Artists–H

François Habert

French baroque painter of whom little is known; his oeuvre consists of a small number of signed still-lifes that reveal a debt both to the Parisian realité still-life painters and to their northern antecedents such as Jan Fyt (1611–1661) and Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606–1684); active 1647–1652.

• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 76 × 121.3 cm, François Habert (op. 1647–1652). London: Christies, Sale 8008, Lot. 159 (2011). A bunch of roses, columbines, Turk’s cap lilies and other flowers, with grapes, cherries, plums, blackberries and peaches, a lute, a bass viol, a baroque alto-sized recorder, and a music book, on a stone table by a draped curtain.

Jacob van Hal

Dutch painter working in Antwerp; known for for his history scenes, genre, portrait and still-life paintings; born 1672, died 1750.

• Boy with a Recorder, oil on panel, 22 × 18 cm, Jacob van Hal (1672–1750). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s (London), 3 July 1985, Lot 208. Ref. Website: Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte (AKG), Berlin (2016, col.) Coloured print, offered for sale on eBay (Germany), June 2012; offered for sale by Amazon (UK), June 2012. Beneath a drape, a young man sitting at a window holds a three-piece turned baroque alto recorder in his hand. On the window-ledge is an open book of music; behind him stands a cello; a violin hangs on the wall.

Martin (Emil Ferdinand) Haller

German architect who occupied a leading position among Hamburg architects; his buildings include detached houses and blocks of flats, the rebuilding of the opera house, offices, splendid villas and imposing country houses, hospitals, sanatoriums, residential institutions and the Hamburg Musikhalle; he was the designer of the Budge Palace music room; born and died Hamburg (1835–1925).

• Trophies, high relief and gilded wood, Martin Haller (1835–1925). Hamburg: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MK&G). Ref. Hempel & Jockel (1987: 4, fig., b&w). Now re-installed with renovation in the Hamburg Museum of Art and Craftsmanship. “Two designs have what may be recorders; presumably Haller copied these trophies with their 18th-century instruments from an older source” (Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) However, I see nothing resembling recorders in photographs of these trophies which include clarinets, oboe, bassoon, the stock of a musette, and furled sheets of paper.

Dirck [Dirk] Hals

Dutch painter who achieved particular success with the theme of the “Merry Company” in which he depicted the fleeting pleasures of self-indulgence with a colorful palette and an imaginative use of naturalistic details; born and died Haarlem (1591–1656); younger brother of Frans Hals (ca 1623/25–1666).

• Civil Society (1625), oil on panel, 45 × 70 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Maastricht (and London): Noortman Gallery. Ref. Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 82, pl. 23B, b&w); Rowland-Jones (2000b: fig., b&w; 2002b: 48, pl. 2, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1684 (2023, col.) Shows an almost cylindrical recorder with violin, two lutes and an unused cello. “The recorder here represents abandonment to sensual pleasures – strong drink and the presence of ladies of easy virtue” (Rowland-Jones, 2002b).
• Merry Company, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Private collection. Ref. Burlington Magazine 314, vol. LIV, p. xvi (May 1929); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Includes singers, a lutenist and a recorder player. The recorder is of alto size. All fingers are covering their holes with the exception of the little finger of the lower (left) hand which is raised. The instrument is fairly slender with only a slight bell flare. The mouthpiece and window/labium are not clear, but the finger position is suggestive of a recorder. The choice of instruments and the dress and age of the company suggest this could be a wedding reception.
• The Flute Lesson (1646), Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Hannover: Niederaumlchissches Landesmuseum. Ref. Walter Bergamnn (photo slide 38, b&w) ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2006); Wiese (1988: fig. 86, b&w); Wheelock (1995: 8, fig. 11); Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Websie: Wikimedia Commons (2011-col.) A young woman fingers a flared bell recorder assisted by her teacher who wears a plumed hat.
• Hearing from The Five Senses (1636), round panel, 12 cm diam., Dirck Hals (1591–1656). The Hague: Mauritshuis. A young woman plays a small, slender duct flute (recorder or flageolet), right hand uppermost.
• Merry Company, oil on wood, 30 × 46 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Paris: Musée de Louvre, MNR 484. Ref. Website: Atlas database (2014, col.); Wikigallery (2015, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-345 (2023, col.) Formerly known as The Dinner. Around a table four men and two women sing and play their instruments, one a lute, another a slender pipe, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder). Formerly attributed to Buytenwech.
• Woman playing the Recorder, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Location unknown: Offered for sale, Brian Koetser Gallery, London, Autumn Exhibition (Oct.–Dec. 1971). Ref. Warburg Institute, London. A woman in a dress and embroidered top covered by a smock holds a cylindrical soprano recorder in perfect playing position. This portrait is not in the least suggestive, though a pendant might make it so, should one exist.
• At the House of Johan de Witt, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A man plays a slender alto-sized duct flute with a medium bell flare, right hand lowermost, all fingers on.
• Tavern Interior, follower of Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Uppsala: Universitet, Konstsamlingarna, UU122. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). A man at a table plays a beaked pipe (right hand lowermost) beside a lutenist. No other features are visible, but the context suggests a recorder. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Merry Company, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A brothel scene in which a man plays a cylindrical pipe (probably a recorder) with a sharp and considerable bell flare and a possible window/labium, right hand lowermost.
• Merry Company, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). At the centre of a crowd in a large room a man stands playing a slender pipe, probably a recorder. All his fingers are down, excluding the little finger of the lowermost (left) hand which is lifted above its hole. No window/labium is visible, and there is no bell flare.
• Merry Company (1635), oil on panel, 45.0 × 71.5 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). David Zurich: Koetser Gallery, 31 May 1990. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1873 (2023, col.) In an interior elegantly dressed men and women converse, sing and play instruments. A woman plays a lute, a man a violin, a young woman sings and a young man plays a small (soprano) recorder (details obscure). In the foreground a cello, lute and cittern lie piled in a heap. 
• Garden Party (1620–1625), oil on panel, 53 × 84 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Haarlem: Frans Halsmuseum, Inv. os 76-10. Ref. Web Gallery of Art (2003); Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003); Website: Lute Iconography LI-943 (2023, col.) Three men and two women amuse themselves in the garden of a mansion. On a terrace opposite them musicians sing and play lute, violin and a long very slender duct flute since details of the beak and window/labium are visible. The young woman who plays it covers the holes with the first two fingers of her uppermost (left) hand and all four fingers of the lowermost, so this may well represent a recorder. In the background, a fountain with a statue of Bacchus can be seen.
• Elegant Party making Music by an Ornamental Lake (1621), oil on panel, 30 × 39 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Würzburg: Albrecht Neuhaus; formerly Maastricht: Nortmann Galleries. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library Image NOR61638, col. (2003); Catalogue, Fine Art Fair, Maastricht (2003: 47, col.) On a terrace two men and two women amuse themselves with music-making. A man, standing, plays a violin; another, seated, plays a lute. A woman, standing, plays a long very slender pipe which is probably a duct flute, though no details are visible. Another woman, seated, listens, looking at us as if we are intruding. Two children stand behind, watching.
• Merry Company, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Düsseldorf: Museum Kunst Palast. Ref. Website: Mediabox (2005, col.) Three couples sit around a table, the women sewing, the men talking. On the wall behind them hang a lute, a flute, and two small pipes, crossed. The latter might be duct flutes, possibly recorders.
• A Merry Company Making Music (1623), oil on oak panel, 22.6 × 31.1 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s (London), Sale LO05037, 8 December 2005, Lot 116 (sold); London: Richard Green Fine Paintings (2014). Ref. Website: Sotheby’s (2007, col.); Gabrius Databank (2007, col.); Website: Richard Green Fine Paintings (2014, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-945 (2023, col.)  One of Dirck Hals two earliest known interiors, both dated 1623. The somewhat barren setting for the present work gives it the impression of a stage filled with actors, and it is possible Hals painted only the figures. A man and two women sit around a table playing lute, singing and playing a slender, cylindrical pipe respectively. The dispositions of the piper’s fingers are suggestive of recorder-playing. Three men stand behind singing from parts.
• Merry Company (1625), oil on panel, 51 × 77 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Prague: Národní Galerie, Šternberský Palác, Inv. 0-10162. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-3208 (2023, col.) Men and women around a table are entertained by two young men playing lute and a slightly flared alto recorder. The player of the later has his thumb and fingers in perfect recorder playing position, but details of the beak are obscure and the window/labium is not visible. There is a whippet centre front.
• Woman Playing a Recorder, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Location unknown: Exhibited Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Judith Leyster, De eerste vrouw die meesterschilder werd, 19 December 2009 – 9 May 2010. Ref. Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2009). A woman seated and wearing a lace cap and blouse over a light brown skirt, jacket plays a slender cylindrical recorder, her music book, on a table beside her.
• Musical Company on Shrove Tuesday, oil on panel, 54.6 × 69.9 cm, Dirck Hals (1591–1656). Cape Town: Old Town House, Inv. 14/24. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documnentatie, Image  0000014738 (2010, col.) In a crowded room a group of men and women amuse themselves singing and playing lute, violin and cello. A second lute lies on a table to their left. A dog sits in the foreground. Lying on the floor between the cellist an a woman singing from an open part-book is a recorder the foot of which is in the mouth of its protective case. The beak, window/labium and finger holes of the recorder are clearly visible. What appears to be a foot-warmer stands in the middle of the foreground.

Frans Hals I

Dutch portraitist of the bourgeoisie of Haarlem, where he spent practically all his life, who evolved a technique close to impressionism in its looseness; born Antwerp (1581–1585), died Haarlem (1666); older brother of Dirck Hals (1591–1656).

• Singing Boy with a Recorder (ca 1623–1625), oil on canvas, 62.0 × 54.5 cm, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Berlin: Gemäldegalerie, Inv. No. 801 A. Ref. Klessmann (1971: 287, b&w); Sutton, Watkins & Brown (1984: pl. 17); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Postcard: Druck Brüder, Berlin, Nr. 223, col.; Website: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00001477, b&w). A tronie in which a young man with a plumed hat holds a slim, flared-bell, soprano recorder.
• Laughing Boy with a Recorder (ca 1628), oil on panel, tondo, 22.4 × 22.4 cm, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Schwerin: Staatliches Museum. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documnentatie, Image 0000153324 (2010, col.) A circular painting of a young boy holding a slender, cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder).
• Laughing Boy with a Recorder (1630), Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Kassel: Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. A circular painting of a young boy holding a slender, cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder).
• Laughing Boy with a Recorder, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Cincinatti: Art Museum. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0049401 (2009, b&w). A circular painting of a young boy holding a slender, cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder).
• Young Flute Player (mid 17th century), oil on wood, 54 × 43 cm, after Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Lille: Palais des Beaux-Arts, Inv. P 943. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). One of a pendant pair. Depicts a boy with a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). A Similar painting is preserved at Schwerin.
• Laughing Boy with a Flute (1626), oil on panel, 37.5 × 37.5 cm, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Göteborg: Konstmuseum, Wertholm. Ref. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00075083, b&w). A smiling urchin with tousled hair holds a cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder) in his hand. The beak, window/labium and three finger holes are clearly visible.
• Laughing Boy with a Flute, painting, tondo, copy after Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Location unknown. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0049405 (2009, col.) A smiling urchin with tousled hair holds a cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder) in his hand. The beak, window/labium and three finger holes are clearly visible. A copy of the original at Göteborg (see above).
• Laughing Boy with a Flute, oil on panel, tondo, 38.0 × 37.5 cm, copy after Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). London: Sotheby’s, Sale L12030, 2 May 2012, Lot 135. From the estate of the late John A. Vickers. Ref. Website: Old Masters & British Paintings (2012, col.) A smiling urchin with tousled hair holds a cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder) in his hand. The beak, window/labium and three finger holes are clearly visible. A copy of the original at Göteborg (see above). A 17th-century copy, probably after the original in the Göteborgs Konstmuseum. The Sotheby’s catalogue notes that this is “a copy of the original of 1628 now found in the Staatliche Museen, Schwerin”, but that work is quite different (see above).
• Laughing Boy with a Flute, oil on panel, diamond-shaped, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, b&w.) A smiling urchin with tousled hair holds the head of a crude duct flute (possibly a recorder) in his hand.
• Laughing Boy with a Flute, painting, oval, Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Location unknown; formerly Christies, London. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0049404 (2009, b&w). A smiling urchin with tousled hair holds the head of a crude duct flute (possibly a recorder) in his hand.
• Two Children Making Music, painting, 68.0 × 79.5 cm, after Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666). Locality unknown. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections (2011, b&w). A boy wearing a feathered cap plays a small lute whilst gazing down at a second lad who holds a small hand-fluyt, the beak, window-labium and flared bell of which are clearly depicted.

Harmen Fransz. Hals

Dutch painter; born Haarlem (1611), died Haarlem (1669); son of Frans Hals I (1581/85–1666).

• Interior with a Woman Playing a Recorder, oil on panel, 35.8 × 27.2 cm, Harmen Fransz. Hals (1611–1669). New York: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, 26 April 2001, Lot 322. Harmen Fransz. Hals (1611–1669). Ref. Sotheby’s, London, auction catalogue (2001: 152, pl. 322, col.); Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Collectie 105408 (2010, col.) In front of a fireplace, watched by a man leaning towards her, a woman plays a slightly flared duct flute, her fingers well positioned for recorder playing. The window/labium of the duct flute is just visible. The arrangement of figures can be related, although with numerous differences, to that in a signed painting by Harmen Hals sold by Christie’s, London, 24 April 1998, Lot. 48 (see below).
• Peasants Making Music in an Interior / The Sense of Hearing: Peasants Making Music in a Tavern, oil on panel, 36.0 × 31.9 cm, Harmen Fransz. Hals (1611–1669). London: Christie’s, Sale 5944, Old Master Pictures, 24 April 1998, Lot. 48. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 15861 & 46848 (2010, col.) In a kitchen, a seated man plays a lute, and an old woman leaning forward plays a cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder. The arrangement of figures can be related, although with numerous differences, to that in a signed painting by Harmen Hals sold by Sotheby’s, London, 2001, lot. 322 (see above).

Fay Hamblin-Giarratani

Contemporary USAmerican artist living in North Quincy, MA.

• Untitled (2007), cover illustration, Fay Hamblin-Giarratani (contemporary). Ref. American Recorder Journal 48 (1): front cover (2009). Two exotic birds stand side by side looking out to sea, their fanciful beaks are recorders from which musical notes shower forth.

William Hamilton

Scottish-born artist who migrated to New York where he was an immediate success; primarily a portraitist, he also painted landscapes and illustrated books; born Chelsea (1751), died Cornwall-on Hudson, New York (1801).

• May (18th century), hand-coloured etching and stipple engraving, tondo, 20 × 20 cm, by Francesco Bartolozzi (1727–1815), after a painting by William Hamilton (1751–1801). Washington DC.: Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, 0443/R. Ref. Jan Lancaster ex Robert Bigio (pers. comm., 2007); Website: easyart.com (2007: 108727). Outside a village three lads entertain two young women who sit beside a path at the edge of a forest. One of the boys has his arm around one of the girls; another boy holds her arm inviting her to join some maypole dancers on the common, the third boy plays on a alto-sized duct flute with an unusually long key for the lowermost finger. Part of a series illustrating the Months.

Adriaen Hanneman

Dutch painter known for his portraits of Dutch nobility and members of the exiled British royal court; his style was strongly influenced by his contemporary, Anthony Van Dyck; born and died The Hague (1616–1671).

• Young Man with a Recorder, black chalk on blue paper, 43.0 × 28.0 cm, circle of Adriaen Hanneman (1616–1671). The Hague: van Stockum’s Veilingen, 28-30 March 2001, Lot 287 A. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Collectie 49394 (2010, b&w). A young lad holds a recorder.

Joseph Adam Hannong

French porcelain modeler, employed by Jacob Fortling’s factory in Kastrup, Copenhagen, the most ambitious 18th-century Danish faience factory; born 1734, died ca 1800.

• The Terzetto (1765), Joseph Adam Hannong (1734–ca 1800). Munich: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. Ref. Archiv Moeck. Design for a French porcelain manufacturer. A woman sits with a small boy and some sheep at her feet. They are serenaded by a young man who plays a baroque-form recorder.

J. Hare & J. Walsh

• Title page: The Compleat Flute-Master …, printed & sold by J. Hare & J. Walsh, London (1695). London: British Library, K.5.b.32. Ref. Welch (1911/1961: 76, fig. 36; 84); Vinquist (1974: 23, fig. 2-1). On the left, an oboe is crossed with a three-piece, baroque alto recorder; on the right, two such recorders are crossed.
• Title page: Select Preludes or Volentarys for ye Violin by the most eminent Masters in Europe (1705), decorative engraved page, published by J. Walsh and J. Hare. Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, Call No. 4451737; Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip2445 (2022, b&w.)  Beneath a drape held up by three winged putti, is a table littered with musical scores and instruments. The latter incude an oboe, three violins, a straight trumpet and six recorders. A cello leans against the table. The recorders are of three-part baroque design.

Anton Friedrich Harms OR Johan Oswald Harms

Anton Friederich Harms was a German painter, set designer and art writer; his paintings include religious subjects, landscapes and still-lifes; born Brunswick (1695), died Kassel (1745); son of Johann Oswald Harms (1643–1708).

• Apollo and the Nine Muses, sketch, 39.5 × 36.6 cm, Anton Friedrich Harms (1695–1745) or Johan Oswald Harms (1643–1708). Brunswick: Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum, Inv. Harms K 45. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BSm 355 – painting; 356 – trophies); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). A sketch for a ceiling decoration. One Muse (? Euterpe, Muse of music and lyric poetry) plays what seems to be a recorder. At the left and right of the picture itself are trophies with a melée of musical instruments. At right there is a bass recorder with a long bocal entering top centre; four finger holes are visible; there is no bell-end flare. Elsewhere in the trophies, parts of other duct flutes are visible; some of them could be recorders.

Johann Oswald Harms

German painter, frescoist, etcher and the first major German designer of the Baroque; his output includes landscapes, stage scenery and architectural decorations born Hamburg (1643), died Brunswick (1708); father of artist Anton Friedrich Harms. (1695–1745)

• Apollo and the Nine Muses (1704), ink & watercolour on paper, 39.5 × 36.6 cm, Johann Oswald Harms (1643–1708). Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Inv. Harms K 20. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: BSm 355.) Star-shaped design for an oval ceiling painting for Kassel. Apollo and Athena with the Muses at the summit of Mount Helicon with Pegasus and the Castalian Spring. Apollo holds a lyre; the Muses, from left to right play lute, triangle with jingle rings, viol, cornetto, small duct flute, horn and folded trumpet, and one sings from a music book.

Wilhelm von Harnier I

German draughtsman and painter; known for his portraits of family groups and of children; born and died Munich (1800–1838).

• From Kinderlein sketchbook, No. 30: Willy (1831), drawing on paper, 8.1 × 7.7 cm, Wilhelm von Harnier I (1800–1838). Darmstadt: Hessische Landesmuseum, Hz AE 7341. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DAhl 251). A baby (Willy) chews contentedly on a small recorder with a turned, flared bell.

[Arthur] Leslie Harradine

English figurine modeller; one of Royal Doulton’s premier, and most prolific, figurine modellers from 1920 until the mid-1950s; born England (1887), died Spain (1965).

• The Rustic Swain (1935–1949), hard paste porcelain, high glaze, 13.23 cm high, Leslie Harradine (1887–1965). Ref. Website: Etsy (2015, col.) Modelled as an early 19th-century, a couple are seated upon a bench with dog at their feet, the female listening as her male partner serenades her with a pipe, on rectangular base, incised to base ‘Vivien 1934’. The pipe is highly stylised but may be intended to represent a recorder. Numbered HN1745, this piece was later re-issued as Midsummer Noon HN1899.
• The Rustic Swain (1934), hard paste porcelain, 18 cm high, ? Leslie Harradine (1887–1965). London: Bonham’s (New Bond Street), Sale 11923 – Doulton, Clarice Cliff and Moorcroft, 12 July 2005, Lot 133. A figural group influenced by Leslie Harradine modelled as an early 19th-century couple seated upon a bench with dog at their feet, the female listening as her male partner serenades her with a pipe, on rectangular base, incised to base ‘Vivien 1934’. This almost certainly dates from the same year that Harradine was designing his model of The Rustic Swain which Royal Doulton put into production the following year. Harradine may indeed be attempting to fool us with the pseudonym ‘Vivien’ when this is in fact one of his own working models. Interestingly, both the paved base and the shaggy dog have disappeared in the official Doulton model, suggesting that perhaps cost concerns influenced the final production.

Christopher John Harrison

Contemporary English painter whose subjects include trompe l’oeil works and natural history; born 1945.

• Tools (1975), oil painting, Christopher John Harrison 1945–). London: Collection of Mrs Hyman Solomons. Ref. Dars (1979: 71); Liesbeth van der Sluijs (pers. comm., 2001). “Oil painting in the neo-realist style of a shallow box, frontal, rectangle up, with woodworkers tools, wooden mallets and gouges. Under the lowest shelf (of ca 3) an alto recorder is hung with a piece of string, ca 10 degrees left up. Lots of knots in the wood” (van der Sluijs, loc. cit.)

Kaspar Härtli (16th century), German

Manuscript illustrator from Lindau on Lake Constance; active 1555–1562.

• Barberini Codex (1562): Kyrie, decorative illuminations, Kaspar Härtli (op. 1555–1562). St Gallen: Stiftsbibliothek, Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (‘Barberini Codex’): 542, S. 636 & 657: Kyrie. Ref. Bachmann-Geiser, Lustig & Tammen (2000: 100, fig. 9a–b); Website: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009, col.) Above each of the four vocal parts of the Kyrie is a recorder seen in side profile. Although soprano, alto, tenor and basset instruments are illustrated they do not correspond with the vocal parts: the smallest lies above the tenor voice, for instance. The tenor and basset instruments each have a fontanelle and key; their beaks are clearly depicted. Elsewhere in this manuscript quartets of flutes and viols are similarly depicted, though these are placed correctly above their corresponding vocal parts.

Eugen Hartung

Swiss painter, muralist, graphic artist, set designer and children’s book illustrator; well known for his immensely popular paintings of anthropomorphic cats and other animals, published as postcards by Künzli prior to 1939 and by Mainzer after the war; born Waldi (1897), died Zürich (1973).

• Cats Flute Lesson, coloured postcard (lithograph), Eugen Hartung (1897–1973). Published by Verlag Max Künzli, Zürich, Nr. 4757. Ref. Staedli (2019, col.) A feline music master conducts his recorder band of eight cool cats, watched by a trio of appreciative mice. I wonder if the composition they are learning was by Aram Cataturian.
• Cats Music Practice, printed postcard (lithograph), Eugen Hartung (1897–1973). Published by Verlag Max Künzli, Zürich, Nr. 4929. Ref. Staedli (2019, col.) A piano-playing mother cat conducts her family quintet of cats playing double bass, violin, guitar and two recorders. Perhaps the music they are practicing was by Claude DePussy.
• Cats Family Party, printed postcard, 14 × 9 cm, deckle-edged, Eugen Hartung (1897-1973). Published by Main Alfred Mainzer, Long Island City, New York, n. 4751 (p. 1945). Ref. Website: Hazel Catkins Little Shop (2021-col.) Cat family members celebrate grandfather’s birthday with presents, a bunch of a flowers and a concert performed by a trio of kittens playing piano, violin and recorder. Doubtless their programme featured an arrangement of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmeowsik.
• Cats Mountain Hike, printed postcard (lithograph), 9 × 14 cm, Eugen Hartung (1897-1973). Published by Main Alfred Mainzer, Long Island City, New York, n. 4672. Ref. Website: Mousebreath Magazine, September 2016 (col.) Watched by a robin and three mice, and chased by a calf, a group of young cats and their teacher hurry down an alpine path. A kitten leading the procession carries a flag; he is followed by a kitten playing a concertina and another a small recorder. Surely The hills are alive with the sound of mewsic!

John Hayls

English portraitist whose subjects included Henry Purcell (National Portrait Gallery, London); born ? 1600, died 1679.

• Portrait: Richard Low (ca 1681-1688), mezzotint, 29.8 × 22.5 cm, by Isaac Becket (1652/53–1688) after a painting possibly by John Hayls (? 1600–1679). London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG D11698; London: British Museum, Inv. 1852,1009.228; Washington: Library of Congress, Dayton Miller Collection, 0321/X. Published by John Smith, painter, draughtsman, and engraver (1652–1743). An extravagantly dressed young man sits on a step with a book of music and a letter. He leans against a plinth carved in bas-relief depicting two commedia del’arte actors dancing. Beside him are a violin with flame-shaped sound-holes and an ivory-mounted baroque recorder, very much like those of Hotteterre or Bressan. In the background is an island with a representation of Apollo and the Muses and Pegasus flying above. The identity of Richard Low is not certain, though it has been suggested that he may have been a son or relative of Edward Low (ca 1610-1682), the organist and master of choristers at Christ Church at Oxford from 1631 onward. From the imagery of this work Richard appears to have been an actor and musician.

Francis Hayman

English painter, illustrator and teacher who was influential in the introduction of the French rococo element into English painting during the first half of the eighteenth century; his works include conversation pieces, large-scale history paintings, portraits and genre scenes, scene paintings for Drury Lane, decorated supper boxes and pavilions at Vauxhall Gardens; collaborated with Gravelot on designs for engravings for Sir Thomas Hanmer’s 1774 edition of Shakespeare’s plays; born Exeter (ca 1708), died London (1776).

• Hearing (1753), mezzotint, 35.2 × 24.9 cm, Richard Houston (1721/22–1775) after Francis Hayman (ca 1708–1776). New Haven: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund # B1970.3.960; Oxford: Sanders of Oxford (2012, for sale); London: British Museum, Inv. 2010,7081.549. Ref. Leppert (1985: 125, fig. 44, b&w); Girdham (2002: 403, pl. 5); Website: British Museum (2012, b&w). From a series of prints known as The Senses. A young woman stares wistfully at a bird, momentarily uncaged, responding to the tune she has just played. In her hand is a very slender, cylindrical duct flute. A music book (The Bird Fancier’s Delight, perhaps) lies open on the table before her. The instrument is probably a French flageolet, but could represent a recorder as these were also used to train birds to sing.

Jan van den Hecke I

Flemish painter of flower and fruit still-lifes, animal subjects and landscapes; he also painted gold, silver, crystal, and porcelain; born Quaremonde (Kluisbergen) (1620), died Antwerp (1684); father of the flower and still-life painter Jan van den Hecke II (1661–?).

• Still-life with a Lobster, Lemons and a Lute (1645), oil on canvas, 121 × 173 cm, Jan van den Hecke I (1620–1684). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library Image MHB90659, col. (2002); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2305 (2023, col.) On a draped table in front of a window lie jumbled a lobster, oysters, bread, wine glasses, a candlestick, a napkin, etc. On a smaller table in the foreground are an open music book, sheet music, and a lute underneath the neck of which is a flute. Between the music book and the lute lies what appears to be a small duct flute, the head and body of which can be seen in side profile.

Cornelis (Jansz.) de Heem

Dutch painter, mainly of fruit-pieces, floral bouquets, festoons and garlands and sumptuous still-lifes, characterised by daring colour harmonies, sometimes with a strong blue; born Leiden (1631), died Antwerp (1695); son of Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84); brother of Jan. Jansz. de Heem 1650-p.1695).

• Still-life, canvas, 180 × 165 cm, Cornelis Jansz. de Heem (1631–1695) & Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Private Collection: sold by Palais Gallery, Paris, 9 June 1961, cat. 5. Ref. Palais Gallery Paris, Catalogue (1967: no. 18); Paris RIdIM (1999). A jumble of fruit lies on a table and a recorder leans against a huge shell and some books. The recorder is easily identifiable; there is little or no bell-flare.
• Still-life (1657), oil on canvas, 94 × 118 cm, Cornelis Jansz. de Heem (1631–1695). Frankfurt am Main: Städeliches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Inv. No. 708. Ref. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00004527, b&w); RIdM Munich (2009, Fsm 33). On a table lie scattered flowers, fruit, a framed portrait, a nautilus shell, and a soprano-sized hand fluyt, perfectly depicted with its beak, window/labium and offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly visible.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 60.5 × 84.4 cm, Cornelis Jansz. de Heem (1631–1695). New York: Christies, Sale 2534, 25 January 2012, Lot 18; formerly from the collection of John W. Kluge. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a bench in front of some drapes and a tassel is a jumble of objects, including a small blue silk-covered casket on which are piled some fruit, documents (one with a seal, one rolled), a glass a silver tazza. a ham, grapes, oysters, lemons, one half-peeled, some laurel leaves, and a teapot. Leaning against the blue box is a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt the beak, window/labium and first two finger holes of which are clearly visible. A maker’s mark can also be observed just beneath the window/labium.
• A Vanitas Still-life with a Skull and an Ecorché on a Draped Table (ca 1659), oil on canvas, 60 × 78 cm, Cornelis de Heem (1631–1695). London: Sotheby’s, Old Masters Evening Sale, 6 July 2016 , Lot 14. Ref. Web Gallery of Art (2019, col.) In the collection of the present owner’s family since before the Second World War. “De Heem is best known for his flower and fruit pieces, and works on a vanitas theme by him are highly unusual. He does however here display an extraordinary expertise in the depiction of the chosen objects, with the intricacies of the underneath of the skull and the ecorché figure particularly well observed. There can be few still lifes featuring so many and such overt references to the theme of vanitas. This painting is packed with reminders of the brevity and fragility of human life and existence, most of them obvious in their meaning, like the ecorché figure, the skull, the burning length of rope [a smouldering taper, surely] and the stopped pocket watch. Every object is there to reference the theme in some way, including the fragile wine glass, the flowers in bloom – soon to droop and die – and the burned out candle. The theme itself was popular with prospective buyers for its sermonising tone, but also with artists for the wide variety of surfaces and textures that it allowed them to depict” (Sale Catalogue). Not to mention the moth, the empty glass, the burned out smoking pipe, the tilted (and thus empty) tea-cup, the playing cards, the well-thumbed books, the thigh-bone, and the clearly depicted recorder. The beak, windway, window/labium, maker’s mark and first five fingerholes of the latter are clearly depicted; its foot is hidden behind the upturned human cranium (not an entire skull). Ecorché is just a fancy French word for ‘flayed’, referring to the statuette of a man who has been flayed and his arms mutilated who stands in agony on the table. He must have been a recorder player!

Jan [Johannes] Davidsz. de Heem, the Elder

Dutch painter specializing in flower pieces and still-life compositions, many of them with views; he was highly successful in his own lifetime and his influence on the whole genre of still-life painting was profound; born Utrecht (1605–1606), died Antwerp (1683–1684); father of Cornelis Jansz. de Heem (1631–1695) and Jan Jansz. de Heem (1650–p. 1695).

• Still-life, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Frankfurt: Städtisches Kunstinstitute und Städtische Galerie. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Fsm 88); Website: gallica (2012, b&w).  A vanitas still-life with a skull, papers, a book, flask, flowers, fruit, a corn-cob, a flute and a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt, the beak, window/labium and holes for 7 fingers clearly depicted, the lowermost hole offset to the others.
• Vanitas (1664), 88 × 116 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, the Elder (1605/06–1683/84). Brussels: Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Ref. Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Catalogue: 208 (1957); Leppert (1979: 11–12, fig. 9, b&w); Nine Sixteenth Century Dances for four recorders, Schott Edition 12157, London (1982, front cover, col.); Rasmussen & Huene (1982: 32, fig. b&w); The Recorder Magazine (March 1992); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Archiv Moeck. Shows a flared-bell renaissance-style recorder dramatically erect and leaning against a skull surrounded by flowers, a music score, papers, corn cobs, Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ, a book marked ‘Reckenigh’ (Reckoning) – and a view of Golgotha in the background.
• [Still-life] (1642), oil on canvas, 152 × 206 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Location unknown: formerly Private Collection, Stockholm; auctioned by Christie’s, New York, Important Old Master Paintings, 15 January 1988. Ref. Bergström (1956: fig 167); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a table food of all kinds lies scattered. Leaning obliquely against a wall (top right) is a flute. A guitar leans against a smaller table in the foreground, bottom right, on which are shells and another wind instrument (flute or recorder). On a bench in the foreground, bottom left, is a soprano hand-fluyt, very clearly depicted. Said to have been commissioned by King Charles I for Windsor Castle, and later to have been in the collection of George III until 1800. It appeared at auction in Amsterdam in 1912, and later passed into a Swedish private collection.
• Still-life with a Parrot (1642), 115 × 186 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Vienna: Gemäldergalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste. Ref. Bergström (1956: fig. 168); Leppert (1977: 65); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A table is covered in food of all kind at which a parrot is pecking, and there is a shiny gold platter, deeply embossed. In the bottom left corner is a crumpled piece of music where the artist has signed his name. Immediately above is a splendidly painted cylindrical alto-sized recorder in a beautiful brownish wood. A silver goblet turned on its side obscures the windway outlet, but the start of the labium chamfer can just be made out. The base of the goblet obscures two finger holes, but four others in line are then seen with a little-finger hole offset to the left. The bore opening is small in relation to the thickness of the wood at the bell-end, but the bore further up could easily be wider.
• Sumptuous Fruit Still-life with a Jewellery Box (ca 1650–1655), oil on canvas, 94.7 × 120.5 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). The Hague: Mauritshuis, Cat. 48. Ref. Leppert (1977: 64); CD Bach on Recorder, RN Classics 93010 (1995: cover – col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, image 14866 (2014, col.) Depicts a flared-bell, alto recorder leaning against a small table with a casket, shells, a ham and various fruit, including the obligatory peeled lemon.
• Meal Served, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Location Unknown: Private Collection. Ref. Leppert 1977: 64). A still life with a number of musical instruments on a table, including guitar, lute, flutes and a recorder (with seven finger holes visible).
• Pronk Still-Life (1665-1670), canvas, 139.2 × 115.1 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/6–1683/4). Utrecht: Centraalmuseum, Inv. No. 10231. Ref. Leppert (1977: 64); Centraalmuseum, Utrecht (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Sidén (2001: 141, pl. 2, detail, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2719 (2023, col.) Objects on and beside a table include glass vases, fruit and other food, shells, an inkwell and quill, a lute, rebec and a recorder (only the end of which is visible from underneath the upturned lute). The recorder is possibly of alto size; a flared foot and bell bore are present; and there are paired holes for the lowermost finger.
• Still-life with Lobster, canvas, 50 × 46 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Verviers: Musée communal des Beaux-Arts et de la Céramique, cat. 80. Ref. Leppert (1977: 65). Amongst the objects on the table is a recorder, five finger holes of which are visible.
• Collation in Danger (1641), Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84) and Cornelis Jansz. de Heem (1631–1695). Brussels: Museé de Ville, Administration. Ref. Leppert (1977: 66); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2751 (2023, col.) On a table beneath some drapes are two ornate chalices, fruit (including a peeled lemon) and various metal bowls and plates. Beside and upon a bench in front of the table are a globe, a large metal platter, a viol, a lute, a slender duct flute (possibly a tabor-pipe) with one finger hole visible, and two flared-bell, one-piece recorders: an alto with a metal-sheathed beak, and beneath it a soprano.  A monkey sits on top of the globe munching on a bunch of grapes. A young man of swarthy complexion reaches out from behind a pillar with a stick to assist the animal in his pillaging. Two parrots sit on a perch above the boy’s head. This has also been attributed to Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert  (1613–1654).
• Still-life, 49 × 64 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Location unknown: sold Devuyst, Lokeren, Belgium, 20 February 1982, no. 180. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). On a draped table lie books, papers, a wine-glass, a skull, and a hand-fluyt in two-pieces, in contrasting materials, possibly ivory (head) and wood (body).
• Still-life (1652), 76.5 × 60.5 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Prague: Národní Muzeum, Inv. DO-5048. Ref. Museum Catalogue (1961: no. 25); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Website: Fine Art America (2021, col.) On a ledge in an alcove are a compass or watch, a purse, a candlestick and candle, flowers, a ?powder-horn, a letter and seal, a human cranium on which a fly crawls, and a hand fluyt in one piece, but with the curved beak of a baroque recorder, and which appears to have been gilded (remains can be seen on the head and foot of the instrument). A green lizaard, a bee and another insect crawl around the edge of the alcove above which is a notice which reads: You can whistle all you want, right or wrong, your fate is given anyway. Rich or poor, learned, or stupid, you’re going to quit anyway. You live, so you must die…”.  and also a letter ending with the words “Memento mori” – Remember death. An inscription below reads SPIEGEL (mirror), indicating that the viewer should contemplate this himself. There is an almost identical painting in the Nostitz-Rieneck Gallery, Prague, which depicts a different candlestick and a different recorder.
• Still-life (1652), 56 × 40 cm, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Prague: Nostitz-Reinicke Gallery. Ref. Museum Catalogue (1905: no. 87); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003); Debra Pring (pers. comm., 2007). On a ledge in an alcove are a purse, a candlestick and candle, flowers, a watch, a ? powder-horn, papers, the top part of a skull on the cranium of which a fly crawls, and a hand-fluyt in one piece, but with the curved beak of a baroque recorder. A bee and another insect crawl around the edge of the alcove above which is a notice that reads
  

  Hoe datje pijpt of hoeje fluyt, o mensch, dit is u erue, t’ sij Rijck arm geleert of bolt, dat [leeuen? leeven?]) heeft moet sterve.

  which might be translated as

  The way you play the flute reflects your character. Whether you are rich or poor, learned or not, all life ends with death.

  Underneath the ledge is carved the word SPIEGEL (mirror), indicating that the viewer should contemplate this himself. There is an almost identical painting in the Národní Muzeum, Prague, which depicts a different candlestick and a different recorder.

• Still-life, painting, Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). On a shelf are stacked fruit, including grapes, peaches, apples, quince and lemons (one partly peeled, a nautilus shell, a conch shell, a tall glass, and a well-depicted hand-fluyt.
• Banquet Still-life, oil on canvas, 155 × 211 cm, an Davidsz. de Heem (1605/06–1683/84). London: Christies, Auction 18876, Old Masters Evening Sale, 15 December 2020, Lot 10. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2743 (2023, col.) The subject of this outstanding work is overtly luxurious. A heavily laden banquet table stands in a palatial setting before a terrace flanked by columns. A curtain has been drawn to reveal a landscape with a church spire in the distance. A silver-gilt wine cooler with two bottles stands on a stool in the lower left foreground. The table itself is partially covered by a white cloth which is bunched up over a green velvet cloth with a braided edge. On the banquet table are some pewter plates laden with a variety of fruit, shrimps, a crab, a red-boiled crayfish and a fruit pie. To the right of the pie is a large wicker basket holding a Wanli-kraak porcelain salver, piled with grapes, plums, peaches, cherries, apples and pears, that spill out onto the table. To the left, a silver tazza lies on its side next to a silver sugar shaker and an extraordinary silver-mounted, turbo shell ewer adorned with a large ruby set in the centre. A large silver-gilt columbine cup and cover stands in the middle of the composition with a tall, half-filled glass behind. In front and to the right of the basket are a lute, a single transverse flute and, lying by a book and an open portfolio, is a leather case with compartments for four wind instruments from one of which a  recorder protrudes, foot first. Another recorder, a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt, lies across the case. To the right is a smouldering taper and a pipe beneath a strong box with keys in the lock. This work, which  has been hidden from public view until recently, sold for GB  £5,766,000!

Egbert (Jaspersz.) van Heemskerck I

Dutch painter and draughtsman, active also in England; his work consists primarily of painted scenes of the Temptation of St Anthony, witchcraft, drinking bouts, satirical subjects and Quaker meetings, the latter theme being his most original contribution; born Haarlem (1634–1635), died London (1704).

• Cabaret Scene, oil on canvas, 61.0 × 81.5 cm, Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634/35–1704). Lille: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. P 1029. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A tavern interior with men and women, drinking, playing, talking, dancing, smoking; a man with a duct flute (flageolet or recorder); fire tongs; a pot, a basket. Not seen.
• Interior of an Inn with a Recorder Player, Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634/35–1704). Venice: Galleria Giorgio Franchetti, Ca’ d’Oro. Three oldish men are seated at a table, one singing from music held in his hand, another playing a flared alto hand fluyt, the window/labium of which is clear. Both hands are on the instrument, the right hand lowermost. One hole is visible between the hands. The recorder player also carries a stick, and two pipes (? bagpipes).
• Interior of an Inn with a Recorder Player, panel, 20.6 × 22.8 cm, Egbert van Heemskerck I 1634/35–1704). London: Christie’s, 2 July 1997 Lot 459. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 34807 (2010, col.) Two peasants sing and play recorder, one standing, the other seated.
• Tavern Scene – Musical Gathering of Peasants, engraving, Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634/35–1704). Vienna: Albertina Cat. 9129. Ref. Bernt (1948, 4: fig. 284, b&w). In a tavern, five men are gathered around a table, two sitting and two standing. On the left, a man sits singing from a manuscript, a second stands leaning over his shoulder. On the right, a man sits playing the violin; another stands singing; a fifth sits huddled between them. A servant brings a tankard of beer down some steps. On the table between the musicians are a pitcher and the lower part of a small pipe, possibly a hand fluyt.
• Adoration of the Shepherds, Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634/35–1704). The Hague: Maritshuis, cat. 51. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Currently on loan to Frans Hals Museum, Harlem. May include a recorder. Only a small, blurred reproduction seen.

Maarten van Heemskerck

Dutch painter, draughtsman and print designer; his extensive oeuvre (over 100 paintings) comprises large altarpieces, portraits and smaller works with both religious and mythological subjects; he also produced a vast number of drawings for prints; his style is strong and monumental, with much emphasis on anatomical detail; he was thus an important figure in the dissemination of late Mannerism in northern Europe, particularly through the hundreds of prints executed after his drawings; born Heemskerck (1478), died Haarlem (1574).

• Apollo and the Muses (1550–1560), oil on panel, 98 × 136 cm, Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574). New Orleans: Museum of Art, Inv. 82.163 Ref. Veldman (2009: fig. 1, b&w). Apollo plays his lyre seated next to one of the muses who holds a curiously shaped fiddle in one hand and points to a musical score across her thighs with the other. Behind them, one of the Muses play a straight trumpet, another appears to be holding a crumhorn upside down, and a third seems to be beating time with a finger. Opposite Apollo, one of the Muses plays the organ, surrounded by an audience of her admiring companions, one of whom holds a trombone. On the floor beside this second group are a harp, and several wind instruments, which may represent recorders. And the lower part of a second crumhorn can be seen poking out from underneath the fiddle player’s knee. In the background Apollo and the Nine Muses are seen dancing on a hilltop. A parrot perches atop the organ.
• Concert of Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon (1565), oil on panel, 103.5 × 130.2 cm, Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574). New Orleans: Museum of Art, Inv. 92.163 Ref. Anonymous (1982, col.); Slim (?date: 44, pl. 2, b&w); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Apollo plays his lyre to the accompaniment of one of the Muses who plays the organ, surrounded by an audience of admiring Muses. In the foreground, against the organ pedestal, leans a cylindrical tenor recorder with a window/labium and six large finger holes clearly visible. Although the foot of the instrument extends beyond the bottom edge of the painting, an offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand can possibly be made out. A second recorder of alto size lies beside a harp on a rocky outcrop, the beak, window/labium and finger holes clearly visible. A third wind instrument can be seen on the ground at the bottom right, above two flutes. However, this last instrument is partly draped and the foot extends beyond the right-hand edge of the painting, so it may be a shawm rather than a recorder.
• Concert of Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon (1565), oil on panel, 103.5 × 130.2 cm, Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574). Norfolk (Virginia): Chrysler Museum of Art, 71.479. Ref. Slim (1997: 44, pl. 1, b&w); Harrison (1991: 16–17, pl. 14, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Veldman (2009: fig. 1, b&w). Apollo plays his lyre to the accompaniment of one of the Muses who plays the organ, surrounded by an audience of admiring Muses. In the foreground, against the organ pedestal, leans a cylindrical tenor recorder with a window/labium and six large finger holes clearly visible. An offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand is clearly visible. A second recorder of alto size lies beside a harp on a rocky outcrop, the beak, window/labium and finger holes clearly visible. A third wind instrument can be seen on the ground at the bottom right, above two flutes. However, this last instrument is partly draped and the foot extends beyond the right-hand edge of the painting, so it may be a shawm rather than a recorder. There is another version of this work at the Museum of Art, New Orleans (Slim, ?date: 44).

Willem [Guilliam] de Heer (1637–1681), Dutch

Dutch artist notable for his refined ‘picture drawings’ on vellum which were designed to be framed and displayed as paintings, rather than kept in albums. S; born Leeuwarden (1637–1638), died Amsterdam (1681); son of painter Gerrit Adriaensz. de Heer (ca 1602–p. 1652). The works of father and son are often impossible to distinguish.

• Portrait of a Young Man as a Flute-Playing Shepherd, gouache on vellum, 36.2 × 27.5 cm, attributed to Willem de Heer (1637–1681). Boston: Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 19277 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A young man is depicted as a piping shepherd in pastoral surroundings. His instrument may represent a soprano recorder. One of a pendant pair, the other depicting a Young Woman as a Shepherdess with a Letter and a Wreath of Flowers.

Lucas de Heere

Netherlandish painter, poet and designer of tapestries who came from Ghent and was trained by Frans Floris; as a Protestant, he travelled to England in 1566–1567 to escape religious persecution and remained there for 10 years; born 1534, died 1584.

• The Story of Mercury and Argus (ca 1570), oil on panel, 60 × 62 cm, follower of Lucas de Heere  (1534–1584). Richmond: Hampton Court Palace, RCN 406049. Ref. Catalogue (1929: No. 653); Warburg Institute, London; Netherlands Art Institute, Leiden, No. 17806; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). In the foreground, Mercury pipes Argus to sleep playing a long flared-bell pipe in his right hand, probably a tabor pipe although there are three finger holes beneath the one Mercury covers with his index finger. Beside them lies Io (as a heifer), and some sheep. In the background, other scenes from the story are enacted. We see Mercury beheading Argus, Juno setting the eyes of Argus on the peacock’s tail, and Jupiter making love to Io who is half human and half heifer. Above, Mercury flies with his caduceus in one hand and his pipe in another. Jupiter presides over all.  This painting is now thought to be by one of the followers of Lucas de Heere, possibly a fellow Netherlandish refugee living in England in the 1570s.

Wolfgang Heimbach

German artist known for his detailed and realistic portraits and records of society gatherings; although a deaf-mute, he could read and write in several languages; born Ovelgönne, near Oldenburg (ca 1615), died Oldenburg (ca 1678).

• Elegant Company Making Music, oil on copper, 28.5 × 36.5 cm, Wolfgang Heimbach (ca 1615–ca 1678). London: Phillips, 4 July 2000, Lot 17. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, Image 0000110220 (2010, col.) Around a table two women and a man sing from open part-books to the accompaniment of a man playing a guitar. Leaning against a chair in the foreground bottom right-hand corner are an elaborately shaped cello and another guitar. Lying in front of them are some scattered sheets of music and a clearly depicted recorder of alto size. Behind the musicians, a man and a woman chat, one man farewells another at the door, and a young lad looks a bit left out of things, as young lads often do. In the front left-hand corner, a child plays with a small dog.

Rudolf Heinisch

German painter, graphic artist, print maker and set designer who developed his own style in figure-rich drawings, graphics and paintings now attributed to expressive realism; born Leipzig (1896), died Berlin (1956). Unlike many other artists, Heinisch remained in Germany, but refused to accept Nazi ideology and demonstratively entered the Catholic Church with his wife. He belonged to the circle of friends of the resistance fighter Theodor Haubach (1896–1945). Heinisch’ portrait of his close friend, the composer Paul Hindemith, is his best-known work.

• Paul Hindemith (1931), oil on canvas, 60 × 39 cm;, Rudolf Wilhelm Heinisch (1896–1956). This portrait, originally displayed at the Staedelsche Museum, Frankfurt am Main, was confiscated by the German National-Socialist regime, displayed in the exhibition Entartete Kunst [Degenerate Art], and consequently destroyed. Hindemith’s sole work for recorder is the Abendkonzert: Trio für Blockflöten from Plöner Musiktage (1932), a series of pieces written for a day of community music-making in the city of Plön, which culminated in an evening concert by grammar-school students and teachers. On the day, the Trio was performed by the composer himself with two friends. It is perhaps the only important work of the first part of the 20^th century composed specifically for recorders.

Dirk [Teodoro, Theodoor, Theodor] Helmbreker [Elembrech, Helmbreecker]

Dutch painter and draughtsman, active in Italy; born Haarlem (1633), died Rome (1696).

• Untitled, black chalk drawing, Dirk Helmbreker (1633–1696). Berlin: Kupferstichkabinett (West), Inv. 2795. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkk 224). A child holds a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder) in his left hand, but showing three lower finger holes. Both the bell end and the bore opening show a slight flare. This is probably a recorder. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Peasants dancing and Making Music in a Landscape, oil on canvas, Dirk Helmbreker (1633–1696). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001). A circle of dancers are accompanied by three musicians atop a plinth who play cittern, violin and a flared-bell pipe (probably a shawm, but possibly a recorder). Auctioned 30 October 1991, unsold (Gabrius, loc. cit.)

Mattheus van Hellemont

Flemish artist who specialisedin genre scenes of interiors and village scenes; his preferred subjects were peasant feasts, wedding celebrations, drinkers and alchemists; he spent most of his life in Angwerp but got into debt, supposedly due to his unruly character and frequent involvement in brawls which caused him to move to Brussels in 1674. born Antwerp (1623), died Brussels (after 1679).

• Celebration in a Village, oil on canvas, 86 × 117 cm, Mattheus van Hellemont (1623–p. 1679). Douai: Museé de la Chartreuse, cat. 181. Ref. Leppert (1977: 67, cat. 282, pl. LXIII). Possibly intended to illustrate the Flemish Proverb: “As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe”. A rustic street scene in which dancers are accompanied by musicians singing and playing drum, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipe, shawms, and an ambiguous pipe (possibly a recorder or another shawm). In the foreground, two small girls play slenderly flared pipes, one of which has a clearly visible window/labium: probably both represent recorders.

Bartholomeus van der Helst

Dutch artist considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age; his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam’s elite as well as the Stadtholder’s circle; besides portraits, he painted a few genre pictures as well as some biblical scenes and mythological subjects; born Haarlem (1613), died Amsterdam (1670); father of  Lodewijk (1642 – c. 1684), became a portrait painter like his father.

• Portrait of a Flute Player, oil painting, Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613-1670). Ref. Website: Pinterest, Beau Bellman’s photostream (2023, col.)  Private Collection. A rather sensual looking men with a leafy wreath in his curly hair, a moustache, wearing a loose open-necked whiteshirt (tied at the cuffs) and a blue silk cloak holds a perfectly depicted hand fluyt, left hand uppermost. The beak of the instrument, its window/labium, slender tapering profile, slightly flared foot, and several finger holes are clearly depicted.

Jeronimus van der Helst

Dutch painter known for his winter landscapes; born about 1629, died after 1671.

• Hilly Landscape with Musical Shepherds, oil on canvas, 75.0 × 87.5 cm, Jeronimus van der Helst (ca 1629–p. 1671). Vienna: Dorotheum, 21 April 2010, Lot 323. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 46328 (2010, col.) In a lean-to beside a river winding through a hilly landscape a shepherd and shepherdess sit facing each other playing slender pipes, possibly recorders. The reverse is signed JAVHelst. In the past this has been variously assigned to Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dirck Bleker, Jacob Sibrandi Mancadan and, most recently, simply to School of Rembrandt.

Lodewijk [Lodewyck] van der Helst

Dutch artist; born Amsterdam (1642), died Amsterdam (? 1682); son of Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613–1630), also a portraitist.

• Posthumous Portrait of Augustus Stellingwerf (1670), 104 × 136 cm, Lodewijk van der Helst (ca 1642–? 1682). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum SK-A-148. Ref. Bernt (1948, 2: 509). Augustus Stellingwerf, Admiral of the Friesland Admiralty, was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, stands at a table, his hands on a large polished cannonball. Also on the table are a plumed helmet, a globe, coins, a jewellery box, and a cylindrical wooden object with a brass sheath at the near end and a plain stick (perhaps a swagger stick). Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) notes that the brass-sheathed object is a recorder, but there are no features whatsoever to identify it as such. I am inclined to think that it is simply a military baton, in keeping with the Admiral’s rank.

Jan Sanders van Hemessen

Little-known Flemish realist artist who painted moralizing genre and biblical scenes, and half-length figures in a vigorous, somewhat clumsy style; born Hemessen, near Antwerp (ca 1501), died ? Utrecht (1566).

• Allegory of Love, oil on panel, 108.6 × 96.5 cm, attributed to Jan Sanders van Hemessen (ca 1501–1566). New York: Sotheby’s, London: Sale 24 January 2022, Lot 154. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Rowland-Jones (2000/01: 95, fig. 7, b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 108930 (2010, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-895 (2023, col.) A naked women half sits on a four-poster bed holding a lute in her right hand, her left gesturing towards a dog which is trying to climb up to her by way of the bed covers. On a table beside the bed are are some music books and a case from which the feet of two flared-bell recorders project. On a stall in front of the table, across an open music book, lies an alto-sized flared-bell recorder, its beak pointing towards the woman suggestively. Under the stall is another case from which part of another wind instrument projects. Above the bed is an oval painting which appears to depict Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.”As in Titian’s Venus of Urbino we are expected to assume that the husband is approaching his naked bride; his desire for her, and its spiritual aspect, is symbolised by the nearest element in the allegory, one recorder resting on music. Their marital harmony and its permanence is symbolised by two recorders, the right-hand one (from the playing end) being slightly larger, in close juxtaposition like a double pipe, and protruding from the case in which they are housed. The dog signifies loyalty, and the lute impending pregnancy. The lute, too, has its case – symbolising the cradle – where it is permanently kept, protected by the wife’s outstretched leg.” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm., 2000).
• Dissolute Society, painting, Jan Sanders van Hemessen (ca 1501–1566). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). In a crowded house there’s a party going on. In the kitchen, two women brawl on the floor, one punching the other with a vicious uppercut. A man holding a saucepan looks as if he is about to join in the fight, and a woman holds her man back from intervening. Around a dining table men and women are drinking. A little girl crawls over her mother’s shoulder to get at something on the table. Another woman has her arm around a man who holds a slender, cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder but there are no details. In the background a man climbs a stair, and others chat around the remains of a meal.

Jean-Jacques Henner

French artist whose work was inspired by classical myths and legends, but whose predilection was for the nude female figure in a landscape; born Bernwiller (1829), died Paris (1905).

• Idylle or La Fontaine ca 1872), oil on canvas, 74.1 × 61.5 cm, Jean-Jacques Henner (1829–1905). Paris: Musée d’Orsay, Inv. RF95. Ref. Forneris (1991: 154-155); Joconde (2003 – col). Beside a fountain, against the backdrop of a wooded hill, a naked woman watches a seated woman play a very slender ambiguous pipe. Joconde index this instrument as a flûte à bec.
• Nymphes à la source, oil on canvas, 36 × 163 cm, Jean-Jacques Henner (1829–1905). Mâcon: Musée des Ursulines, A.965. Ref. Joconde (2003, col.) Beside a lake in hilly countryside a naked nymph leans against a wall, listening to another naked nymph seated on the grass playing a cylindrical pipe. Joconde index this instrument as a flûte à bec.

HB-Henriot

French faïence pottery works in Quimper from 1690.

• The Magic Flute, faïence festooned platter, 38 × 28 cm, HB-Henriot (? date). Taos: The House of Taos Gallery, Vieux Quimper Collection. Ref. Website: The House of Taos Gallery (2006, col.) On a beach with a harbour in the background, a lad plays a small pipe with a flared bell to his girl. Both are in traditional dress, including clogs. The pipe looks more like a bombarde than a duct flute.

Herman Henstenburgh

Dutch pastrycook with an avocational interest in botanical painting; he was one of the most skillful masters of the scientifically precise watercolor still-life; although he was popular in his own time, few of his paintings survive; born 1667, died 1726.

• Vanitas Still-life, gouache on parchment, 33.0 × 27.9 cm, Herman Henstenburgh (1667–1726). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 2003.30. Ref. Rebecca Arkenberg (pers. comm., 2003); Arkenberg (2003: 6, & front cover, col.; 2004: 10); Wind (2004: 24) A human cranium rests on the edge of a marble shelf or pedestal, crowned by a garland of flowers. In the background a trail of smoke rises from the stuffed wick of a candle stub, and an hourglass lies on its side. Projecting from under the maxilla (upper jaw) of the skull is a leg bone, its line continued on the other side of the skull by the beak of an ivory recorder. A small book of music with crumpled pages obscures the rest of the recorder. A butterfly perches on the a petal, a snail peers from under a leaf, and tiny, sparkling droplets of water are sprinkled on a blossom. The score is partly legible and has been identified as an English tune that appears in Jacob van Eyck’s, Der Fluyten Lust-hof as Blydschap van myn vliedt [“Joy flees from me”], a lament on the death of a young lady whose initials were “M.V.B.” This painting is an unusual and beautiful work.

Robert Inerarity Herdman

Scottish artist who trained under Robert Scott Lauder (1803–1869); his works include genre, historical and pastoral scenes, and potraits; born Rattray (1829), died Edinburgh (1888); father of Robert Duddingston Herdman (1863–1922), also an artist.

• Morning (1861), oil on panel, 30.5 ×, 22.9 cm, Robert Inerarity Herdman (1829–1888). Glasgow: Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, Inv. 1047. Ref. RIdIM, Record 5501 (2021). A very young girl in a blue cap looks back at the viewer while holding a small slender flared bell duct flute (possibly a sopranino recorder), the beak and window/labium clearly visible.

Jan de Herdt

Flemish artist active in Italy, Austria, Moravia and probably Silesia whose works are exceedingly rare; active 1646–1668.

• Hermione Among the Shepherds (1667), oil on canvas, 154 × 148 cm, Jan de Herdt (op. 1646–1668). Vienna: Kunsthisorisches Museum, Inv.-Nr. GG_2921. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Hermione (Erminia), a character in the epic poem La Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso, falls in love with the Christian knight Tancred, and betrays her people to aid him. Once she discovers that Tancred is in love with Clorinde, however, she returns to join the Muslims. She subsequently steals Clorinde’s armor then joins a group of shepherds. In this painting Hermione, in light armour, leans against her spear; a bearded shepherd, holding a basket which he is making, kneels before her. A young lad plays a long slender pipe with a greatly flared bell, more like a shawm than a recorder, though the player’s lips seem very relaxed. Two other young shepherds look on.

Friedrich Herlin

German painter of altarpieces; born ? Ulm (ca 1425–1430), died Nördlingen (1500).

• Altar of the Twelve Apostles, panel: The Story of Jacob (1466), Friedrich Herlin (1425/30–1500). Detail. Rothenburg ob der Tauber: St Jakobs Kirche, high altar. Ref. Bruning & Koch (1986: 658–659, col.); Liesbeth van der Sluis (2003, pers. comm.); Wikimedia Commons (2008, col.) Includes a shepherd wearing a straw hat and a cowl holding an alto-sized recorder with an unusual, truncate beak.

Gangolf Herlinger (16th century), Czech

• Altarpiece: Coronation of the Virgin (ca 1520), Gangolf Herlinger. Detail. Osek (Czech Republic): Klášter Osek. Ref. Tibia 3 (1980); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 37, fig. 12); Hijmans (2005: 217); Website: gallica (2012, b&w, attributed to Burgmair). The Virgin with the Child on her lap is crowned amid a panoply of angels, soldiers, kings, queens, clergy, princes of the church, and three consorts of angel musicians: a SAT trio of cylindrical recorders, a quartet of crumhorns, and three cornetti with a large sackbut.

Paul Hermans

Contemporary Dutch painter with interests in astronomy, astrology and mythology; born Breda. Artist’s Web-site

• Muse Euterpe, painted dressing screen (panel), 60 × 120 cm, Paul Hermans (contemporary). A standing woman in side profile plays a slender slightly conical recorder. Although the instrument is shaped like a tin whistle, the hole for the little finger of the lowermost (right) hand can be seen clearly.

Willem I van Herp [Guilliam]

Flemish painter whose style combined the polish of David II Teniers, the bold composition of Rubens, and the robustness of Jordaens; born and died Antwerp (1614–1677).

• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, Willem I van Herp [Guilliam] (1614–1677) Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, (2002, b&w). Argus leans wearily on his staff, watched by his dog, his cows gazing meekly behind him. Mercury (Hermes) reaches for his knife, his bone pipe cast aside. The pipe is a probably a duct flute, given the hint of a beak, window/labium, and flared bell. This appears to be a copy of the painting by Jordaens in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Louis Hersent

French painter and printmaker; many of his mature pictures were painted with an academic sense of light and shade and composition, but using modern heroes (including American Indians) in place of Greeks and Romans, and sentiment and anecdote in place of history, a style popular with the new aristocracy of the First Empire; born and died Paris (1777–1860).

• Daphnis and Chloe: The Flute Lesson, oil on canvas, 170 × 95 cm, Louis Hersent (1777–1860). Paris: Louvre. Detail. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, (2002, col.); Rowland-Jones (2002d: 96–97, fig. 10, b&w). Daphnis, reclining on a grassy bank, teaches Chloe to play two short cylindrical pipes at once. She leans against him, a dog asleep at her feet. On each instrument, several finger holes are visible, but the window/labium and other features that would indicate duct flutes are not visible. Beyond the couple, deer browse the foliage at the head of a beautiful valley.

Stanley Hess

American Professor of Art at Drake University (1951–1985); as a painter he was known for portraying mysterious and haunting subjects in a dry, graphic and surreal style that carries on the magic-realist strain that first took hold in American art in the 1940s; as a muralist he  worked in mosaic, ceramic tile, brick, Plexiglass and stone; he also turned his hand to woodcarving and instrument making; and he was the designer of Tempered Notation, a way of writing human language specifically attuned to American English, in which the pronunciation of words is precisely represented and can be accurately reproduced by anyone who can read it.

• Serenader (ca 1980), drawing, Stanley Hess (op. 1951–1995). USA: Location unknown. Ref. American Recorder 21 (2): front cover (1980, b&w); Hess (1980: 57, fig.2, b&w). A decorated recorder head depicting a kneeling boy seen in side profile playing a neo-baroque recorder. In the event the woodcarving turned out rather differently (see below).
• Serenader (ca 1980), woodcarving, Stanley Hess (op. 1951–1995). USA: Location unknown. Ref. Hess (1980: 57, fig.2, b&w). A decorated boxwood recorder head depicting a boy seen in front profile playing a neo-baroque recorder.

Willem [Guillaume] de Heusch

Dutch painter and etcher; probably a pupil of Jan Both, since he painted entirely in Both’s style; born and died Utrecht (1625–1692).

• Landscape, canvas, 75 × 82 cm, Willem de Heusch (1625–692). Location unknown: sold Bois de Caron, ?City, 2 May 1966. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Against the background of a landscape with water and a temple, a half naked woman leans against her lover who plays a small flared pipe, quite possibly a recorder in this context.

Jacob van der Heyden

Flemish painter, sculptor and engraver who worked in Strasbourg, Frankfurt and Sweden; born Strasbourg (1573), died Brussels (1645).

• Hearing (1600–1635), etching and engraving in black on ivory paper 16.6 × 11.9 cm, Jacob van der Heyden (1573–1635). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. 1920.2225. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2136 (2023, b&w.) Within a circular frame, a young woman plays a lute. In the four corners of the print are a harp, a violin, two music books, a cornetto and a slender cylindrical recorder. The beak, window/labium and several finger holes are clearly depicted including an offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand.

Edna Hibel

US American draughtsman and painter working for many years in Zurich but later in Florida; an innovator in creating lithographs with up to 32 stones (or colors) on paper, silk, wood veneer and porcelain; she enhanced her lithographs, serigraphs and giclée with pastels, oil paint, gold leaf, pencil, ink, Conte crayon and charcoal; born Boston (1917); died Palm Beach Gardens (2014).

• The Recorder (1998), serigraph, 89.0 × 65.6 cm, Edna Hibel (1917–2014). Location unknown: Formerly Riviera Beach, Florida: Hibel Studio. A young woman in an elaborate headscarf and a floral gown holds a green conical pipe, which must be a recorder, given the title.
• The Recorder II, serigraph, 51 × 66 cm, Edna Hibel (1917–2014. Location unknown: Formerly Riviera Beach: Hibel Studio. A young woman in an elaborate headscarf and a floral gown holds a green conical pipe, which must be a recorder, given the title.
• The Recorder, serigraph, 38 × 66 cm, Edna Hibel (1917–2014). Marina Del Rey, CA: Gallery Qart. Ref. Website: QART.com (2015, col.) A young woman in an elaborate headscarf and a floral gown holds a green conical pipe, which must be a recorder, given the title.
• Woman Playing the Flute, print 7.6 x 12.7 cm, Edna Hibel (1917–2014). Website: Ebay (USA): item 252381637329 (2016). A seated woman wearing a hat plays a soprano recorder.

[Ferdinand] Theodor Hildebrandt

German painter & draughtsman; his subjects include theatre, history and genre; he was professor and leading member of the Düsseldorf school 1832-1854; he was also an entomologist specialising in Coleoptera (beetles); born Stettin (1804), died Düsseldorf (1874).

• [Two Musicians] (1835–1870), print on a sheet of chine collé, 24.7 × 21.1 cm, etching by August Hoffman (1810–1872), after Theodor Hildebrandt (1804–1874). London: British Museum, Inv. 1875,0710.1397. Two musicians playing, one on bagpipes, the other on a recorder, before a wayside shrine. Not seen.

James John Hill

British painter of landscapes, rustic genre scenes, rural life, portraits and animal studies; born 1811, died 1882.

• Boy Playing a Recorder, oil on canvas, 60.7 × 48.0 cm, James John Hill (1811–1882). London: Rosebery’s, Quarterly Select Auction, 13 September 2011, Lot. 570. A young boy plays a very slender duct flute, possibly a recorder since there is a hole for the lowermost finger (left hand).

John Frederick Hintz [Hints]

German Moravian immigrant cabinetmaker who spent much of his life in England. He specialised in making metal-inlaid furniture as well as musical instruments. Amongst the latter were mandolins, Spanish guitars, English guittars (citterns), viols d’amore, viols da gamba, marine trumpets, dulcimers, Aeolian harps, clavichords, harpsichords, and cymbals. He was one of the 10 founders of the Moravian Church in London; born Germany 1711, died London 1772.

• English guittar (a kind of cittern): rose (1755 –1760), gilt copper, John Frederick Hintz (1711-1772) London: Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. 37-1870. A central wreath and diaper is surrounded by musical instruments: four horns, two guittars (sic.), two viols and four 3-piece baroque recorders.
• Trade card of Fred^k Hintz, Guittar Maker (c. 1755), print on paper, Anonymous. London: British Museum, Inv. D,2.2607. Ref. Website: The Furniture History Society: BIFMO: British and Irish Furniture Makers Online (2024, col.) The border comprises a host of musical instruments including a lyre, lutes, English guittars, viols, viol d’amore, dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, harp, horn, folded trumpet, shawms, flutes, bassoon, and a baroque recorder. Only the head of the recorder is seen, depicted in side profile with its characteristic beak. The central text reads: Fred^k Hintz, Guittar Maker to Her Majesty and the Royal Family, and all uncommon Instruments sold at his House the Corner of Ryders Court Leicester Fields, followed by some doggerel.

Edith Hipkins

British artist who illustrated a number of works on musical instruments, musicology and composers by her father, antiquary and musicologist Alfred James Hipkins (1826–1903); active 1880–1940.

• A Double Flageolet, a German Flute, a Bass Recorder, a Double Flageolet and a Recorder (1888), coloured lithograph, from Musical Instruments: Historic, Rare and Unique by Alfred James Hipkins, published by A & C Black, Edinburgh, Edith Hipkins (op. 1880–1940). Manchester: University of Manchester Library, Stapelton Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library, Image STC84205 (2003, col.) Life-like illustrations of wind instruments, including a baroque bass recorder with bocal, and an alto recorder of unusual design with beak and mounts in a darker wood than the body. The original lithograph may exist amongst the Hipkins’ papers at the University of London (Library – Senate House).

Albertus Hirschberger (18th century), German.

• Title Page: Philomena cisterciensis ex Valle Bernardina Raittenhaslascensi published Burghausen (1743), print, Albertus Hirschberger (18th century). Ref. Bowles (2002: 214); Early Music 23 (4): 734–735 (1995); Web-site: Trombone History Timeline (2009). Through an ornamental archway a walled town can be seen. The arch is decorated with musical instruments of many kinds, including horns, trombone, bassoon, trumpets, oboes, harp, timpani, long drum, cello, syrinx, clavichord, violin, bagpipe, and two clearly depicted baroque recorders. A putto sits on the drum playing a transverse flute. Above the town, angel musicians play, but their instruments are two small to identify.

Veit Hirschvogel [Hirsfogel, Hirsvogel] the elder

German stained glass painter who directed his own workshop during the last great flowering of stained glass production in Nuremberg; in its most productive years, the German master Albrecht Dürer, along with his students, provided the designs for various stained glass projects; Hirschvogel replaced the compartmentalized and decorative approach of his day with a more monumental conception where a composition with imposing figures in an illusionistic setting unifies all the panels of a window; the workshop’s technical mastery of the application of washes and particularly of silver stain to create effects from yellow to red also endowed its stained glass with increased spatial illusion and translucency; born and died Nuremberg (1461–1525); father of Veit Hirschvogel the younger (1485–1553) who succeeded him as the city’s official glazier.

• The Holy Trinity, ink, wash, charcoal & red pigment on paper, tondo, 39.9 × 39.1 cm, workshop of Veit I Hirschvoegel (1461–1525). Winnipeg: Art Gallery Winnipeg, Inv. G-75-3.  Ref. Boerner, Düsseldorf, Sale Catalogue 57 (?1972: no. 25); Rasmussen (1999b). In this circular composition of the Holy Trinity (likely for a church rose window), a bearded God the Father is shown crowning Christ while the dove representing the Holy Ghost hovers above the two figures. to the left, angels sing and play harp; to the right, angels sing and play lute and a slender ambiguous pipe which, according to Rasmussen (loc. cit.), represents a recorder.

Anton Hoch (1906–1970), German

• Pair of Fauns, pen & ink drawing, Anton Hoch (1906–1970). Cologne: Private Collection, Aurelius Donath. Ref. CD cover: Concert de Chambre, Ensemble Arion (1999), Marc Aurel Edition MA971. A faun sits piping on a stylized pipe whilst a nymph languishes beside him. The CD features the recorder playing of Kay Schumacher.

John Evan Hodgson

English artist and librarian who spent much of his youth in Russia; historical subjects were his main output until 1869, when a visit to Africa converted him to Orientalist paintings; born London (1831), died 1895.

• A Philharmonic Rehearsal in a Farmhouse (1860), oil on canvas, 86.5 × 112.0 cm, John Evan Hodgson (1831–1895). Wolverhampton: Art Gallery, OP91. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2002: Image WAG13320, col.) A group of musicians rehearse together watched by a young child and a small dog. One of their company comes in at the door, a baby in a papoose on his back! An old man sits by the fire which is tended by a woman. The instruments are a cello, a violin and a clarinet. The Bridgeman Art Library index the latter as a recorder, mistakenly.

Jan van den Hoecke

Flemish painter and draughtsman; active also in Italy and Austria; a pupil of Rubens; born and died Antwerp (1611–1651).

• Still-life, oil on canvas, Jan van den Hoecke. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.) Beneath a velvet, tasselled curtain on and around a draped table are a basket of fruit, an overturned tazza, a gilt cup, a nautilus shell, an ornate goblet, lemons and other objects, a lute and a cylindrical recorder of tenor-size, the window/labium and two or three finger holes of which are visible.
• Allegory of Peace [Amor vincitore], oil on canvas, 153 × 203 cm, Jan van den Hoecke (1611–1651) & Paul de Vos (ca 1596–1678). Location unknown: formerly Museo Fundacion Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid; sold R. Charles, Brussels, 16 December 1929, Lot 38, as by Jan Fyt & Abraham Bosschaert. Ref. Leppert (1977: 68); Rasmussen (2002, Horn); Rijksbureau voor Kunstihistoriche Documentatie, Image  0000131919 (2010, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A winged amor (with his bow and quiver of arrows) points towards a pile of vanitas objects including discarded armour, pistols, a globe, an artist’s palette, a statue of a crouching woman, a small portrait, a large portrait, a flag, two hounds, and musical instruments. The latter comprise harp, theorbo, pochette, flute, two horns, and a duct flute (possibly a recorder, but only the beak and upper body visible).
• Allegory of Love, Jan van den Hoecke (1611–1651) & Paul de Vos (ca 1596–1678). Location unknown. Ref. Mirimonde (1967a: 325, fig. 11). Next to Mars’ divested armour and helmet are two duct flutes (flageolets or recorders). One, leaning against a globe, shows six holes. The other has only the two upper holes showing. These are doubtfully recorders. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. (1999).
• Allegory of Love, Jan van den Hoecke (1611–1651) & Paul de Vos. Stockholm. Ref. Mirimonde (1967a: 325, fig. 10). Another version of the above with more instruments and two duct flutes (flageolets or recorders) the finger holes of which are not clearly depicted. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. (1999).

Gérard Hoet the elder

Dutch artist; principally a history painter in the Dutch Italianate style, but also active in other artistic forms, including drawing, on which he wrote a textbook; born Brumel (1648), died Le Haye (1733); son of Moses Hoet (m. 1665+), a glass painter; father of painter and art dealer Gerard Hoet the younger, and of Hendrick Jacob Hoet (1693–1733), a genre and still-life painter.

• Young Man Playing a Flute, pastel on paper, Gérard Hoet the Elder (1648–1733). Orléans: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Pottier (1992: 52, pl. XXXVIII; 1995: 136, pl. 2); Museum of Fine Arts, Orléans: postcard; Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XIR206931, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A young lad plays a small, flared-bell recorder with a turned foot; an open music book lies on a bench before him.
• Sacrificial Feast Amongst Antique Ruins, painting, Gérard Hoet the Elder (1648–1733). Location unknown. Ref. Website: klassiskgitar.net (2007, col.) A crowd of people cavort amongst ancient ruins whilst a lamb is slaughtered. A central figure plays the lyre, a woman behind him plays the tambourine (with jingle rings) and a man plays a slender pipe (possibly a duct flute, although no details are visible).

Nicolaes van Hoey [Nikolaas van Hoy OR Hoje]

Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher, active in Antwerp and later Vienna where he became court painter to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, retaining this post until his death; he engraved religious scenes and mythological figures adapted from originals of Veronese, Barocci and Raphael; born Antwerp (1631), died Vienna (1679); father of the painter Nickolaus van Hoey the Younger (1660–1710), who succeeded him as court painter.

• The Painter’s Family, oil on panel, 56 × 74 cm, Nicolaes van Hoey (1631–1679). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Inv. 5434 (old), 7369 (new). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstg 285, b&w). The painter’s son and two of his daughters all hold duct flutes (possibly recorders). The clearest depicted is one held by the girl at the right whose instrument is beak downwards, obscuring the window/labium. But the likelihood is that they are all intended to be recorders, displaying the family’s musical interest and skill. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).

William Hogarth

English painter and engraver now recognized as probably the most innovative and interesting of British artists, best known for his small-scale ‘modern moral subjects’ and satires, and his theatre pieces; born Smithfield, London (1697), died Leicester Fields (1764).

• Mary’s Chappel: Five at Night / CONCERT TICKET (1799), etching by Jane Ireland, after William Hogarth (1697–1764). London: British Library. Ref. John A. Parkinson, ed. (1969), George Frideric Handel, Trio Sonata in G Minor, for two flutes … and basso continuo, Sonata da Camera S8, Oxford University Press, London (rear cover); Brook & Oja (1978). A chamber music concert featuring cello, two violins, viola,  cello (or viol), double bass, harpsichord,  flute, and an indistinctly drawn recorder the window/labium of which is clearly depicted. The costumes of the musicians suggest a date of around 1730. Jane Ireland was the daughter of Samuel Ireland, an eminent eighteenth-century collector of Hogarth’s engravings, who prepared a two-volume study of his collection which now forms the substance of the Hogarth holdings at the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. In preparing his survey of Hogarth’s engravings, Ireland and his daughters, Jane and Anna Maria, created the plates for the book. This etching is a result of that enterprise.

Jacob Hogers

Flemish painter of portraits, genre pieces, mythological and religious subjects; born 1614, died ca 1660.

• The Meeting of Jephthah with his Daughter, Jacob Hogers (1614–ca 1660). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 395. Ref. Postcard: Germanische Nationalmuseum, GM 395; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999). The Old Testament Book of Judges describes one of the Judges, Jephthah, called upon to lead the Israelites in their war against the Ammonites. On the eve of battle he made a pact with God that, in return for victory, he would sacrifice the first creature that comes out of the door of his house to meet him on his return. The battle won, it is his own daughter who greets him. In this painting, Jephthah’s daughter holds out a wreath to her father as he gallops forth on horseback. Immediately behind her are female musicians singing and playing flute, lute, drum, and an ambiguous pipe which may be meant to represent a recorder. Even close inspection fails to reveal enough detail for sure identification. On the pillars of an archway in the background are two trumpeters, one trumpet straight and the other folded.

Hans Holbein the younger

Swiss painter, draughtsman and designer, active in Switzerland and England; known for his altarpieces, portraits and designs for woodcuts, stained-glass and goldsmiths; work; born Augbburg (ca 1497–1498), died London (1543); son of the artist Hans Holbein the elder (1460/05–1524).

• Wings of the organ of Basel Cathedral: Empress Cunegonde and Emperor Henry II before the Cathedral (left wing); Madonna with Child, Musical Angels and St Pantalus (right wing) (1525–1528), distemper on canvas, 282.5/142.5/224.5 × 165 × 5.5 cm (Madonna), 243.5 × 62.5 × 5.5 cm (Pantalus), Hans Holbein the younger (ca 1497/98–1543). Basel: Kunstmuseum, Inv. 321. Ref. Wilfried Praet (pers. comm., 2009). In the right-hand wing the Madonna stands with the Child on her hip, beside her putti sing and play straight trumpet and a small cylindrical pipe, possibly a duct flute.

William Hole

English engraver; his principal contribution to the art of engraving in England is to be found in the rare score book Parthenia, or the Maydenhead of the First Musicke that ever was Printed for the Virginalls (1612), which contains music by William Byrd, Dr John Bull and Orlando Gibbons, the first example in England of intaglio engraving on copperplate being used to print music, which hitherto had been carried out by means of movable type or blocks; in 1618 he was appointed chief engraver for the Mint in London, a post he retained until his death; born before 1600, died 1624.

• From Michael Drayton’s Poly-Olbion: Glamorgan and Monmouthshire (1612 & 1622), engraved map, 25.4 × 33.0 cm, William Hole (op. 1607–1624). London: British Library, Shelfmark 79.h.2 – 1612 edition; Cambridge: St John’s College Library, Classmark Bb.4.14(1) – 1922 edition; Oxford: Mallams, copy of this map auctioned 25 February 2004, Lot 243 (sold). Ref. Michael Fleming ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2006); Website: English Viol Images (2013, b&w). Drayton’s massive topographical poem Poly-Olbion was printed [by Humphrey Lownes and Augustine Mathewes] for Iohn Marriott, John Grismand, and Thomas Dewe, in London. Hole provided the frontispiece and a number of maps. The latter are of little geographical value showing only rivers and major hills (probably as decoration) with allegorical figures placed at rivers etc. In that for Glamorgan and Monmouthshire musicians on either side of the Severn play a myriad of instruments. Those on the N side of the river are all in the soft category which at least suggests that amongst the direct-blown wind-instruments a recorder might be depicted. One on the S side of the river (far right) has a clearly discernible window/labium, a flared bell and quite enough finger holes to be a recorder.

Wenceslas [Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzel] Hollar

Czech etcher, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar; one of the best and most prolific artists of his time, his work includes some 400 drawings and 3000 etchings; his plates number some 2740, and include views, portraits, ships, religious subjects, heraldic subjects, landscapes, and still life in many different forms; born Prague (1607),  died London (1677).

• Concert of cherubs on earth, 13 × 21 cm, engraving, after Wenceslas Hollar (1607–1677). Ref. Wikimedia Commons (2009); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2356 (2023, b&w). Seven winged putti play tympani, flared-bell recorder, cornetto, violin, viol, lute, cello. This engraving was used by Henry Playford as the title page of The Theater of Music, Books 1–4 (1685–7), with the omission of the tympani player.

Cornelis Holsteyn

Dutch Golden Age painter; born Haarlem (1618), died Amsterdam (1658); son of glass painter Pieter Holsteyn I (1585–1662), brother of Pieter Holsteyn II (1614–1673).

• Achilles Amongst the Daughters of King Lycomedes, painting, Cornelis Holsteyn (1618–1658). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Lycomedes (also known as Lycurgus) was a king of the Dolopians in the island of Scyros near Euboea, father of a number of daughters including Deidameia, and grandfather of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus. At the request of Thetis, Lycomedes concealed Achilles in female disguise among his own daughters. Subsequently, Achilles had an affair with Deidamia, which resulted in the birth of Neoptolemus. As Odysseus drew Achilles out of his disguise and took him to Troy, Neoptolemus stayed with his grandfather until he too was summoned during the later stages of the war. In this painting, as Achilles dons his helmet, an envoy from Odysseus plucks at the female dress Achilles is wearing – a negro boy slave holds something more appropriate for a warrior. A small dog barks at the messenger; a man in a turban points into the distance. Before the men, a group of women, amongst them Deidamia, point to a jumble of treasure scattered on the ground  including a lute and a one-piece alto recorder, the beak, window/labium and finger holes of which are clearly visible.
• Mercury and Argus, painting, Cornelis Holsteyn (1618–1658). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Wikigallery (2012, col.) Sitting on a rock, Argus dozes whilst Mecury, sitting on the ground, pipes him asleep on a recorder which he plays one-handed. Io (as a heifer) watches from the hillside above them.

Abraham Danielsz. Hondius

Dutch painter, etcher, engraver and draughtsman, active also in England; more than two thirds of his paintings, etchings and drawings are animal pieces: hunting scenes, animals fighting and animal studies; he also represented landscapes, genre, religious and mythological scenes; born Rotterdam (1625–1630), died London (1691); son of Daniel Abramsz. de Hondt, the city stone mason of Rotterdam. Works by Hondius are often confused with those of Ludolf de Jongh.

• Mercury, Argus and Io, oil on panel, 99 × 126 cm, Abraham Danielsz. Hondius (1625/30–1691). Private Collection: Sotheby’s, London, 8 December 2005, Lot 236; Dorotheum, Vienna, 07 April 2006, Lot 132 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 150635 (2014, col.) Mercury pipes on a slenderly conical pipe to a drowsy Argus sitting beside him on a ledge beside a field. Io, as a heifer, looks on; a dog sleeps at Argus’ feet. There are more than enough finger holes on the pipe for it to represent a recorder, though no other details are visible.

Hendrik I Hondius (1573–p. 1649) – see Tadeus Zuccaro (1529–1566)

Nathaniel Hone the elder

Irish painter and printmaker who established a fashionable practice as a miniature painter in London; he opposed the dominant classicism based on Italian Renaissance art, preferring a more Dutch-inspired domesticity for his figures and their settings; his portraits of children, particularly his own, are considered among the best of their kind in mid-18th-century painting; born Dublin (1718), died London (1784).

• The Piping Boy (1768), oil on canvas, 36 × 31 cm, Nathaniel Hone, the elder (1718–1784). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, cat. 440). Ref. National Gallery of Ireland: postcard; Boydell (1985: pl. 8, col.); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 189, fig. 38). John Camillus, son of the artist, plays a one-piece recorder, the beak, window/labium and finger holes are clearly depicted, but the foot is obscured. Baillie made an etching of this painting in 1771 (see below).
• The Piping Boy (1771, later issue ca 1800), mezzotint, 33.5 × 23.0 cm, by Capain William Baillie 1723–1810) after Nathaniel Hone, the elder (1718–1784). London: Grosvenor Prints (2010). John Camillus, son of the artist, plays a one-piece recorder, the beak, window/labium and finger holes are clearly depicted, but the foot is obscured.

Adriaen Honich [Honing, Honig]

Netherlandish painter and draughtsman active in Utrecht and Rome; painted cityscapes, landscapes, architecture and still-lifes; born and died Dordrecht (1643–p. 1684).

• Still-life, oil on canvas, 95 × 133 cm, Adriaen Honich (1643–p. 1684).  Paris: Piasa, Important tableaux anciens, Drouot Richelieu, 13 December 2006, Lot 9. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 165138 (2014, b&w). On a cloth-covered table beneath some drapes are littered a conch shell, sheets of music, a glass, two vases (one with handles), the jaw-bone of a fish, a lobster claw, a deer antler, and two wind-instruments. One of the latter is slightly conical and only 4 finger holes are visible: it may represent a mute cornet. Next to it is a larger instrument with a fontanelle which appears to represent a basset recorder, though the head-joint is out of frame.

Gerrit (Gerard) van Honthorst (also Gherardo della Notte)

Dutch painter, a leading member of the Utrecht school influenced by the Italian painter Caravaggio; known for his biblical scenes, genre-painting, portraits and especially night scenes (hence his nickname) in a style characterized by chiaroscuro, strong color, and dramatically posed figures; born and died Utrecht (1590), died Utrecht (1656).

• Recorder Player  (1640), oil on canvas, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Bremen: Private collection. Ref. Pottier (1992: 53, pl. XXXXIX); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 191, pl. 39, b&w); Website: Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, AKG32929 (2014, col.) A young man seen in side profile, wearing a plumed hat, a red jacket and a scarf, plays a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt with a maker’s mark visible beneath the window/labium.
• Pastoral (1632), oil on canvas, 92.0 × 174.5 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, SK-A-3270. Ref. Rasmussen & Huene (1982: 30, fig. 1, b&w); Kettering (1983: fig. 128); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 1264 (2010, b&w). Encouraged by a shepherdess, a shepherd plays a narrow, one-piece, flared-profile alto recorder expanding gradually from beak to foot to two admiring women, both scantily clad. A third shepherdess points to the shepherds pipe, but is warned off by one of his admirers.
• Pastoral Scene / Shepherd Piping and Shepherdess with Crown of Flowers, 100 × 95 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Moscow: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. Kettering (1983: fig. 106); Griffioen (1988: 440–441); Paris RIdIM (1999); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0001681 (2016, col.) A shepherd in a loose cloak leans on a table playing a slender transitional style recorder to a smiling shepherdess with flowers in her hair. The recorder is of alto-size, cylindrical with a distinctively turned bell with a rounded outline. On the table lie some crusts of bread and some fruit.
• [Title unknown], painting, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Location unknown: Sotheby’s, London, 9 December 1987, Lot 78, Ref. Warburg Institute, London. A laughing woman, seated, holds up a recorder (hand fluyt) pointing down to a book of music (possibly decipherable). Balanced precariously in her ear is a large, cut rose. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• A Musical Party, oil on canvas, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002, b&w). Two rather vulgar looking women hold a violin and a lute. Behind them a man in the shadows plays a pipe, probably a recorder. The violinist holds a half-empty glass precariously on one side and seems a little under the weather.
• [Shepherd with a Recorder], oil on canvas, 83.5 × 62.0 cm, ? Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Location unknown: sold Frankfurt, 15 June 1920. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague ex Ruth van Baak Griffioen (pers. comm., 2003). This work has been attributed to both the Bolognese and Utrecht Schools. A shepherd in a leafy hat holds his crook over his right arm whilst holding a hand-fluyt in his left, the beak, window/labium, finger holes and bell clearly depicted.
• [The Contest between] Apollo and Pan, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Prague: Národní Galerie, Šternberský Palác, Inv. 0-5261. Ref. Ferino-Pagden (2000: 199).  As Pan, aghast, watches Apollo playing his viola da braccio. King Midas has his hands on Pan’s shoulders, indicating his preference. Between the two sides, Timolus points to Apollo proclaiming him the real victor. Pan holds in his left hand a soprano-sized cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder) with a sharply beaked mouthpiece and a rather triangularly-shaped window/labium. The beak, window/labium and four finger holes are visible before the clutching hand. Curiously, both Apollo’s bowing hand and Pan’s recorder-grasping hand are tinged red.
• Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi. Ref. Postcard: Uffizi, III-9-19 A 15/65 (col.); Walter Bergmann (ex Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm., 2003). A nativity scene in which the shepherds pay homage to the Christ-Child. One of the shepherds, leaning against his staff, holds a duct flute in his right hand, the window/labium clearly depicted, but no other details.
• Flute Player, oil on canvas, 107.0 × 85.5 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Schwerin: State Museum. A man leaning backwards at a windowsill holds a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) in his right hand. A possible pendant to The Merry Fiddler (Rijkmuseum, Amsterdam) with which it shares the dimensions, the height of the windowsill, the space in front of the painting, and the musical subject.
• Young Woman Holding a Flute and a Man Offering her a Chain. (1623), painting, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Location unknown; formerly Christies (New York). Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0001690 (2009, b&w). Sitting at a table a buxom woman with exposed breasts leans back from a man who offers her a chain as he puts his arms around her. She holds her left hand up as if to fend him off; in the right hand she holds an alto recorder. On the table are a bowl of fruit, two pewter plates, two goblets and a knife. The symbolism here is obvious. One of three versions, the others dated c. 1625 and 1655 (see below)
• Seduction Scene: Young Prostitute with Flute and an Old Client. (c. 1625), oil on canvas, 107 × 133 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). London & Rome: Lampronti, offered for sale 2017. Sitting at a table a buxom woman with exposed breasts leans back from a man who offers her a chain as he puts his arms around her. She holds her left hand up as if to fend him off; in the right hand she holds an alto recorder. On the table are a bowl of fruit, two pewter plates, two goblets and a knife. The symbolism here is obvious. One of three versions, the others dated c. 1623 and 1655 (see above),
• Courtship (1655), oil on canvas, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Konstanz: Städtische-Wessernberg Gallerie. Sitting at a table a buxom woman with exposed breasts leans back from a man who offers her a chain as he puts his arms around her. She holds her left hand up as if to fend him off; in the right hand she holds an alto recorder. On the table are a bowl of fruit, two pewter plates, two goblets and a knife. The symbolism here is obvious. One of three versions, the others dated 1623 and c. 1625 (see above).
• Pan – Youths and Nymphs / Satyr with Allegorical Figures in Pastoral Costumes (ca 1632), oil on canvas, 128 × 218 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Charlottesville: Montpelier, Grills Gallery. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 33577 (2024, col.) A satyr sits opposite two men and two young women in various states of dress and undress. One of the men holds a long-bow, the other holds a harp. One of the women holds a slender soprano recorder, the beak, window/labium and offset hole for the lowermost finger clearly visible.
• Man Holding a Flute, oil on canvas, 76.2 × 63.5 cm, Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656). Ref. Website: MutualArt.com (2015, col.)  Auctioned 12 March 2014. A soft-featured man seen in half-length three-quarter view wearing a laurel crown holds a soprano hand-fluyt in his left hand. The beak, window-labium and two finger holes are visible but the sitter’s fingers hide the rest. The foot is very slightly flared.

Pieter de Hooch (also spelled Hoogh, or Hooghe)

Dutch genre painter of the Delft school, noted for his interiors and through-scenes and for his use of light; active in the Hague, Delft and later in Amsterdam; born Rotterdam (1629), died Amsterdam (1684). De Hooch kept a lute for the lady and a recorder for the gentleman to symbolise harmony and fruitfulness in his Amsterdam portraits of married couples (Rowland-Jones 2002g: 4).

• Portrait of a Family Making Music (ca 1663), oil on canvas, 98.7 × 116.7 cm., Pieter de Hooch (1629–1683). Detail. Cleveland: Museum of Art, 51.355. Ref. Brown & Lascelle (1972: 105-108, b&w); Sutton (1980: pl. xii); Ford (1991: #181, pl. 23A); Griffioen (1988: 440–441; 1991: 390, footnote 26); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 82, pl. 23A, b&w; Kersten et al. (1996: 157–158, fig. 152, col.); Walls (1998: 14, fig. 8, b&w); Rowland-Jones (2000b: fig., b&w; 2000c: 87; 2002b: 48, pl. 3, b&w); Website: Bowed String Iconography Project, bip306 (2022, col.) The identity of the sitters remains unknown, although the marble floor and mantelpiece, the Transylvanian prayer rug on the table, and the silk clothes all point to the family’s considerable wealth. Furthermore, the richly carved chest at the right supports Chinese vases and Japanese lacquered boxes, a reference to the flourishing Dutch trade with Asia. Music making often took place at home, and its appearance here also signifies the harmoniousness of the family. In a well-appointed room, members of a family play music around a table. A female singer/conductor is accompanied by her son on a flared-bell soprano all-ivory recorder, her daughter on cittern, and her husband on violin. A bass viol is propped up in the corner. A nurse with younger members of the family look on, as does a dog. “Another generation to continue a life of virtuous family harmony, supported by loyalty (the dog) and a firm foundation (the bass viol)” (Rowland-Jones 2000b, loc. cit.)
• Flautist and Cittern Player (c.1680), 51.2 x 62.2 cm, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684). Amsterdam: Christies, Sale, 23-24 June 2015, Lot 81. Ref. Valentiner (1929: 171); Rowland-Jones (2000b: fig, b&w); Website: RKD Image 225912 (2023, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, LI-1888 (2023, col.) Watched by a servant girl who pours something from a jug into an enormous glass, a couple (probably a husband and wife) pose with their instruments: she plays a somewhat ambiguously depicted cittern or lute, seated; also seated, he holds an alto recorder in playing position with a flared bell and a protective brass sheath around the mouthpiece. A dog sits beside them staring out of the picture. Instruments with similar metal sheaths are depicted by Vermeulen, Collier, Steenwyck and others.
• A Woman with a Lute and a Man with a Flute (a.1680), 59.2 × 45.7 cm, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684). Location unknown: Christie’s, New York, 13 May 1989, no. 34. Ref. Sutton (1980: no. 158; 1998: Addendum, no. 166); Rowland-Jones (2000c: 101, pl. 6, b&w). A couple (probably a husband and wife, different and younger than the above) pose with their instruments: she plays a somewhat ambiguously depicted cittern or lute, seated. Standing, he holds an alto recorder with a flared bell and a protective brass sheath around the mouthpiece. A servant girl hovers in the background. The fact that the instruments are identical to those in the above picture suggests that they were studio props to offer to married couples for their picture. Recorders with similar metal sheaths are depicted by Vermeulen, Collier, Steenwyck and others.
• Musical Company in an Interior, oil on canvas laid down on board 58.4 × 45.4 cm, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684). New York: Lawrence Steigrad. Ref. Sutton (1998: 182, #166); Christies (New York), Sale 2135: Important Old Master Paintings and Sculptures, 28 January 2009, Lot 258. A seated woman plays a somewhat ambiguously depicted lute, a score in her lap. Beside her a man holds an alto or tenor recorder with a flared bell in one hand and waves with his other as if beating time. Curiously, his left foot is placed on an elaborate foot-stool, which might be of more use to his companion. Behind them a woman with her back to us plays a harpsichord.
• Luthier in his Room, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684). Paris: Collection (?Omer) Bouchery. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A luthier sits beside a double-manual keyboard instrument holding something unidentifiable. In the front right-hand corner stands a viol. On the wall behind him, hanging upside-down, are three similar flared-bell pipes of the same size. They have ornate turned flared bells, but their mouthpieces are very narrow and there is insufficient detail to tell if they are intended to represent duct flutes or reed instruments.
• A Guardroom Interior, oil on panel, 46.7 × 64.2 cm, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1683). London: Sotheby’s, 18 April 2000, Lot 17. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunstistoriche Documentatie 64679 (2010, col.) In a guardroom a smiling officer toasts his men, one of whom plays a slender cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder).
• A Lady and a Gentleman Making Music with dancing Dogs (ca 1680), oil on canvas, 62.2 × 53.3 cm, Pieter de Hooch (1629–1683). New York: Sotheby’s, 25 May 2000, Lot 62A. Ref. Valentiner (1930: 174); Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunstistoriche Documentatie 65221 (2010, col.) A man plays a pipe (probably a recorder) from music open on top of a spinet as an elegantly dressed lady in what appears to be a silk gown conducts two dancing dogs, one a poodle, the other a spaniel.

Samuel van Hoogstraten [Hoogestraten]

Dutch painter, draughtsman, engraver, writer, courtier and prominent citizen who served for several years as an official of the Mint of Holland; a pupil and early critic of Rembrandt, he was a versatile artist in his own right; his subjects range from conventional portraits, histories and genre pictures to illusionistic experiments with trompe-l’oeil still-lifes, architectural perspectives and perspective boxes; he also wrote the major Dutch painting treatise of the late 17th century, Inleyding tot de hooge schoole der schilderkonst, anders de zichtbaere werelt (‘Introduction to the Academy of Painting, or the Visible World’ (1678); born and died Dordrecht (1627–1678).

• Life-study of a Seated Man Holding a Flute (ca 1646), pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash touched with red and black chalk on paper, 14.2 × 16.2 cm, attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627–1678). London: British Museum, 1895,0915.1267. Ref. Royalton-Kisch (1992: No. 98); Paris RIdIM (1999); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 38591 (2010, col.); Website: British Museum (2013, col.) A young man, half sitting and half leaning holds, in a nearly vertical position, a slender duct flute of alto/tenor size. His lower (right) hand seems in position to cover four holes; his left clutches the instrument but would cover any upper finger holes. The beak and window/labium are clear. There is no bell expansion. Formerly attributed to School of Rembrandt. This was also engraved in 1765 by Cornelis van Noorde (1731–1795) (British Museum, loc. cit.)

Jan Josef I Horemans [le Sombre]

Flemish painter who appears to have followed in the footsteps of the 17th-century Flemish genre painters, executing a few portraits and a large number of small anecdotal pictures that were highly prized; born and died Antwerp (1682–1759); father of the painter Jan Josef II Horemans (1714–p.1790).

• Music Party, painting, Jan Josef Horemans I (1682–1759). Location unknown. Ref. Oja (1978: 10, item 52); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Around a table on a terrace a group of men and women are singing and playing music together under the direction of a man who conducts with a furl of paper. The instrumentalists play bass viol, ?violone, violin, guitar and two alto recorders – one with the beak, window/labium and a bulbous joint at the bottom of the head clearly visible. Beside them, a harlequinesque figure is dancing with a man who holds a guitar. A negro servant serves refreshments. One of the recorder players is an odd-looking fellow with a sloping forehead.
• Musical Company, oil on canvas, 60.6 × 82.6 cm, Jan Josef Horemans I (1682–1759). Location unknown: auctioned 9 July 2009. Ref. Web-site: MutualArt.com (2014, col.) Around a table a group of men and women are singing and playing music together. A woman plays a lute, another sings and conducts with a cylindrical stick; a man plays a violin, a second plays a cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder), left hand uppermost, and a third plays a cello. On the left, a negro boy runs in with refreshments. To the right a young boy is moving a chair out of the way of a monkey who has tipped over a basket in order to get at the melons and other fruit inside. Scattered on the floor in the foreground are musical instruments, music books. A lute leans against the wall on the far right.

Jan Josef [Jean-Joseph, Jan Joseph, Jan Jozef] II Horemans [le Clair]

Flemish painter who recreated the bourgeois atmosphere of his age in small paintings that are pleasantly animated and have an old-fashioned charm; his palette is lighter than that of his father, earning him his nickname; born and died Antwerp (1714–p. 1790); son of Jan Josef Horemans I [le Sombre] (1682–1752).

• Concert in a Salon, canvas, 39 × 33 cm, Jan Josef Horemans II (1714–p. 1790). Paris: Tajan, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle,  21 June 2010, Lot 143. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 281941 (2014, col.) Two women and three men are tuning up. One of the women sounds the harpsichord as one of the men adjusts his violone. Another of the men leans forward listening intently to the tuning, as does the second woman, presumably a singer since she holds a music score in her lap. Leaning against the harpsichord the third man holds a perfectly depicted baroque alto recorder. Formerly attributed to Jan Josef Horemans I (1682–1759).
• Tea-time at Johanna de Lasande’s (late 18th century), Jan Josef Horemans II (1714–p. 1790). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Ref. Capri(1973, 3, col.); Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003); American Recorder Journal 49 (2): front cover (2008, col.) A cello leans against an upholstered chair on the seat of which lie a music book, a violin and bow, and a baroque alto recorder, only the head of which is visible. Over the back hangs a horn; a second horn lies beneath the chair partly hidden by some books of music. Through a gate in the background two dogs bark at a group of men and women dancing around a pole.

Peter Jakob Horemans

Flemish painter of genre subjects including peasant country scenes and more elegant country interiors, known for his strong colouring and excellent draughtsmanship; born Antwerp (1700), died Munich (1776); brother of portrait and genre-painter Jan Josef Horemans I [le Sombre] (1682–1752).

• Musical Still-life with Horn Player, oil on panel, 37.8 × 50.4 cm, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Inv. 2949 (2350). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag 316); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). A musician sits at a table in a walled garden. He holds a horn in one hand and a small music book in the other. On the table are spread his instruments: violin, folded trumpet, lute, bagpipe and, between the pages of a book, a recorder, the characteristic bulbous beak of which is clearly visible – an unusual bookmark! On a low pillar behind the table two stone putti gambol.
• Portrait of a Court Musician with String Instruments (1762), oil on canvas, 65 × 80 cm, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Detail 1. Detail 2. Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Inv. Mu 280. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002, Mbnm – 29a); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002); Bowles (2002: 243, pl. 265, b&w); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-150 (2023, col.) In a pillared, marbled hall a musician sits at a long cloth-covered table surrounded by musical instruments including lute, violins, viols, cello, horns, bassoon and a number of wind instruments, notably an alto baroque recorder (only the head and part of the body visible) on the table and, in the right-hand corner, a tenor baroque recorder (maker’s mark visible). Two other wind instruments lie on the table, but only their bells are visible; one appears to be an oboe, but the other may represent a recorder. One of a series of paintings of court musicians commissioned by the Elector, Johann Theodor. There is a print of this, also in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich.
• Portrait of a Court Musician and Instruments (1762), oil on canvas, 65 × 80 cm, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Mu 281/2974. Ref. Munich RIdIM Mbnm – 29 b & Mstag – 312 (2013, b&w). Before a portico, a musician stands behind a table; he is holding a cello and a violin and, slung around his shoulder is a musical instrument case. On and around the table are music books, sheet music (partially legible) and many other musical instruments. Amongst the latter are timpani, a trumpet (folded), cello, lute, viols, viola d’amore, violin, viola, flute, bassoon, horn, recorder, oboe and oboe d’amore.
• Portrait of a Court Musician and Instruments, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Print Collection, Inv. 2973 (2330). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Mstag – 312). A print of an original painting, also in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich. In a pillared, marbled hall a musician sits at a long cloth-covered table surrounded by musical instruments including lute, violins, viols, cello, horns, bassoon and a number of wind instruments, notably an alto baroque recorder (only the head and part of the body visible) on the table and, in the right-hand corner, a tenor baroque recorder (maker’s mark visible). Two other wind instruments lie on the table, but only their bells are visible; one appears to be an oboe, but the other may represent a recorder.
• Concert at the Court of Ismaning (1733), oil on canvas, 186.0 × 240.5 cm, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Inv. R 7159. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Mbnm – 29); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A musical ensemble plays for a group of courtiers. The ensemble comprises harpsichord, viol, violin, transverse flute and two singers (castrati). On the floor to the left, behind the harpsichordist, sits a little boy who holds a small baroque-style recorder in one hand and a piece of music in the other. Ismaning is a town in Bavaria, near Munich.
• Concert, Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Detail. Munich: La Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus de Monaco. Ref. Research Center for Musical Iconography (1978: 18, item 98); Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin; LP cover: G.B. Bononcini, Divertimenti da Camera, Archiv 2533 167; Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2003). Seven musicians play violins, oboe, lute, ? bassoon, cello and a recorder with a conical body and very widely flared bell. Details of the window/labium, and finger holes are clearly depicted. One of the violinists has stopped to take a swig from a wine-bottle! In the background, left, a man and a woman converse.
• Spring – Johanna de Lasence taking Coffee in the Garden (1767), Peter Jakob Horemans (1700–1776). Nuremberg: Germanische Nationalmuseum. Ref. CD Cover: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Melos Quartett Stuttgart, Streichquartette, Deutsche Grammophon 2530 898 (1977, col.); Musica Calendar (1988, June: 12–25, col.); Rasmussen (1999, Horn Iconography); Website: artelista (2013, col.) Before the pillared vestibule of a small palace, an elegantly dressed woman sits at a small table drinking coffee. A young lad kneels before her, bearing a bunch of flowers. A dog sleeps beneath the table; another sits looking up at her, his ears pricked. Several maidservants are fussing about in the background. Further to the right, a large book and a cello lean against a chair on which lie an number of other instruments including a violin, a horn and a recorder (only the head visible); there is another horn on the ground beneath. In the background, iron gates open onto a parkland of some sort with men and women dance around a pole. A peacock is perched on the fence.

Jacques [Jacques-Martin, Jacques Martin] Hotteterre ‘Le Romain’

French musician, teacher, composer, writer; a member of the Grande Ecurie du Roy where he was employed as bassoonist and viola da gamba player, but he also played flute, recorder, oboe and musette; born and died Paris (ca 1680–1760/61).

• Principes de la Flûte traversière, ou Flûte d’Allemagne, de la Flûte à bec, ou Flûte douce, et du Haut-bois diviséz par Traitéz (1707): Echelle de tous les tons et Semi-tons de la Flûte à Bec, par musique et par tablature, Jacques Hotteterre ‘Le Romain’ (ca 1680–1760/61). Detail. Christophe Ballard, Paris. Reprinted 1713, 1720, 1722, 1760. Ref. Hotteterre (1707/1968: 73–80). The small drawing of a recorder shows that the double-holes for the lowermost finger were known in the early 18th century. In the text, Hotteterre notes: “… I will discuss f’ sharp. This is produced by unstopping the middle of the 8th hole on recorders which do not have a double hole. But on those which have one you unstop the further of these two holes, which you do by drawing back your finger without lifting it …… g’ sharp by unstopping half of the 7th hole, as I have explained in discussing f’ sharp, or, if this is double, the further hole.”  As Lasocki (in Hotteterre, loc. cit.) notes, this is the only tutor outside modern times to mention and illustrate these double holes for the 7th and 8th fingers.

Arnold Houbraken

Dutch painter and writer whose three-volume Groote Schouburgh (1718–1721), is generally regarded as one of the most important sources on the lives of 17th-century Dutch artists; born (1660), died (1719); father of reproductive engraver Jacob Houbraken (1698–1780) and artist-designer Antonyna Houbraken (1686–1736).

• Parnassus, red ink on paper, 23.4 × 37.8 cm, Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr – 284); Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). On Parnassus beside the stream of Castalia, Apollo with his lyre beneath his arm sits beside a tree. To his right the winged horse Pegasus appears to Minerva, goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic, and the inventor of music. Beside Apollo are two of the Muses, one with a small harp, the other with a small pipe. Dancing under the tree are another three of the Muses, amongst them Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) with a pipe in her hand. To the right are two Muses with flute and a triangle with rings. Below Minerva, putti play on small pipe, and a syrinx. On the ground lies a tambourine. The two pipes are catalogued by Munich RIdIM as recorders, but neither of the two is clearly depicted.
• The Young Bacchus, oil on panel, 23 × 28 cm, Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719). New York: Christie’s 13 November 1997, Lot 177. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 26800 (2010, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). On the edge of a forest, against a background of hills, a shepherd plays a small flared-bell recorder to a reclining shepherdess (or perhaps one of the Nysaean nymphs) whilst between them the young Bacchus drinks from a bowl. The shepherd’s hands and fingers are well placed for recorder playing with the lowermost little finger poised perfectly above its hole. Gabrius Data Bank (2002) listed and illustrated this as Nocturnal Landscape, possibly with respect to another version or a copy.
• Pallas Athene Visits Apollo on Parnassus, canvas, 71 × 96 cm, Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719). Detail. Dordrecht: Museum. Ref. Postcard, Dordrechts Museum (2001, col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 3560 (2010, col.) Armed to the hilt, Pallas Athene drifts in on a cloud to visit Apollo siting in a forest grove surrounded by the Muses some of whom dance and others of whom play musical instruments, including harp, tambourine, transverse flute and a tenor-sized flared pipe which might represent a recorder, although no details of the beak, window/labium or finger holes are discernible. Five putti seem keen to try out the instruments: one beats on a drum for the dancers; one tries a syrinx; another clamours for the tambourine.

Jacob Houbraken

Dutch reproductive engraver who devoted himself almost entirely to portraiture, in particular portraits of Netherlandish celebrities, that are today in many cases the only likenesses left of these people; born Dordrecht (1698), died Amsterdam (1780); son of Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719) whom he assisted in producing a published record of the lives of artists from the Dutch Golden Age.

• Geoffrey Chaucer (1741), engraving on paper, 37.4 × 23.8 cm, Jacob Houbraken (1698–1780). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-OB-48.285. A portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer in an oval window with an elaborate frame beneath which is a trophy comprising a head of Pan, a syrinx and a recorder. Beneath that again is a lyre and two rolls of paper. The characteristic beak of the recorder and its widely flared foot are clearly depicted.

Henry Houghton (1710–m.1729) OR John Houghton (1710–m.1729)

Irish father and son sculptors and gilders working in Dublin, produced decorative carved wooden panels, picture frames, chimneypieces and church monuments.

• Musical Trophy (1724), wood carving, by Henry Houghton (1710–m.1729) or John Houghton (fl.1726–m.1761). Dublin: Saint Michan’s Church of Ireland, organ gallery. Ref. Website: This church has a decorated organ built by John Baptiste Cuvillie between 1723–1725. A carved wooden panel at the front of the organ gallery rail depicts 17 musical instruments, amongst them a harp, violins, viol, cello, lute, trumpet, oboes, bassoons, and two baroque recorders the head and upper body of each clearly depicted. It is believed that the composer George Frideric Handel used this organ to compose (or at the least revise) his Messiah in 1724, before its first performance at New Music Hall in Fishamble Street at noon on 13 April 1742.

Frederick Hendrick van Hove

English engraver, known especially for his many portraits; born The Hague (fl. 1679), died London (1698).

• Title Page: Henry Playford, Deliciae Musicae … , copperplate engraving, 11 × 16 cm, published in London by J. Heptinstall for Henry Playford (1696), engraving by Frederick Hendrick van Hove (fl. 1679–1698). Munich: Bayerische StaatsBibliothe. Ref. Pincherlé (1960: 99); CD booklet: Eccles, The Judgement of Paris, Chandos Chaconne 0759; Website: Lute Iconography LI-2357 (2023, b&w.) The singer, Mrs Anne Bracegirdle (c.1671-1748), is seated at a table with a music book, her right arm and hand keeping time. Beside her sits a lutenist, probably her favourite accompanist John Eccles (1668–1753). On the table lies a baroque recorder in three sections. Mrs Bracegirdle sang the part of Venus – ‘to a miracle’, wrote the author William Congreve (1670–1729), the high spot being her aria ‘Nature framed thee more for loving,’ with two cooing recorders, which won her the Golden Apple.

John Hudgebut (17th century), English

• Lessons for the Recorder, signed ‘Arthur fecit 1682’. Title Page: John Hudgebut Thesaurus Musicus, London (1693). Ref. Welch (1911/1961: 71, fig. 32); Vinquist (1974: 58, 153–154); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 126, fig. 30). Possibly intended for a later edition of John Hudgebut’s tutor for the recorder, A Vade Mecum (first published in 1679). Shows a consort of three winged putti, seated on backless stools, playing three baroque recorders (including a basset with bocal) accompanying another who sings; another recorder lies on the table. Legêne (1995: 107) contends that this is the earliest depiction of the baroque recorder in England. An illustration of this title page is included in an anonymous Vanitas (after 1698) in the private collection of Jill Croft-Murray at Richmond, England. Richard Luckett (Pepys Librarian, Magdalen College, Cambridge) believes Hotteterre recorders may have been on sale at the French shop in the Strand before Cambert arrived in London in 1673; David Lasocki thinks not (Rowland-Jones, pers comm.)

Hendrik van Hueluwe – See Master of Frankfurt (op. 1460–1520)

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

Christophe Huet

French painter, engraver and designer who worked in Rococo style; he is remembered for his unusual paintings of animals acting like humans and adorned in human clothing, including animal musicians; born 1695, died 1759.

• Trophy with Musical Instruments, black chalk on cream laid paper, Christophe Huet (1695–1759). Ann Arbor: University of Michegan Museum of Art, Accession 1959/2.80. A trophy comprising a rather fanciful lyre, crossed by a flute, an oboe, and what looks like an ornate stick (perhaps a conductor’s). Beneath hang some sheets of music, a tambourine (with jingle rings and pellet bells), and a recorder. The latter is viewed in side profile, the beak, window/labium and flared bell clearly depicted.
• Grande Singerie (1737), oil painting on wall and door panels, Christophe Huet (1695–1759). Chantilly: Condé Museum, PE 737. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). The Joconde database notes that this includes a flûte à bec, but the reproduction is too small to confirm this.
• Singerie: The Concert (c.1739), oil on canvas, 89.1 × 150.9 cm, Christoph Huet (1700–1759). Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1957.7.1. Ref. Ford (1986: #175); Website: Web Gallery of Art (2013, col.) “Ten animals, playing harpsichord (?), oboe, recorder, violin, flute, lute, cello, bassoon, and dulcimer. Four animals singing (three from music); one conducting from music” (Ford, loc. cit.) The recorder is played by a hare. It is of slender form with a bulge between the head and the body; the bell is flared. One of a series of six Singeries which originally formed part of the decor of a salon in the Château de La Norville.

Jean Baptiste(-Marie) Huet

French rococo painter, engraver and Academician who studied and worked with François Boucher who considered Huet his natural successor; best known for his animal and pastoral scenes; provided textile designs to the firm of Jouy and to the tapestry manufacturers of Les Gobelins and Beauvaisborn; born and died Paris (1745–1811).

• Rustic Assignation (1777), oil on canvas, oval, 67.5 × 62.5 cm, Jean Baptiste Huet (1745-1811). Lyon: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. B499 Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A delightfully suggestive composition in the pastoral manner. Two sheep and two doves guard a basket of flowers, a bedroll, a garter and a pipe (flute or flageolet); the owners are noticeably absent. Although the pipe looks like a flute, there are seven finger holes (in line) and a shadow at the head end could represent the window/labium of a recorder as easily as the embouchure hole of a flute.
• The Flute Lesson, Jean Baptiste Huet (1745–1811). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) A shepherd plays a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) to a shepherdess sitting in the midst of a beautiful landscape. This painting was offered for sale with a pendant depicting what may be the same couple later in life. Here the man helps the woman to her feet while opposite them their two children point to the beautiful landscape beyond.
• Boys Playing Pipes, oil on canvas, Jean Baptiste Huet (1745–1811). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002, col.) Beneath a tree, two boys play slender cylindrical pipes (possibly recorders) to their watchful dog.

Walter Hugelshofer

• Coronation of the Virgin, painting, Walter Hugelshofer (? dates). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012, b&w). Walter Hugelshofer (1899–1987) was a prominent Swiss art historian so the attribution to an artist of this name may be in error. The Virgin is crowned by Christ and by God the Father; the Dove flies above. On the left, angels sing; on the right, angels play harp and an alto-sized recorder which is very clearly delineated.

Edward Robert Hughes

English artist and studio assistant to William Holman Hunt (1827–1910); the majority of his work, carried out mainly in watercolour/gouache, displays the meticulous observation of nature and minute technique associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement; born 1851, died 1914.

• Twilight Fantasies (1911), watercolour, 76.7 × 107.9 cm, Edward Robert Hughes (1851–1914). London: Maas Gallery. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image MAA54993, col.); Website: Art Magic (2003, col.) On the edge of a wooded valley peopled with fairies, a cloaked figure leans over a gnarled tree-stump playing a small flared-bell pipe, possibly a duct flute.

Jaume Huguet

Spanish artist whose style is characterised by stiffly realistic altarpieces with large scale figures; born Valls (ca 1415), died Barcelona (1492).

• Vallmoll Altarpiece (1447–1449), tempera and gold stucco reliefs with gold leaf on wood, 213.3 cm × 160.4 cm × 12.5 cm, Jaume Huguet (1414-1492). Detail. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Cat. 471. Ref. Ballester (1990: 160-161 & pl. 69); Rowland-Jones (1997: 13, fig. 11, b&w); Gudiol (1986: 69, col.); Rowland-Jones (1995: 48, footnote 32); Website: gallica (2012, b&w). The Virgin and Child, enthroned, are entertained by three singing angels on the left side and three playing cylindrical duct flutes (probably recorders) on the right.

Pierre-Nicolas Huilliot, the younger

French painter; born and died Paris (1674–1751).

• Still-life with World Map, oil on canvas, 150 × 142 cm, Pierre-Nicolas Huilliot, the younger (1674–1751). Versailles: Château de Versailles, Inv. MV 7263, INV8969, B 1438 Ref. Joconde Website (1999). A draped table with a vase of flowers, books, a globe, calipers, a transverse flute (only the body of which is visible, the head and foot hidden). Joconde list the instrument as a flûte à bec, in error.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 40.8 × 46.2 cm, Pierre-Nicolas Huilliot, the younger (1674–1751). New York: Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings, 26 April 2001. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001, col.); Website: Artfact (2003). A lute, a violin and bow, and a baroque recorder lie together with some sheet music on a table. Only the head of the recorder is visible from behind.

William Henry Hunt, RWS

English watercolourist and one of the key figures in nineteenth-century English watercolour painting; his was extensively collected in his lifetime, particularly his genre pictures of children, often in humorous situations, and his detailed, naturalistic still lifes of fruit, flowers, and birds’ nests that earned him the nickname ‘Bird’s Nest’ Hunt”; born London (1790), died London (1864).

• Boy Playing the Recorder, watercolour on paper, 33 × 24 cm, William Henry Hunt (1790–1864). Sherboorne, Dorset: Swan Gallery (2021, col.) A young lad sits playing a 1-piece recorder with details of the beak, window/labium and fingerholes clearly visible, including  a hole offset to the right for the little finger of the lowermost (hand). However, the player is holding the instrument left-hand lowermost.

Johann Hülsmann [Jan Hulsman] – see Theodoor van Thulden

Pieter Huys [Peeter Huijs

Flemish artist, amongst the imitators of Hieronymous Bosch; few works signed and dated by him are known; born 1519–1520, died Antwerp (1581–1584)

• The Inferno or The Last Judgement or Grotesque Fantasy (1570), oil on panel, 86 × 82 cm, Pieter Huys (1519/20–1581/84). Madrid: Museo del Prado, Inv. 2095. Ref. Sopeña Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 103–104). Has a number of Bosch-style instruments including … at the right, close to the entrance to a cavern, a drummer and a flautist (flauta da pico) behind a strange herald with a fantastical horn or curved trumpet.

Jean Hympe

French glazier active in Sens (early 16th century) with his son.

• Psalm 150: Paradise (1516–1517), stained glass window, 11 m diameter. Jean Hympe (16th century). Detail. Sens: Cathédrale St Etienne, north transept, w 119, rose window. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007); Website: The Medieval Stained Glass Photographic Archive (2013, col.)  Called Rose de Paradis, with a history of the archangel Michael below. The rose window includes many musical angels, some in pairs to left and right of centre. Two angels in green tunics play fairly wide alto-sized cylindrical instruments with slight bell flare. The mouth end is flat against the lips (as with some recorders); they could be shawms, though perhaps not in Paradise. These two lights are close to the centre-vertical, some way above the centre of the entire rose.Two other angels in green, yellow, red, white and blue play tenor-sized instruments of very strange construction which appear to be double pipes of some kind rather than recorders as such. These lights are well down the bottom half of the rose and are further apart than the two referred to above. At the centre of the rose window is a ‘pentalobe’ with a head of Christ radiating ‘glory’ to the first layer. Psalm 150 reads:

French Baroque classical painter, one of the founders of the French Academy, whose best work is marked by gravity, simplicity, and dignity; born and died Paris (1606–1656).

• Adoration of the Shepherds (1635), oil on canvas, 450 × 280 cm, Laurent de la Hyre (1606–1656). Rouen: Musée des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Rowland-Jones (1999d: p. 125, fig. 4, b&w); Website: Athenaeum, Artworks by Laurent de La Hyre (2014, col.)  “Joseph picks up or puts down a turned wind instrument (either the chanter of a bagpipe or alto recorder) given to him to present to the Christ-child as he lies in a manger, his mother playing with him, the shepherds watching on in wonder, and winged putti frolicking above … … this instrument has baroque decoration at the bell-end very like the Hotteterre-style recorders which came into fashion shortly after La Hyre’s death” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.). In fact, the instrument concerned is unequivocally a bagpipe the bag and drone pipes of which are clearly visible.
• Landscape, with a Shepherd Playing Flute (1647), oil on canvas, 59 × 78 cm, Laurent de la Hyre (1606–1656). Montpeilier: Musée Fabre. Ref. Website: Athenaeum, Artworks by Laurent de La Hyre (2014, col.) At the foot of a tree beside a steeply flowing stream a shepherd sits playing a slender pipe with a flared bell, very likely a duct flute (possibly a recorder). A companion lies before him; a dog sits beside them. A goat is in the process of crossing the stream, and two cows and a flock of sheep look on.
• Allegory of Music (1649), 105.7 × 144.1 cm, oil on canvas, Laurent de la Hyre (1606×1656). Detail. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 50.189. Ref. Pincherlé (1960: 86, b&w); Mirimonde (1975: fig. 2, b&w); Dugot (1997: 176, pl. 1, b&w, 178–179); Constance Old (ex Amanda Pond, pers. comm. 2002, b&w); Ausoni (2009: 16–17, col.); Website: gallica (2012, b&w); Website: Athenaeum, Artworks by Laurent de La Hyre (2014, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-857 (2023, col.)  A personification of Music tunes a theorbo in front of an organ with a score propped up against some books on a table with other instruments including another lute, a violin, a ? shawm with a curved bocal, and two small duct flutes. The one on the left has only four fingerholes holes and is thus a flageolet;, the other viewed end-on and is uninformative. At Music’s shoulder is a songbird, symbol of natural music, whereas by contrast she may be musica artificialis, modern music theory and practice. This canvas, originally flanked by two music-making putti (Musée Magnin, Dijon), belonged to a series of the seven Liberal Arts commissioned by Gédéon Tallemant (1613–1668) for his house in the Marais quarter of Paris.
• Landscape with a Flute Player (ca 1650), oil on canvas, 106.5 × 131.5 cm, Laurent de la Hyre (1606–1656). Lille: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. P 1877. Ref. Postcard, Réunion des musées nationaux, IC-00-7429 (1995 – col.); Joconde Website (1999); Website: Athenaeum, Artworks by Laurent de La Hyre (2014, col.) In a wooded countryside beside a stream a shepherd plays his pipe, possibly a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) watched by a friend who leans over the wall to listen. “The figures in this landscape are small and it is difficult to identify the instrument. But, with the incised decoration at the bell end, it could be an alto recorder” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 1999).

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2024. Recorder Home Page: Artists–H. Last accessed 31 December 2024. https://recorderhomepage.net/recorder-iconography/artists-h/