547); son of Jörg Breu the Elder (ca 1480–1537).

• Pegasus with the Muses Playing Music (1537), woodcut, Jörg Breu, the Younger (ca 1510–1547). Ref. Card, Musica Pretiosa, Vilsbiburg (2004). Between two rocks surmounted by temples, Pegasus stands surrounded by the Muses, three of whom play cylindrical pipes (possibly recorders) and one a lute. This woodcut appears in Comoedia Sacra by Hieronymus Ziegler (ca 1543).
• Garden Festival in Venice / Contrafectur aines Panckets vnd Tantz so gemainklich in Welschen landen gehalten werden (1539), woodcut, Jörg Breu, the Younger (ca 1510–1547). Ref. Blume (1949-, 4: cols 1285-1286, as by Jost Amman, 1570, illustrating a galliard); Hollstein (1954, 4: 195, no. 26); Imago Musicale (1987, 4: 108, as ca 1540); Geisberg-Strauss (1974: 372, 402–404); Sadie (2001, 7: 106, as by Hans Hofer, ca 1540, illustrating a galliard); Rasmussen (2002, Pipe and Tabor) “Three couples dance as musicians beneath a tree play a treble bowed stringed instrument (viola da braccio), viol (? partly visible) and pipe (long) and tabor. Elsewhere, a fool holds a recorder. The viol and pipe and tabor players and two of the dancing couples are copied by Hans Asper (1499–1571) in his etching of Two Couples Dancing on the Grounds of an Estate. The musicians and dancers are copied in Sorgeloos at the Ball, a print attributed to Cornelis Anthonisz and published in Amsterdam by Jan Ewoutsz in 1541. The pairs of dancers and the pipe and tabor and viol players are related to a series of prints by Virgil Solis of musicians, dancing couples, etc. (see below)” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)

Paul Bril [Brill]

Flemish painter, printmaker and draughtsman active in Rome who specialised in landscapes in various media but also painted dramatic biblical subjects; born Antwerp (1554), died Rome (1626); son of the painter Matthijs Bril, the elder (op. ca 1550); brother of the painter Mätthijs [Mattheus] Bril, the younger (1550–1583).

• Landscape, canvas, 91 × 138 cm, attributed to Paul Bril (1554–1626). Antwerp: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Belgie, Cat. 974. Ref. Leppert (1977: 18). A rustic countryside scene in which two shepherds play an ambiguous wind instrument (flute or shawm) and a duct flute (probably a flageolet) with four fingers visible.
• Landscape with a Herd of Goats, oil on panel, 73 × 97 cm, Paul Bril (1554–1626). Darmstadt: Hessisches Landesmuseum, GK 167. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DAhl 7)). A landscape with goats on rocks. At the bottom left are two shepherds: one plays a pipe which is probably a shawm; the other holds an alto-sized recorder in his hand.
• Mountainous Landscape with Shepherds, school of Paul Bril (1554–1626). Münster: Private Collection. Ref. Anthony & Christina Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A shepherd plays a small pipe (reed or duct flute), left hand lowermost, all fingers on except that of the lower hand which shows only three fingers. There is no bell flare.

Sami Briss

Contemporary Romanian artist who settled in Israel but is currently working in Paris; his paintings; sculptures, lithographs, and mosaics combine a cubist style with a Byzantine one; his figures are modern icons – frontal and classic but also humorous and whimsical, capturing the strength and vulnerability of modern life; born Issai (Jassy), Rumania (1930).

• Girl with Flute, 56 × 38 cm, Sami Briss (1930–). Ref. Website: BLD fine Art (2005). Stylised portrait of a woman playing a slender, conical duct flute (possibly meant to be a recorder).
• Choral, limited edition serigraph, 30 × 30 cm, Sami Briss (1930–). Ref. Website: Judaica Web Store (2005). Three girls sing; a fourth plays a mandolin, and a fifth plays a slender, conical pipe (possibly meant to be a recorder). One of the singers holds a bluebird; another bluebird stands on the head of the piper.
• Musicians and Bluebirds, limited edition serigraph, 68 × 106 cm, Sami Briss (1930–). Ref. Website Judaica Web Store (2005). Three women (each in a separate panel) play a slender, conical pipe (possibly meant to be a recorder), mandolin and ? bowed psaltery (held on the shoulder). Despite the plural title, a single bluebird sits on the ground between the first two women.
• I am my Beloved’s, limited edition seriograph, 44 × 100 cm, Sami Briss (1930–). The centre of three panels depicts two lovers, entwined. Those on either side depict women playing a lute and a slender, conical pipe, probably intended to be a duct flute, possibly a recorder.

Cornelis Brize [Breese, Bréese. Brise, Brisé. Brizé, Brizée]

Dutch still-life and portrait painter who specialized in all sorts of still life painting, including harness, which was considered the most difficult object to paint; born Haarlem (1622), died Amsterdam (1670).

• Decorated organ shutters (1658), Cornelis Brize (1622–1670). Amsterdam: Oude Kerk, chancel organ. Ref. Giskes (1994: 70); Nieuwkoop (1997): Zanten (1999: 227); Jan Bouterse to Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Bouterse (2001b: Appendix C.1); Website: Muziek instrumenten op het transept orgel in de Oude Kerk te Amsterdam (Hans Mons, 2006). The shutters are decorated on the outside with many musical instruments, including violin, viola and cello (but not the more fashionable viols), cittern, rebec, guitar, lute, trombone, transverse flute, shawms, cornetti and recorders.At the top of the outer center-fold of the West shutter are two crossed soprano recorders, one of ivory and one of wood (boxwood). That in wood has two incised rings and a slight bell flare; that in ivory has a more marked bell flare. Beneath the crossed recorders is a basset recorder without a bocal, also a dark wooden flute with a brass sheath at the head, an ivory flute, two cornetti, both with carved diamond decoration.On the right side of the East shutter, is a bass recorder arranged vertically in the background. In front of it are a pommer, a large tenor [or basset] recorder, a long trumpet, a tenor shawm and mute cornetto. To the left side of the East shutter are a curved alto cornetto, a large tenor recorder above which is a pale wooden soprano recorder showing six large inline finger holes and a paired hole for the lowermost little finger, two incised rings before the short bell flare. This recorder is crossed with a darker pipe which has a disk like that of a bagpipe chanter or possibly the pirouette of a small shawm. Also depicted is the underside of what is probably a tenor recorder, behind which is another mute cornett. Right at the back is an alto cornett. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)This small organ was made in 1658 by Hans Wolf Schonat, but the registers are now to be found in a church in Oegstgeest, near Leiden. In 1965, Ahrend & Brunzema made a new organ in the existing case.
• Musical Instruments (1893), print by Adolf Johannes Petrus Levolger (19th century) after Cornelis Brize (1622–1670). Location unknown. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 14463 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2001). Decoration with many instruments including shawms, violins and two crossed soprano ? recorders. Clearly copied from the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, chancel organ.
• [Title unknown] (ca 1670), Cornelis Brize (1622–1670). Private Collection. Ref. Bouterse (2001b: Appendix C.1). Depicts the then emerging baroque-style recorder. Not seen.

Elias van den Broeck [Broek]

Member of a Flemish family of artists; his still-life studies reveal great truth to nature and are rendered with extraordinary delicacy and skill; he frequently used the technique of mixing sand with the priming then applied to the support before actually painting in order to enhance an earthy feeling to the composition; due to rivals who were jealous of his success in Antwerp, rumors were invented and circulated to suggest that his lifelike depiction of butterflies and insects was achieved by adhering the actual bodies to the canvas; born 1657, died 1708.

• Pronk Still-life (1669-1675), oil on canvas, 52 × 43.2 cm, Elias van den Broeck (1657–1708). London: Rafael Valls; auctioned Phillips, London, 5 December 1995, Lot 74. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 0000013377 (2019, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 2001). Pronk still-life with fruit on a saucer, a silver saltshaker, jewels, medallions and coins on a table covered with a green velvet tablecloth. There are two alto hand fluyt style recorders; one with the upper half visible, the other with the lower half. An identical painting auctioned in Amsterdam in 1997 (see below) may represent the same work.
• Pronk Still-life (ca 1675), Elias van den Broeck (1657–1708). Amsterdam: Kunsthandel P. de Boer BV. Ref. Exhibited Tefaf, Maastricht (1997); Constance Scholten (pers. comm. 2009). Pronk still-life with fruit in a silver tazza, an ornate gold or brass goblet, a gold or brass dish, a pearl necklace, medallions, a letter with a seal, two music books on a table covered with a green velvet tablecloth. There are two alto hand fluyt style recorders; one with the upper half visible, the other with the lower half. Three butterflies hover around the jumble. An identical painting auctioned in London in 1995 (see above) may represent the same work.

Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst [Bronckhorst]

Dutch painter and engraver, a minor member of the Utrecht Caravaggisti; his works include stained glass windows and organ shutters (almost the only area in a Calvinist church where figurative painting was sometimes allowed); born Utrecht (ca 1603), died Amsterdam (1661).

• Pastoral Concert (ca 1650), canvas, 130 × 178.8 cm, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). Brunswick: Herzog Ulrich Museum, Inv. No. 192. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 131); Griffioen (1988: 438–439); Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00010779 , b&w). Watched by his beasts, a shepherd reclines with his soprano duct flute (possibly a recorder) at the ready whilst four scantily clad women sing to him from an open book. That’s the life!
• Pastoral Scene, oil on canvas, 96 × 124 cm, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). St Petersburg: Hermitage, Inv. 6797. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Docmentatie, Illustration 0000216172 (2019, col.) Watched by his beasts, a shepherd reclines with his soprano duct flute (possibly a recorder) at the ready whilst four scantily clad women sing to him from an open book. Similar but not identical to the above.
• Concert (1646?), oil on canvas, 120.0 × 153.5 cm, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). London: Sotheby’s, Sale L04033, Old Master Paintings, 8 December 2004, Lot 18. Ref. Sale Catalogue (2004: 54, pl. 18, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 65303 (2010, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-532 (2023, col.) This is one of several concert groups painted by Van Bronckhorst in the 1640s in which groups of musicians and drinkers are placed behind an illusionistic balcony. The same illusionistic perspective, which indicates that these paintings were intended to be seen from below, further suggests that they may originally have formed part of the same decorative scheme. Behind a balcony, a woman tunes a lute, watched intently by two girls and a small child. A somewhat older child looks towards a young man who seems to be helping the lutenist with her tuning; in his left hand he holds a duct flute (probably a recorder), the beak, window/labium and three finger holes of which are visible.
• Flute Player, painting, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600-1661). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0000444 (2009, b&w). A man with a moustache and wearing a hat plays an alto-sized recorder with a flared bell, his music on a stand before him.
• Allegory of Autumn, oil on canvas, 100 × 76 cm, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). Wroclaw: Muzeum Narodowe, Inv. 1766. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunshistoriche Documentatie 57975 (2010, b&w). A youth in a feathered hat plays a slender pipe with a rapidly expanding bell. He is watched by a bevy of shepherds and shepherdesses who surround a rather more extravagantly dressed female figure (a personification of autumn) who reaches out for a bunch of grapes profered by small child. The pipe is not realistically drawn and no details beyond its external profile are visible.
• Shepherd, painting, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w.) A young man wearing a beret, his head inclined to his left, holds a soprano-sized baroque recorder, right hand uppermost. This is very early for a representation of a baroque-style recorder; the work is possibly not by Bronchorst at all.
• Musical Trophies, painted shutters, Jan (Gerritsz.) van Bronchorst (ca 1600–1661). Amsterdam: Nieuwe Kerk, main organ, Rugpositief, inside surface of both left- and right-hand shutters. Ref. Website: Elly Kooiman (2014, col.) An elongate trophy comprising leaves, flowers and, in the centre, two crossed recorders. Both instruments are cylindrical; their beaks appear to be metal-sleeved; their feet are flared. The two trophies are mirror images of one another. This organ dates from 1665.

Hans Brosamer [Master HB]

German wood engraver who worked chiefly for the publishing house of Egenolff in Frankfurt; born 1480, died 1554.

• Goldsmith’s Patterns, used in Ein New Kunstbüchlein, woodcut, Hans Brosamer (1480–1554). Location unknown. Ref. Geisberg-Strauss (1974: 397) ; Rasmussen (1999, Horn). “Pendants with grotesque figures half dog, half reverse-curve horn; or half human, half reverse-curve horn. The horns have broad, flat mouthpieces, for what that’s worth, which is probably not much. Each figure has an object protruding from its mouth that looks sort of like the distal end of a recorder. Each pendant also has a pellet bell. One of the human figures blows a shawm (?)” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.

Adriaen Brouwer [Brauwer, Brower]

Flemish genre painter and engraver who influenced artists in both Flanders and Holland; except for a handful of landscapes, apparently from his last years, all of Brouwer’s pictures are of subjects drawn from common life – showing peasants smoking, drinking, or brawling in taverns; quack surgeons operating on grimacing patients; and so on; the coarseness of his subjects contrasts with the delicacy of his style; born Oudenarde (1605/6), died Antwerp (1638).

• The Smokers  [Adriaen Brouwer and his Friends] (1636), oil on wood, 46.4 × 36.8 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 32.100.21. Ref. Leppert (1977: 18); Web Gallery of Art (2001). A group of reprobates drinking and smoking in a tavern seem surprised at our entrance. One of the company puts his finger to his nose as if to warn us. In a loop in the latter’s hat is a small duct flute tucked into his hat with three finger holes visible, very much like those depicted elsewhere by Brouwer and by Dusart. Formerly Michael Friedsam Collection, Amsterdam.
• Flute Player, copper, 16.5 × 13 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Brussels: Royal Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. Leppert (1977: 19). A domestic or tavern scene in which a peasant plays what may be a recorder.
• Shepherd by the Wayside (after 1635), on wood, 49 × 82 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie, No. 853. Ref. Oertel (1968: 23); Bernt (1970, 1: 200); Leppert (1977: 19). A rustic countryside scene in which a peasant plays a pipe (possibly a recorder).
• Musicians [Hearing: One of the Five Senses], wood, 24 × 20 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Munich: Alte Pinakothek, Inv. 884. Ref. Leppert (1977: 20, pl. LXXVI , b&w). A tavern scene in which five peasants sing and play violin, one with a small duct flute in his hat with three finger holes visible, very much like those depicted elsewhere by Brouwer and by Dusart.
• Musicians [Hearing: One of the Five Senses], engraving by Cornelis Visscher (ca 1619 or ?1629–1662) after Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). The Hague: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Engraving of Brouwer’s painting in the Art Gallery, Munich (Inv. 884). See above.
• Touch [One of the Five Senses: The Village Doctor Binds the Wounded Arm of a Peasant], wood, 23.6 × 20.3 cm. Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Inv. 581. Ref. Leppert (1977: 21); Postcard: Hirmer Verlag, Munich (before 1999, col.) An allegorical domestic scene in which a pipe hangs on the wall from a nail. Only six finger holes are visible and the channel at the head of the instrument is more suggestive of a rustic chalumeau than a recorder.
• Touch [One of the Five Senses: The Village Doctor Binds the Wounded Arm of a Peasant], wood, 24 × 20 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Salzburg: Residenzgalerie. Ref. Leppert (1977: 22). An allegorical domestic scene in which a duct flute (possibly a recorder, but only six finger holes are visible) is held unplayed.
• Medication of the Wound, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Vercelli: Museo Borgogna. Seated at a table, a doctor cleans a wound on the arm of a young man who sits uncomfortably on a chair, watched by a leather-hatted peasant. On the wall behind and to the right hangs a pipe with six finger holes. The beak is carved as if to take a reed and would thus seem to represent a chalumeau rather than a duct flute. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (in part).
• An Operation on the Foot, oil on panel, 25 × 26 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Frankfurt: Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie Ref. RIdM Munich (2009, Fsm 11). A man sitting on a crate lifts his foot on the table, where a barber operates. On the table are bottles of tinctures. Behind them an old crone hovers. On the wall, above the head of the barber, is a duct flute with three finger holes visible (possibly a recorder).
• Peasants Playing Music, oil on wood, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung. Ref. Höhne (1965: pl. 18 , col.) A young man plays a fiddle whilst his companions drink. One of the latter wears a small duct flute (with four finger holes showing) in his hat, very much like those depicted elsewhere by Brouwer and by Dusart.
• Tavern Scene, wood, 33.5 × 42.5 cm, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Ghent: Collection Dr Raphaël Schotte. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A crude looking peasant sitting at table is poured some ale from a pot. Opposite him, another man seems to be trying to fit his fingers to a small recorder all of the holes of which are clearly visible, including the offset little-finger hole. In the background two more peasants sit before an open fire.
• The Clarinet Player (after 1636), Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Ref. Lammertse (1928: pl. 35 , b&w). A man sits before the fire turning towards his companion who plays his ‘clarinet’. However, the latter is in reality a flared-bell recorder, the window/labium of which is quite clear. Another man behind them holds a beer mug at the ready.
• Woman with Recorder (1621–1650), engraving after Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). The Hague: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Two old men teach an elderly woman to play the recorder, all siting on a grassy bank. The men lean over watching, a stone-ware flagon handy nearby. On a stool, is a lute with a viol beside it. The woman plays left hand uppermost with her first finger lifted, and she uses three of her right-hand fingers. But below the upper hand six holes are visible, not quite in line. The window/labium is not shown. The instrument is cylindrical and of alto size.
• Musicians (1645–1706), engraving, 15.3 × 19.3 cm, after Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-1905-2920 Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). An indoor version of the above. Two men teach an elderly woman to play a cylindrical pipe, one sitting at a bench, the other standing and leaning over, his hand outstretched. On a stool is a lute and a viol leans against it and the table. The woman plays left hand uppermost with her first finger lifted, and she uses three of her right-hand fingers. But below the upper hand six holes are visible, not quite in line. The window/labium is not shown. The instrument is narrowly cylindrical and of alto size.
• Man Playing a Recorder, oil on copper laid to fiberboard and cradled, 19.3 × 13.3 cm, attributed to Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). New York: Doyles, Important English and Continental, 22 January 2003, Lot 128. Ref. Boston: Artfact (2003). Not seen.
• Man Playing a Recorder, painting, attributed to Adriaen Brouwer (1605/6–1638). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A smiling man in a beret holds a soprano-sized hand fluyt, the beak, window/labium and several finger holes clearly depicted.

Calef Brown

Contemporary Los Angeles-based illustrator. Artist’s Website.

• [Harlequin Playing a Recorder] Cover: American Recorder 32 (3): Untitled (1994), Calef Brown (contemporary). A harlequin plays a stylised recorder en plein air.

Kathleen Browne

New Zealand artist, lithographer, printmaker and a gifted art teacher at various school and colleges until 1949 when she established her own school with her future husband the artist Marian Kratochwil, (1906–1997), in Chelsea; known for her sympathetic portraits; born Christchurch, NZ (1905), died Hamstead (2007).

• Arnold Dolmetsch (1932), pencil, 19.7 × 532 cm, Kathleen Browne (1906-2007). London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG 5378.  A portrait of Arnold Dolmetsch (1858–1940), musician, instrument maker and musicologist.
• Arnold Dolmetsch (c.1935), lithograph, 37 × 26.5 cm, Kathleen Brown (1905-2007). International Art Centre, Auctioned 25 February 2-15, Lot 210. A sketch of Dolmetsch’s head.
  

Jan Brueghel (Bruegal or Brueghal) I [‘de Velours’ or ‘Velvet’ Brueghel]

Flemish painter of flower painting and still-life, beautifully detailed landscapes peopled with biblical and mythological figures some of which provided settings for numerous portraitists, including Rubens; born Brussels 1568, died Antwerp 1625; son of Pieter Brueghel I (ca 1520–1569).

• Hearing [One of the Five Senses] (1617) canvas, 65 × 107 cm, Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625) and Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Detail. Madrid: Museo del Prado. Ref. Recorder & Music 3 (10): 352, b&w (1971); Fischer (1972: 98–102, 2 pl. , b&w); Munrow (1976: cover); Leppert (1977: 23); Winternitz (1979: pl. 37a , b&w); Ember (1984: pl. 34 , b&w, detail, col.); Scheider (1994); Early Music 25 (2): 272 (1997); Sidén (2001: pl. 5, col.); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Website: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009, col.); Ausin (2009: 46–47, col.) An allegorical, still-life in a palace or house showing many instruments, including a flared bell recorder (possibly in ivory) propped up against a triangular chair and another large one (only the head of which is visible), behind a viol. On the floor between the viol and two cellos, is a case in which the feet of three wind-instruments can be seen. Since the end-bores of the latter are noticeably flared, these may represent recorders. Paintings hanging on the walls represent myths relating to music including Orpheus charming the animals with his lyre, and a concert by Apollo and the Muses. Hearing is represented as Venus playing a lute. On seven music stands placed in a circle are part-books one of which bears the title of the second book of madrigals for six voices, dedicated by the Court organist Peter Philips to the Archduke of Antwerp, for whom the painting itself was made.
• Hearing [One of the Five Senses], wood, 68.5 × 113.0 cm, Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625). Antwerp: Stuyck Collection. Ref. Leppert (1977: 25, pl. XXIV). Replica of Madrid, Prado (see above).
• The Five Senses (1617/1618), oil on canvas, 61.5 × 100.5 cm, Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625) and Hendrik I van Balen (1574–1632). Münster: Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Inv. 1692 LG. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: MÜlm-53); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). Five allegorical figures representing the senses and putti in an ideal woodland scene. Three of the putti play cornett, lute and a small cylindrical drum. On the ground lie a cello, a tenor trombone, two kits, a recorder, a violin, a dulcian, a lute, and two cornetti. The recorder lies under the trombone and is of soprano size. The fourth finger hole is covered by part of the trombone; the hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand is offset; there is a wide flange at the bell end; the window/labium is unclear, but the mouthpiece is beaked.
• The Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella Visiting a Collector’s Cabinet (ca. 1621–1623 oil on panel, 94 × 123.3 cm, Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625) & Hieronymus Francken II (1578–1623). Baltimore: The Walters Art Museum. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Wikipedia (2012, col.) This painting depicts an unknown Flemish collector, accompanied by Isabella (seated) and her husband, Albert, who stands behind. The walls are covered in paintings by Flemish artists and the numerous sculptures include the bronze Allegory of Architecture by Giambologna.The details of the painting consist of representations of the wonders of the natural world (animals, plants, and minerals), along with examples of human creativity (painting and sculpture), and attributes of the five senses. The significance of artwork within the painting such as Allegory of Iconoclasm and the painting above the mantel in which Painting is saved from Ignorance represents the idea that the arts will flourish under the rule of the archdukes. The sunflower turning toward Albert and Isabella symbolizes the way that the arts grow and blossom in the light and warmth of princely patronage. Hanging on the wall beside a table next to the doorway are two viols. On the table itself are books, a lute, an open score and a recorder, the window/labium and flared bell of are clearly depicted.It is now thought that Brueghel’s contribution to this painting was confined to the vase of flowers in the right hand corner.

Jan Brueghel (Bruegal or Brueghal) II

Flemish painter who headed a large studio with students and assistants; he produced landscapes, allegorical scenes and other works of meticulous detail; he also copied works by his father and sold them with his father’s signature, and he painted backgrounds for other artists; born Antwerp 1601, died Antwerp 1678; son of Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625).

• Hearing [One of the Five Senses], wood, 53 × 88 cm, Jan Brueghel II (1601–1678) & (attr.) Jan van Kessel I (1626–1679). Vigo: Museo Municipal “Quinones de León”. Ref. Pincherlé (1959: 79, b&w); Leppert (1977: 27). One of several pictures derived from ‘Velvet’ Brueghel’s Hearing. An allegorical still- life which shows what seems to be a portable case of flutes (used by the military), but one of the five protruding instruments has double-holes for the lowermost little finger and might thus represent a recorder. There are no recorders elsewhere in the painting, but a flute is played by one of a group of five ladies in the background. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)
• Hearing [One of the Five Senses], Jan Brueghel II (1601–1678) & attr. Jan van Kessel I (1626–1679). Madrid: Palacio  de Viana, Salón de Tobías. Ref. Leppert (1977: 29). An allegorical domestic still-life showing many instruments including horns, viols, lutes, a theorbo, a harpsichord, a straight trumpet, a cornetto, a ?flute and narowly flared pipe which has a distinct beak and may represent a recorder.
• Hearing [One of the Five Senses] (c.1645-50), oil on canvas, 57.0 × 82.5 cm,  Jan Brueghel II (1601–1678).  Geneva: Collection Diana Kreuger. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography LI-724 (2023, col.) Diana Kreuger (1920–1998) is dead and gone ; her collection was housed at Château Malvande, but has probably been dispersed, by now. An allegorical domestic still-life showing many instruments including lute viols, shawms, drum, recorder, harpsichord,  trombone, rebec, gemshorn, curved horn, coiled horn, hunting horn. There’s a similar Allegory of Smell from the same stable here, and yet another there. All three Look fake, to me
• The Sense of Hearing, oil on copper 59.3 × 90.2 cm, Jan Brueghel II (1601–1678). Vienna: Lanckoronski family; offered for sale by Bernheimer –Colnaghi (2003). One of several pictures derived from ‘Velvet’ Breughel’s Hearing. An allegorical still-life in which Venus with her back to us plays a lute, to accompany Amour’s song as they sit beside a pool in which white swans swim around an artificial island (Mt Helicon) on which the Muses play musical instruments and nymphs and shepherds disport themselves. Behind her on a sort of portico many musical instruments lie on the floor and leaning against the furniture, including viol, cello, viola da braccio, small lute, rebec, horns, sackbut, trumpet, shawm, flute, cornetto, drum, lutes and (leaning against one of the viols) a small ivory recorder with a flared bell. Hanging on the wall behind above a harpsichord are three viols of various sizes. Birds fly above, and a deer has wandered in from the garden. In the distance three women can be seen singing and playing their instruments in a hallway. The lid of the harpsichord is inscribed: SOLI/DEO GLORIA.
• The Sense of Hearing, oil on copper 58.0 × 89.4 cm, Jan Brueghel II (1601–1678). Detail. Madrid: Private Collection, acquired from Don Mariano Ordoñez by a descendant of the family. Ref. Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings Day Sale 09634, 9 July 2009, Lot 110. One of several pictures derived from ‘Velvet’ Breughel’s Hearing. An allegorical still-life in which Venus with her back to us plays a lute, to accompany Amour’s song as they sit beside a pool in which white swans swim around an artificial island (Mt Helicon) on which on which the Muses play musical instruments and nymphs and shepherds disport themselves. Behind her on a sort of portico many musical instruments lie on the floor and leaning against the furniture, including viol, cello, viola da braccio, small lute, rebec, horns, sackbut, trumpet, shawm, flute, cornetto, drum, lutes and (leaning against one of the viols) a small ivory recorder with a flared bell. Hanging on the wall behind above a harpsichord are three viols of various sizes. Birds fly above, and a deer has wandered in from the garden. In the distance three women can be seen singing and playing their instruments in a hallway. The lid of the harpsichord is inscribed: SOLI/DEO GLORIA.

Pieter (Peasant or Boeren) Brueghel (Bruegal or Brueghal) the Elder

The greatest Flemish painter of the 16th century, whose landscapes and vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life are particularly renowned; born near Breda, possibly in the village of Brueghel (ca 1525), died Brussels (1569); active in Antwerp and Brussels; father of Jan Brueghel I (1568–1625).

• A Troop of Asses Amuse Themselves with the Wares of a Sleeping Pedlar, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (ca 1520–1569). Frankfurt am Main: Historisches Museum, Inv. P98. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Fhm10). A satirical picture in which asses have borrowed the pedlar’s musical goods – a shawm, two trumpets and a recorder which one of them blows merrily.
• Didactics: The Peddlar Pillaged by Apes (1562), oil on wood, 22 × 30 cm, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (ca 1525–1569). Frankfurt am Main: Historisches Museum, Inv. P 98; New York: Metropolitan Art Museum. Ref. Klein (1963: 153–154, pl. 33); Lavalleye (1967: no. 38); Munich RIdIM (1999: Fhm 10); Goulaki-Voutira et al. (2003, col.); Rasmussen (2007, Drum: 9). A variant on the above. Here monkeys play with Pedlar’s wares while he sleeps. which include mirrors, gloves, purses, knives, scissors, hobby horses, jews harps, a tabor and a flared-bell recorder (with the window/labium clearly shown). One monkey, annoyed by his lack of success, attempts to play the bagpipes. The monkey who has picked the recorder is more successful; he sits up a tree tooting away happily. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Triumph of Death (1562–1563), panel, 117 × 162 cm, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (ca 1525–1569). Madrid: Museo del Prado, Inv. 1393. Ref. Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 99, col.); Ember (1984: 27, pl. b&w; detail, pl., col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1920 (2023, col.) The skeleton figure of Death practices innumerable methods of killing. In the lower right corner a buxom young woman sings from a musical score, while a seated knight turning toward her accompanies her on the lute. Behind this small island of youth, beauty and harmony in the midst of a destructive raging storm, Death stands bowing an irregularly shaped viol as if it were a viola da braccio. Before the lovers, a pipe (possibly a recorder, given the seven finger holes) lies across an appropriately black case holding other recorders. “So … erotic love and harmony (? marriage) between two people are cut short, crossed out, by death” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.)
• Every Peddlar Praises his own Merchandise, engraving, oval, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (ca 1525–1569). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale. Ref. Mirimonde (1977: 61, pl. 24). One of 12 proverbs engraved by Brueghel. A peddlar sits on the end of a bench displaying his merchandise in a basket. There are jews harps and whistles, one of which gives every appearance of being a recorder with holes for seven fingers. His prospect sits beside him, a huge giant of a man literally bursting at the seams, his hat askew.

Pieter Brueghel (Bruegal or Brueghal) III

Flemish painter known primarily as a copyist; born Antwerp 1589, died ? 1640; son of Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638).

• Every Peddlar Praises his own Merchandise, wood, circular, 17 cm diam., Pieter Brueghel III (1589–? 1640). Antwerp: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 827/6. Ref. Leppert (1977: 30 & pl. 78, b&w). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb which shows a merchant with a basket of seven duct flutes for sale each of which appears to have but five finger holes.
• ‘iedere koopman prijst zijn eigen waar [Every Peddlar Praises his own Merchandise], wood, circular, Pieter Brueghel III (1589–? 1640). Location unknown; auctioned by Christie’s, Amsterdam (December 1987), No. 136. Ref. STIMU (1993: fig. 17); Archiv Moeck. Beside the peddlar a peasant leans against a tree with a recorder stuck most suggestively in the fly of his pants.

Andreas Brugger

German painter and frescoist who studied in Vienna with Baroque artist Franz Anton Maulbertsch (1724–1796), also from Langenargen; his work includes ecclesiastical and secular subjects;  born Kressbronn am Bodensee (1737), died Langenargen (1812).

• Flute Player (c.1770), oil on canvas, Andreas Brugger (1737–1812). Langenargen: Museum Langenargen. Ref. Fulbourne: Walter Bergmann Slide WB 42 (b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002): Websites: Alamy, Image ID  B14PYF (2006, col., reversed);  Superstock, Image 4430-2549 (2024, col., reversed). A boy plays a slender cylindrical recorder (right hand uppermost) with a turned bead just below the beak and a very slight bell flare. Bergmann’s notes (loc. cit.) give no details other than the artist’s name.

Hendrick ter Brugghen = Hendrick Terbrugghen

Albert van der Brulle (Flemish) & Gaspare Gatti (Italian, Bergamo)

• Scenes from the Life of St Benedict (1594–1598), carved & painted wood-relief, Albert van der Brulle (Flemish) & Gaspare Gatti (Italian, Bergamo). Venice: San Giorgio Maggiore, choir stalls. A rural scene in which a shepherd stands playing a pipe (possibly a recorder). Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)

Dick Bruna

Dutch book illustrator who has created a number of popular characters, amongst them the brave little dog Snuffy, the friendly lady pig Poppy, the bears Boris and Barbara, and the white bunny Miffy; born Utrecht (1937). Website.

• Postcard (1984), 115 × 150 mm, Dick Bruna (1937–). Ref. Art Unlimted, Amsterdam (DB 020). A stylised child plays a cylindrical duct flute, probably a recorder.

Domenico Brusasorci [Riccio, del Riccio, ‘Il Brusasorzi’]

Italian painter who belonged to the avant-garde of Veronese artists in the generation before Paolo Veronese; born Verona (1516), died 1567; son of the painter Agostino Riccio, by whom no works are known; father of Felice, Giovanni Battista (born ca 1544) and Cecilia (1549–p. 1593) who were also painters.

• Portrait of a Musician (1547), Domenico Brusasorci (1516–1567). Verona: Museo di Castelvecchio, Inv. 320 ? or 329. Ref. Salmen (1976: 128–129, fig. , b&w); Paganuzzi & Brugnoli  (1976: 134, fig. 78, b&w); Villa I Tatti ML290.8 V47 & ML85 M87; Torre (1994); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Morelli (2001); Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003); Morgante (2016). A man with a ruff and lace cuffs sits at a table, his left hand leaning over a musical manuscript in front of which lies a cylindrical pipe (possibly a tenor transverse flute) on which six finger holes are clearly visible but the two ends of which are out of frame. Behind the subject a bass viol leans against a wall. To his left, is a painting of a concert in which musicians seated around a table sing and play their instruments: two appear to be playing recorders, and two or three play viols. Salmen (loc. cit.) suggests that the score in the foreground is a madrigal or canzone da sonar, and that the subject was a member of the Accademia Filarmonica of Verona, possibly Bartolomeo Carteri or Giovanni Nasco. Morgante (loc. cit.) has suggested that the subject is the Franco-Flemish composer  Jacquet de Berchem (ca 1505– a. 1567)  who was active in Verona from 1546. Zaniol (loc. cit.) comments that the presence in the consort of singers seems to exclude that pure instrumental music (like a canzone da sonar) is being performed: more probably it is a madrigal, performed by a mixed ensemble, a quite common practice in those days. Torre (loc cit.) reports a similar anonymous portrait in the Fenaroli-Avogadro private collection in Brescia  in which a bearded man, depicted half-length, is holding in his right hand the bassus part from Occhi leggiadri, amorosetti, et gravi from the first book of four-part madrigals by composer Oste da Reggio (Venice, 1547), and in his right hand a recorder with a slightly flared bell.

Felice Brusasorci [Brusarzorzi, Riccio]

Italian Renaissance painter/draughtsman known for his church paintings and portraits; born Verona (1539/1540), died Verona 1605; son of painter Domenico Brusasorci (1516–1567).

• Angel Musicians, workshop of Felice Brusasorci (1516–1567). Trento: Quadreria del Convento dei Frati Cappuccini. Ref. Website: Bruce Dickey: Cornetto Iconography (2015, col.) Four angel musicians seem to have fallen out. On the left, one holds a cornetto, the other a viol; on the right one holds a lute, the other an outsized tenor recorder which is entirely cylindrical apart from a brief flare at the foot. Details of the beak, window/labium and six fingerholes are clearly depicted but the lowermost seems to be covered by the player’s hand. Naturally, the recorder player seems to be the source of the trouble, pointing to her chest and staring at the cornettist. The latter stands with her hand holding her instrument at her hip whilst gesturing with the other, palm up and outstretched.

Bartholomäus [Barthel] Bruyn the Elder

German painter active in Cologne; his portraits, which are grimly realistic representations of non-aristocratic sitters; he also painted altarpieces; born 1493, died 1555.

• Virgin and Child with Saints Margaret and Dorothea, Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder (1493–1555). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, WAF 155. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 110). The Virgin holds the Christ-child. On her left, Saint Margaret reads from an illustrated book; on the right, St Dorothea hands Mary a ball for the Child to play with. Behind them musicians play instruments including lute, fiddle and a cylindrical duct flute of which the window/labium is clear, but no finger holes are visible above or below the player’s hand. The bell end is hidden by St Margaret’s hair. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Nativity (1522–1525), oak panel, 234.5 × 152 cm, Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder (1493–1555). Essen: Stifskirche. Ref. Wallraf-Richartz Jahrbuch 28 (1966: 23); Wallraf-Richartz Jahrbuch 35 (1973); Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Website: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009, col.) Watched by shepherds and townsfolk, Mary, Joseph, an angel and one of the Three Kings workshop the Christ child with the assistance of angels who sing and play flute and recorder. The most prominent angel has a large pellet bell hanging from its robe. Above, putti play lutes and fiddle. “[The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum] considers this work a compilation of various sources, and the angels above from a drawing attr. Jan Joest van Kalkar [St Petersburg Hermitage] [before 1516]. In fact the St Petersburg drawing may be the source for the angel in the right foreground and two of the angels behind the Christ-child, but the upper left angels and the Virgin in the Joest drawing more resemble the angels in Bruyn’s Frankfurt Nativity. The greater distance from the Joest [note especially the right foreground angel] indicates that this is the later [ie later than the Frankfurt Nativity])” (Rasmussen loc. cit.)

Nicolaes de Bruyn

Flemish engraver, painter and dealer; born Antwerp (1571), died Rotterdam (1656); son of engraver and publisher Abraham de Bruyn (1540–1587), brother of Abraham de Bruyn (1540–1587), the engraver and editor.

• The Prodigal Son Wastes his Inheritance (1651–1656), engraving on paper, 26.7 × 20.0 cm, Nicolaes de Bruyn (1571–1656). Amsterdam: Rijkmuseum. A company of men and women are seated around a table with fruit. A lady holds a fiddle, a man behind the others holds a slender pipe which looks like a mute cornett but could be a recorder, given the presence of a vent for the little finger of the lower hand, not to mention the subject. A caption reads Et venere et Baccho bona Decoquit omnia natus. The title refers  to Luke 15: 11–32.

Gustaaf Christiaan de Bruyne

Belgian painter, draftsman, engraver; initially his work was realistic but he increasingly adopted the Symbolist-Pessimistic style and the theme of the man who is blind to his own self-destruction occurs frequently; born Mechelen (1914), died Poederlee (1981).

• Flute Player (1950), etching on paper, 17.2 × 23.7 cm, Gustaaf Christiaan de Bruyne (1914–1981). Antwerp: Stedelijk Prentenkabinet Antwerpen, Inv. K.MP.21759; Eindhoven: Museum Toont. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 319230 (b&w). Leaning against a tree, one clog on, the other off, a man sits on a grassy knoll playing a cylindrical recorder. The head-joint appears to be of a different material to the body of the instrument, and all fingers of the lowermost (left) hand are covering their holes. Behind him, a crowd of people enjoy the park horse riding, dancing, talking, and listening to the music. Beside the recorder player are a jug, a small bowl and what looks like the remains of a meal. On the branch of a tree in the distance is an owl.

Jan Theodor de Bry – see Hans Sebald Beham, Johann Theodor de Bry (1561–1623), Pieter van der Heyden (ca 1530 – p.1572), Hieronymous/Jerome Bosch (ca 1450-1516), and Francesco Villamena

Flemish publisher, engraver, goldsmith & editor who traveled widely from his birthplace in Liège to Strasbourg, Antwerp, London and Frankfurt; well known for his illustrations of various European explorations; born Liège (1561), died 1623.

• [Fistula] (1617–1624), print (engraving) on paper, Theodore de Bry (1561–1623). From Robert Fludd’s Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia … [Tractatus secundus de naturae simia seu technica macrocosmi historia], printed in Oppenheim by Hieronymus Galler. London: Wellcome Collection. Ref. Godwin (1973b:12); Darmstädter & Brown (2006: 51 & fig. 7). Page 92 depicts a recorder with a conical profile and a markedly flared, Ganassi-style bell. However, it has only six finger holes and a thumbhole. Although Fludd clearly had a recorder in mind (see below)  but he has twisted the facts to suit his absurd thesis concerning the divine message hidden in the number three manifested throughout the universe.  The recorder is interesting in that it’s window is without sidewalls, like those depicted in Francesco del Cossa’s April or The Triumph of Venus (1470), and in the anonymous Introductio gescriben uf pfifen, written out for the 15-year-old Bonifacius Amerbach (c. 1510). Such instruments continue to be represented in art well into the eighteenth century.
• [Wind Instruments] (1617–1624), print (engraving) on paper, Theodore de Bry (1561–1623). Dresden: Sachsiche Landesbibliothek, Staats und Universitãtsbibliothek, Inv. 1.B.3237, page 242; London: Wellcome Collection. Ref. Godwin (1973a: 4-5 & fig.) From Robert Fludd’s De Naturae Simia seu Technica macrocosmi historia Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia: Tomus 1, De macrocosmi historia , printed in Oppenheim by Hieronymus Galler (1617), and again in Frankfurt by Kaspar Rötel (1624). Depicts a clearly depicted renaissance-style recorder identical to the above but with holes for seven fingers and a thumbhole, a sigmoid horn, a shawm, a bagpipe, an organetto, a folded trumpet, and a curved signal horn; with an explanatory text, in Latin. The recorder is interesting in that it’s window is without sidewalls, like those depicted in Francesco del Cossa’s April or The Triumph of Venus (1470), and in the anonymous Introductio gescriben uf pfifen, written out for the 15-year-old Bonifacius Amerbach (c. 1510). Such instruments continue to be represented in art well into the eighteenth century.

Jonás Bubenka

Hungarian wood-engraver; born Ochtiná (ca 1650), died Levo (ca 1705) – see Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

Antonio Bueno

German-born artist active in Italy; his drawings, lithographs and paintings are characterised by an elegant irony; his subjects include portraits of sailors and joyous people and re-readings of famous portraits by others; born Berlin (1918), died Florence (1984).

• Concertino (1974), Antonio Bueno (1918–1984). Ref. Antonio Bueno Gallery: Fine Art Poster (2001). A girl with a shock of bright orange hair plays a violin; another plays a slender slightly conical pipe, possibly a recorder.
• Concertino (1979), oil on canvas, 45 × 55 cm, Antonio Bueno (1918–1984). Ref. International Fine Art Brokers (2001). A girl with orange hair plays the flute; another plays a somewhat stylised recorder the beak, window/labium and several finger holes clearly visible as well as the contraction just before the foot.
• Concerto (1979), oil on fibreboard, 49.8 × 70 cm, Antonio Bueno (1918–1984). Location unknown: auctioned Christie’s, Milan: Monday, 24 November, 2008, Lot 204. Ref. Website: Artnet (2009). Two girls play cello and a flared-bell pipe, possibly a recorder. Several finger holes and what appears to be a window-labium are visible.

Bartolomeo Bulgarini [Bartolomeo Bolgarini, Master of the Ovile Madonna, ‘Ugolino Lorenzetti’]

Italian artist, the most prominent Sienese artist from the 1348 plague until his death; (fl. 1320 – m.1378); formerly recognized as Master of Ovile Madonna, and Ugolino Lorenzetti (a name invented by Berenson in 1917)

• Assumption of the Virgin (1320–1378), panel painting, 205 × 112 cm, Bartolomeo Bulgarini (fl. 1320–m.1378). Siena: Pinacoteca Nazionale, Inv. No. 61. Ref. Foto Grassi; Brown (1985: #316, b&w); Beenken (1928/9: 75); Berenson (1968, 1: 436); Carli (1981: 218, fig. 252); Wald (1923: passim, fig. 30); Marle (1975, 2: 330, fig. 216); Torriti (1977: 138f, pls 142–143); van Os (1969: passim); Brown (1985: 316); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Wikimedia Commons (2011, col.) A typically Siennese ring of angel musicians, many singing and playing instruments. Brown (loc. cit.) attempts to identify all 16 instruments, including ‘recorder(?)’. The instruments include drum, gittern, harp, shawm, portative organ, psaltery (played with a quill), ? rebec and, at bottom (as in later versions), a double pipe on the left and, facing from right, a single pipe. This latter is of soprano size and cylindrical (possibly with a very slight flare). The player’s left hand is uppermost, but the right hand is very close to it, so 4 finger holes (perhaps 5) are visible – the fingers could hide another, and there is a clear little finger hole offset to the left. The painting is very rubbed (probably never restored) so it is uncertain whether a mark to the bottom right of the instrument is the corresponding little-finger hole. There is no clear evidence of a window/labium which could be confused within the gold of the angel’s halo. The angel player has relaxed lips. There is a striking similarity between this painting, an Anonymous Sienese Assumption in Munich (ca 1340) and another in Berlin (dated early 15th century, possibly in error).

Niccolò di Buonaccorso

Italian painter of religious pieces, including the capello, presumably the baldacchino, over the high altar of Siena Cathedral; fl. ca 1348, died Siena (1388); presumed to have been the son of the painter Buonaccorso di Pace (fl. ca 1348–ca 1362).

• Coronation of the Virgin (1380), tempera on wood, gold ground, 44.8 × 26.7 cm, Niccolò di Buonaccorso (fl. ca 1348-–388). New York: Metropolitan Museum, Inv. 1975.1.21. Ref. Brown (1986: #379, b&w); Wikimedia Commons (2012, col.) Supported by a ring of hovering red baby angel heads, Mary is crowned by Christ. The central ring is surrounded in turn by a ring of golden angels with halos, six of whom play musical instruments: double pipe, organetto, lute, gittern, fiddle and a small ambiguous pipe. Above them all are two arcs, one formed by golden winged angel heads, the other by grey seraphim. The little pipe is slender and held in both hands; several holes are visible; and the foot seems somewhat wider than the body. It may or may represent a duct flute. This richly decorated Coronation of the Virgin corresponds in style, size, and framing to two other panels also depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin now in the Uffizi, Florence and the National Gallery, London which formed a polyptych which may have been produced for the Spedale of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence.

Francesco Buoneri = Francesco Boneri (called Cecco del Caravaggio)

Allessandro Buone (op. early 16th century), Italian

• Dormition of the Virgin (ca 1505), attributed to Allessandro Buone (op. early 16th century). Naples: Museo e Galleria Nazionali de Capodimonte, Inv. Q705. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Angels play two lutes, three fiddles, a small drum and three recorders. Two of the latter, in tenor size, are seen in full. The lower half of the third is hidden, but is probably also of tenor length. All have a clear window/labium, and a long mouthpiece. They are mainly cylindrical, but there is some slight outward conicity and some gradual bell flare. The recorder on the left is played left hand uppermost; that at the right, right hand uppermost. All fingers are down, including the lowermost little finger. The recorder at the left seems to have a metal (? brass) ring between the hands; that at the right has a longer bell-flare.

Hendrik van der Burch [Borcht, Borgt, Burgh]

Dutch painter of genre scenes who developed an interest in the expressive use of highly ordered, geometric space and sophisticated lighting effects, often employing a view to an adjoining space through a doorway or window, possibly in imitation of his brother-in-law, Pieter de Hooch; born Naaldwijk, near Delft (1627), died after 1666.

• A Musical Party (1650–1665), oil on canvas, 69 × 89 cm, Hendrik van der Burch (1627–p. 1666). Salt Lake City: Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Acc. 1994.017.013. Ref. Valentiner (1929: 249; 1930: 249); Griffioen (1988: 440–441, attributed to Pieter de Hooch); Utah Museum of Fine Arts (2000). Formerly attributed to a follower of Pieter de Hooch. Leaning across a table, a man holds a small, flared-bell recorder whilst a woman before him sings from music held across her lap, one hand raised as if to halt the performance. Beside her, a man raises a drinking glass. A couple make pleasant conversation in the background, and a youth stands listening at an open door, through which garden is visible.

Hans Burgmair (or Burgkmair), the Elder

German painter and woodcut designer and draughtsman, one of the first German artists to show the influence of the Italian Renaissance; he is best known for his designs for about half of the woodcuts in Maximilian’s Triumphal Procession during ca. 1514 to 1518, and for the woodcuts illustrating Luther’s translation of the New Testament, published in Augsburg in 1523; born Augsburg (ca 1473), died Augsburg (ca 1531).

• All Saints Altar/Rosary Altar: Virgin and Saint and Musical Angels (1507), oil on panel, 169.8 × 129.8 cm, Hans Burgmair (ca 1473–ca 1531). Detail. Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv. 5325. Ref. Kinsky et al. (1930: 53, no. 1, as Coronation of Mary); Peter (1958: 43, as Coronation of Mary); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Munich RIdIM Mstag – 111 (2013, b&w). The central panel of a folding triptych. Mary and Christ sit (both crowned) on a throne. To the left, angels play fiddle and tambourine; to the right, angels play harp and duct flute (probably a recorder) of which only the upper part (mouthpiece and window/labium, but no finger holes) is visible. Beneath Christ and Mary are Saints in two fields, each group above a nimbus. In the side panels, other saints are in groups (apostles, church fathers, knights, etc.). In the first field of the right wing David plays a harp.
• Maximilian with his Musicians, woodcut, from Der Weisskunig (1505–1516), Hans Burgmair (ca 1473– ca 1531). Vienna: Die Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS coll. no. 3032. Ref. Wangermée (1968: 215, pl. 80); Cuyler (1973: pl. 2); Munrow (1976: 37). Maximilian is surrounded by musicians practicing cornett, clavichord, organ, harp. On a table at the lower right lie a flute, a crumhorn, a small shawm and soprano and two alto recorders. A tromba marina, a sackbut and kettle drums lie scattered on the floor.
• Das Weisskunigs Erfahrung in Mummerei [The White King’s Introduction to Mummery] (1514–1516), woodcut, 23.5 × 20.0 cm, Hans Burgmair (ca 1473–a. 1531). Vienna: Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS Collection, no. 3032; Washington DC.: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, 0306/M. Ref. Wangermée (1968: 63, pl. 62); Jan Lancaster ex Robert Bigio (pers. comm., 2007). Printed in the 18th century from the original wood blocks of 1514–1516, this was intended as an illustration for the Weisskunig, an ‘allegorical autobiography’ of the Emperor Maximilian in which he appeared as the ‘White King’. It was not published until 1775. The text was actually ghost-written by Marx Treitzsaurerwein, privy secretary of Maximilian, who followed the plan and information provided by the Emperor. Eight ladies sit at a table arranged for dinner, amongst them Mary of Burgundy. In front of them stands King Maximillian reviewing a contingent of mummers dressed as soldiers with bird masks. At the side stand three musicians, two flautists and a drummer. On a table in front of the musicians are two recorders, lute, crumhorn and other instruments. The body and foot of one of the recorders and body of the other is hidden behind the drum.
• The Emperor Maximilian’s Triumphal Procession: Musica süeß Meledey (1516–1519), woodcut, Hans Burgmair (ca 1473–ca 1531). Ref. Peter (1958: 43); Myers et al. (2005: 49–53). The 26th of 137 woodcuts with an accompanying text, executed according to a program dictated by the Emperor himself in 1512. “… the recorder is seen in combination with all the instruments which help to embody ‘the sweet melody of music’: gambas, lutes, harp, fidula, kettle drum and bombards” (Peter, loc. cit.) Myers (loc. cit.) notes that this plate includes pipe and tabor, large and small lutes,viol, fiddle or vielle, small reed-pipe, harp and large reed-pipe, with no mention of a recorder. Myers also notes the existence of a largely complete set of miniatures painted on vellum prior to the cutting of the woodblock (Österreichische: Nationalbilbiothek Cod. 2835) and a contemporaneous copy of the complete series, also on vellum (Österreichische: Nationalbibliothek, Min. 778). The present image is found on leaf 11 of the miniatures. There is no recorder to be seen!
• St Luke Painting the Virgin (1507), woodcut, Hans Burgmair (ca 1473–ca 1531). Detail. Ref. Hollstein (1959, 5: 76); Geisberg & Strauss (1974: G.454, p. 426); Bartsch (1843–1876, 2: 24/30; 7: 209/24); Burkhardt (1932: pl. X); Exhibition: Berlin, KsK, Hans Burgmair (1974, cat. no. 1: 65); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). The Virgin and Child are seated in a pillared archway in front of the artist at his easel. Behind them, two angels play lute and duct flute, both only partly visible.
• The Seven Planets (series): Mercury, Hans Burgmair (ca 1473–ca 1531). Ref. Bartsch (1854–1870, 7: 215.46). Mercury holds his caduceus and a purse in one hand, and in the other a cylindrical pipe with a very slightly flared foot (no window/labium or finger holes are visible) which he plays one-handed. At his feet are a cock, a young woman and two putti.

Ludovico Ottavino Burnacini

Italian architect, and theatrical stage and costume designer, who served the imperial court in Vienna from 1652, considered one of the most important “theater engineers” in baroque Europe and was a master of drawing; born ?Venice (1636), died Vienna) (1707).

• L’Euleo festeggiante nel Ritorno d’Alessandro Magno dall’ Indie (1699), engraving by Johann Ulrich Krauss (1655–1719) after a copy b S.M. C. of a drawing by Ludovico Ottavino Burnacini (1636–1707). Osterreichischer Nationalbiblioteque, Inv. NB 607837 – C POR MAG. Ref. Sommer-Mathis (2006: 360, fig. 2); Lasocki (2020, in press). Bononcini’s open-air serenata L’Euleo festeggiante nel Ritorno d’Alessandro Magno dall’ Indie  was performed in Frankfurt for Crown Prince Joseph’s birthday with no fewer than 150 musicians, presumably including some from the town as well as the Court. This engraving, after a drawing by Ludovico Ottavio Burnacini, depicts at least 110 musicians divided into two groups, including more than 50 winds. The lower winds include two columnar bass wind instruments played with bocals which are clearly seen. These are possibly bass recorders since there seems to be some attempt to show the windows characteristic of recorders but, if so, their players must have felt like spare pricks at a wedding. The many other wind instruments are decidedly generic.

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones [original name Edward Coley Burne Jones], 1st Baronet

One of the leading painters and designers of late 19th-century England, whose dreamlike, romanticised paintings using medieval imagery were among the last manifestations of the Pre-Raphaelite style; born Birmingham (1833), died London (1898).

• The Golden Stairs (1872–1880), oil on canvas, 268 × 117 cm, Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833–1898). London: Tate Gallery, N04005. Ref. Reid (1969: 87, b&w); Website: Tate Gallery (1999); Ausoni (2009: 171, col.) The title was inspired by a passage in Canto 21 of Dante’s Paradiso. In Paradise, a host of blessed souls (scantily clad women) descend a golden spiral staircase that appears to have no end. Whilst their bodies are all identical, based on that of Antonia Caiva (a favourite model of the Pre-Raphaelite painters), the maiden’s faces reproduce the features of the painter’s daughters and the daughters of his friends. Some hold instruments, including straight trumpets, crotales, vielle; two at the top of the stairs hold ambiguous pipes, and one near the bottom of the stairs has what looks like a double pipe.
• Angel Playing a Flageolet (ca 1878), tempera & gold paint on paper, 74.9 × 61.2 cm, Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833–1898). Liverpool: Sudley House, Entrance Hall, Inv. WAG 192. A decidedly female angel with a floral wreath and wearing a pinkish smock plays a slender pipe with a very widely flared bell, right hand uppermost. Since the little finger of the lowermost hand is so obviously covering its hole, this could be interpreted as a recorder rather than a flageolet. But the instrument is, of course, quite fanciful. This painting is often reproduced in Christmas cards. The artist retained this work in his own studio for ten years before parting with it
• The Angel (1881), Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833–1898). Glasgow: Art Gallery and Museum. A decidedly female angel wearing a blue-grey smock plays a slender pipe with a very widely flared bell, left hand uppermost. Since the little finger of the lowermost hand is so obviously covering its hole, this could be interpreted as a recorder rather than a flageolet. But the instrument is, of course, quite fanciful. This painting is often reproduced in Christmas cards.
• Angel of the Trumpet, Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833–1898). ? Location. A decidedly female angel wearing a red smock and red wings plays a slender pipe with a very widely flared bell, right hand uppermost. Since the little finger of the lowermost hand is so obviously covering its hole, this could be interpreted as a recorder rather than a flageolet. But the instrument is, of course, quite fanciful.

Edward Francis [Francisco, Francesco] Burney

English painter and book illustrator; amongst the latter was an edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost;  he painted portraits and four large watercolours satirising contemporary musical and social life; nephew of musicologist Charles Burney (1726-1814).

• Rees’ Cyclopedia: Plate XI, Musical Instruments (p.1824), engraving after Edward Burney (1760–1848).  At the bottom it bears the imprint “Published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, Paternoster Row. The last-mentioned partner didn’t join the firm until 1824. Whilst the text of the entries on Music were written by Charles Burney (1726-1814) the plates were largely the work of his nephew, Edward. Plate XI depicts the following instruments: English Common Flute (a perfectly depicted baroque recorder), German flute, improved German flute, two hautboys (oboes), two fifes (one keyed), English flageolet, gong, tabor pipe & drum with beater. The English flageolet is a slender recorder with a narrowly pyriform windcap that holds a sponge.  Rees’s Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature was an important 19th-century British encyclopædia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minister and scholar who had edited previous editions of Chambers’s Cyclopædia.

Gian Antonio Burrini

Italian painter; among the most original and gifted Bolognese painters of his time; his Baroque style was colourfully dramatic, impetuous and passionate; born Bologna (1656), died Bologna 1727.

• Hermione Amongst the Shepherds (1690), Gian Antonio Burrini (1656–1727). Detail. Bologna: Pinacoteca Nazionale. Three shepherds with bagpipes, shawm (small with clear bell-hole below fingers), and soprano recorder looking very hand-made, but with clear window/labium, lower holes, and flared bell with Virdung-style decoration. This shepherd is not actually playing: he holds the recorder in his left hand. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)

Antonio Busca

Italian painter of religious subjects, active principally in Lombardy; much afflicted with the gout, he appears to have been unable to undertake anything with vigor and many of his works were left unfinished; born and died Milan (1625–1686).

• Musical Angels, ceiling fresco, Antonio Busca (1625–1686). Milan: Sacro Monte di Orta, Ventesima Cappella. The Sacro Monte di Orta consists of 20 chapels with figures in natural terracotta walls and frescoes, the 21st chapel is unfinished. Construction work began in 1591 and continued until the 18th century. In the Ventesima Capella the frescoes are the work of Busca. A host of musical angels sing and play straight trumpets, lute, colascione, syrinx, cello, harp, violin, organ, and two flared-bell pipes. One of the latter appears to be a slender shawm or oboe; the other may be a recorder.

Carlo Antonio Busi

Swiss painter of church interiors; born Bissone (1658), died Vöcklabruck  (1690); son-in-law of painter Carpoforo Tencalla (1623–1685).

• St Cecilia at the Organ with Musical Angels (1697/8), fresco, Carlo Antonio Busi (1658–1690). Detail. Passau: Dom St Stephan; ceiling beneath the organ loft. St Cecilia at the organ is surrounded by musical putti and angels. singing and playing harp, violin, lute, theorbo, double-bass, tambourine and a cylindrical duct flute, probably a recorder. The window/labium of the recorder is clearly depicted and the instrument is played right-hand uppermost.

Giovanni Busi, called Il Cariani

Italian painter whose style was deeply influenced by that of Sebastiano del Piombo but later created a style close to that of his fellow Bergamesque, Palma Vecchio; born San Giovanni Bianco, near Fuipiano al Brembo (ca 1485), died Venice (p. 1547).

• Concert Champêtre, (ca 1517), oil on canvas, 88 × 13 cm Giovanni Busi (ca 1485– p. 1547). Warsaw: Muzeum Narodowe, Accn. M.Ob.954. Ref. ? author, Arte Veneta (1969: 22); Rowland-Jones (1997c: 13); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2016, col.) A semi-nude reclines whilst she is entertained by two young lads playing flared-bell recorders – encouraged by a nun! A small dog lies sleeping next to the young woman.
• Concert Champêtre, Giovanni Busi (ca 1485–p. 1547). Paris: Private Collection. Ref. Guidobaldi (1995: 323, fig. 4). A man seated beneath a tree plays a lira da braccio opposite two seated women, one of whom holds a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in her right hand.
• Allegory of a Venetian Victory, 120 × 204 cm, Giovanni Busi (ca 1485–p. 1547). Rome: Mario Lanfranci. A mother plays with her baby in the foreground. Behind her a young woman plays a viola de braccio; to the left of the picture another plays a pipe, probably a recorder.
• St Gotthard Altarpiece: Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Saints (1517–1521), oil on panel, 270 × 210 cm, Giovanni Busi (ca 1485–p. 1547). Detail. Milan: Pinacoteca di Brera. Ref. Gregori et al. (1991: 106, pl. 44, col.; 242, fig. A , b&w); Paulo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Mary, the Christ-child on her lap, sits enthroned surrounded by Saints Apolloinia, Agostino, Caterina, Giuseppe, Grata, Filippo, Benizzi and Barbara (or Adleida). “A group of angel heads emerge from a windy cloud at the top left and also, nearer the top of the cloud, four angel-putti musicians, one with a rebec and three with ? recorders of three different lengths (soprano/alto, alto, tenor). All played left hand lowermost, the window/labium just clear on each, although the alto (in the centre) is played in a rather vertical position (he is shown in profile). No finger holes are visible. The two smaller instruments have a bell flare, the tenor little or none” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 2000)
• Adoration of the Shepherds (1515–1517), oil on panel, 73.6 × 120.3 cm, Giovanni Busi (ca 1485–p. 1547). Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: Royal Collection, Inv. RCIN 402846. On a hillside overlooking a bay, the shepherds (an old man, a young man and a child) pay homage to the Holy Child. The youngest shepherd holds a small bow and a recorder, presumably as presents for the infant. Two angels hover in the background.

Ludolph Büsinck

German painter and printmaker who was instrumental in popularising the chiaroscuro woodcut in Paris, where he worked from 1623–1630; many of his prints from this period – all bar two after Lallemand – utilise this technique; born Hahn (1590s), died Münden (1669).

• The Procuress (ca 1620), chiaroscuro woodcut in three blocks (black line and two brown tone) block: 22.10 × 34.2 cm, sheet: 22.3 × 34.4 cm, after a design by Georges Lallemand (French, ca 1575–1636), by Ludolph Büsinck (1590s–1669). Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, Boston (MFA), Coburg, Dresden, London (BM), Munich, New York (MM), New York (NYPL), Paris (BN), Paris (IN), Philadelphia, Rotterdam, Vienna, Warsaw. Ref. Stechow (1939: No. 24; SC. 96); Archiv Moeck; Exhibition: French Prints from the Age of the Musketeers, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Oct. 21, 1998-Jan. 10, 1999; Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A procuress introduces her charge to a client who offers the lass a slender, flared-bell duct flute (probably a recorder), held upside down, and points to the music in his lap. The image of the old woman is believed to be based on a sketch by Jacques Bellange (1575–1616). Georges Lallemand was born in Nancy in the late 1590s and later taught Nicolas Poussin; died in Paris ca 1640.

Abraham Büsschop [Busschop, Bisschop]

Dutch artist active in Middelburg; born 1670, died 1731.

• Decorated organ shutters (1711), Abraham Büsschop (1670–1731). Goes: Grote Kerck, “Mary Magdalenen”. Ref. Zanten (1999: 217–223); Nieuwkoop (1997: 126–130); Jan Bouterse to Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). The organ case dates from the 17th century. Willem Diaken or Daeikens was the maker of the instrument (1641–1643) which was much changed by Jacob Cools when it was extended and the case enlarged. New ornaments were added and the shutters were painted by Büsschop in 1711. The instrument was restored in 1970 by Marcussen & Son (Denmark). A unique feature of this organ is the baldachino, which was probably made in the 17th century but changed with the addition of new ornaments in 1739. The inner surface of the shutters of the lower organ are decorated with musicians singing and playing instruments, including viol, harp, cornett, shawm and recorder. On the left of the lower right-hand shutter a woman plays a baroque recorder left-hand uppermost. On the left of centre of the left-hand shutter, a woman holds what looks like a recorder over her shoulder – only the foot (with a bulbous joint) and body are visible.

Bustino – see Benedetto Crespi

Charles Buteux le Jeune

French painter of porcelain, including Sèvres (from 1756) and Meissen tableware; he specialized in trophies, although he also executed other kinds of decoration, such as landscapes, cherubs, and various border patterns; born 1719, died 1782.

• Trophy with Musical Instruments (1766), Sèvres porcelain plate, 27.5 × 7.5 cm, Charles Buteux le Jeune (1719–1782). Antwerp: Museum Smidt van Gelder, Inv. Sm 28. A diamond-shaped decorated plate with a central oval containing a trophy with a baroque oboe and a recorder crossed with a lyre, walking sticks and flowers across an open score.
• Gobelet litron et soucoupe (1765), Sèvres porcelain cup & saucer painted in enamels & gilded, 6.9 × 9.5 × 7 cm, Charles Buteux le Jeune (1719–1782). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, C.2 & A-X. There is a musical trophy on the front of the cup and a gardening trophy in the centre of the saucer. The front of the cup is painted in polychrome with a trophy comprising a guitar tied with a bow of dark pink ribbon, a baroque recorder, and an oboe, an arrow, a shepherd’s crook (houlette)  decked with a dark pink ribbon and garland of leaves, surrounded by a chased gold frame of approximately three-quarters of a circle tooled panels of trellis alternating with smaller plain areas. The centre of the saucer is painted with a gardening trophy comprising a basket of grapes, a hoe, a stick, and a horn surrounded by a band of gilding.
• Gobelet et soucoupe enfoncé (1766), soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels with trophies, and gilded, cup, 8.8 × 10.8 × 8.6 cm, Charles Buteux le Jeune (1719–1782). Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, MAR.C.36 & A-1912 The cup has two almost circular reserves framed by bands of gilding tooled with panels of criss-cross alternating with panels of striations. One reserve is painted with a trophy, comprising a book of music, tambourine, a recorder, a shepherd’s crook (houlette), an arrow, and a basket with a pink bow on its handle, and a garland of flowers. The other has a trophy comprising a quiver of arrows, a bow and an arrow, a torch an oboe (?), and a garland of flowers. Between the trophies, round the upper edge of the cup there is a border of gilded scrolls, and panels of dots and trellis diaper patterns. The saucer is decorated en suite with two kidney-shaped reserves containing trophies. One comprises a shield, quiver of arrows, spear, an arrow, a sword, a laurel wreath and a spray of flowers and foliage; the other, a woman’s broad-brimmed hat with two feathers in it, a distaff, an houlette, and a garland of flowers. Probably intended to be used for taking milk or milk drink by people who were ill.

F. Button (contemporary), English

The daughter of a previous Head of Fine Art at Anglia University, Cambridge.

• Rechordia or Sweet-Woode (1989), F. Button. Cover: Bulletin 54 (February 1989). Ref. Archiv Moeck. A fanciful recorder tree reminiscent of Edward Lear’s Nonsense Botany, with fruits ripening to form turned, three-piece, neo-baroque recorders.

Willem Pietersz. Buytewech (1585-1626)

Dutch painter and engraver, nicknamed “Geestige Willem” (Witty Willem), active in his native Rotterdam and in Haarlem, where he was closely associated with Frans Hals; although his surviving output of paintings is tiny, his pictures of dandies, fashionable ladies, toppers, and lusty wenches are among the most spirited Dutch genre scenes and instituted the category known as the “Merry Company”; his numerous engravings include genre scenes, fashion plates, and etchings of the Dutch countryside; born ? Rotterdam (1585), died Rotterdam (1626); father of Willem the Younger (1625–1670), also a painter.

• The Elderly Recorder Player, oil on panel, 45.5 × 28.0 cm, Willem Pietersz. Buytewech (1585–1626). Location unknown; formerly D.F. Scheurleer Collection, The Hague. Ref. STIMU (1993: fig. 16); Archiv Moeck; Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Website: artnet (2022, col.) An old man sits alone in his room by the fire playing a narrow, cylindrical tenor recorder with a slightly flared bell and a rather elongate window/labium.
• Merry Company, oil on canvas, 34.5 × 27.0 cm, Willem Pietersz. Buytewech (1585–1626). Budapest: Szépmüvészeti Múzeum. Ref. Bernt (1970, 1: 212); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 188765 (2010, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-463 (2023, col.) Two cylindrical pipes of tenor and soprano size hang on a wall with quiver-type case holding a further six instruments. In my estimation, these appear to be flutes rather than recorders.

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2024. Recorder Home Page: Artists–B. Last accessed 23 November 2024. https://recorderhomepage.net/recorder-iconography/artists-b/