Artists–O

Justin Maurice O’Brien

Australian art-teacher, draughtsman, painter and mosaicist living and working variously in Australia, Greece and Italy; his mannerist style and choice of religious subjects looked back to the classicism of Piero della Francesca as an antidote to the 20th century; he also painted landscapes, still-lifes and portraits; born Hurstville (1917), died Rome (1996).

• Triptych: The Sacred Concert (1974), oil on canvas, 133 × 145 cm, Justin Maurice O’Brien (1917-1996). Brisbane: Philip Bacon Galleries, Justin O’Brien: A Survey Exhibition 1938-1995 (3-28 October 2006), sold. Ref. Smee (2006: 18-19 & fig.-col.) A parody of an early Renaissance altarpiece in modern guise. The left-hand panel depicts musicians seated before a window playing a long-necked lute and a tenor-sized recorder of vaguely neo-baroque construction. The beak and window/labium of the recorder are clearly depicted, as are the characteristic hand and finger positions. The central panel depicts a Madonna and Child; the right-hand panel shows the Madonna once more, this time on a low seat with the miniature, mannish Christ-child standing between her legs; behind, can be seen a kitchen with a decidedly modern range hood. Incredible as it may seem, this painting sold for AU $395,000!

Jacob Ochtervelt

Dutch artist who first painted hunting scenes and mythological pictures reminiscent of Berchen and Weenix; later painted interiors and genre subjects noted for their elegance, delicacy and charm, often including convivial groups and flirtatious couples; born Rotterdam 1634/5, died Amsterdam 1682.

• Concert in the Park, Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Location unknown; sold by Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 28 March (1955). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Watched by a young couple, three musicians play around a table. A man sings accompanied by a woman playing a small recorder and a man in a plumed hat playing a lute.
• Musical Company (ca 1668), oil on canvas, 58.5 × 48.9 cm (unframed), Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Cleveland: Museum of Art, 1991.23. Ref. Ford (1991: 182, fig.); Website Cleveland Museum of Art (2010-col.); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip307 (2022, col.) “In a domestic interior, a man plays a small recorder (right hand on top) and a woman plays a violin. Neither uses written music. A second man in the foreground at left leans over to listen to the pair. The recorder player, dressed in a breastplate like a soldier’s(?), has an instrument that seems too small in comparison to the violin to be a soprano on c, and is probably a sixth flute in d. If so, he plays a g-sharp in the second octave. The woman holds the violin along her forearm, cradling it in her elbow, and holds the bow with her thumb on the hair, very possibly playing g-sharp on the top string. She looks at the recorder player out of the corner of her eye while he stares into space and the other man looks at her. A third man listens from the background and a couple converse in the background at right” (Ford, loc. cit.) On the wall behind the musicians hang portraits of women and a large map. It is thought that this might represent a brothel scene (Cleveland Museum of Art, loc. cit.)
• Elegant Couple Playing Music in an Interior, painting, circle of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634/5-1682). Location unknown: auctioned 19/09/2002 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) A woman with a spaniel in her lap sits at at draped table pointing at an open book of music as if following the score or possibly singing from it. In her other hand she holds a brush, presumably for the dog. Beside her, a man holds an alto-sized baroque-style recorder.

François Octavien

French painter much influenced by Watteau; he began his career as a singer but was painting professionally from 1724; born Rome (ca 1682), died Versailles (1740).

• The Disappointed Pierrot, François Octavien (ca 1682-1740). Nancy: Musée de Beaux Arts. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2003). On the ground by a seated lady (who presumably has just said ‘no’ to Pierrot) lies a tambourine with what could be a tenor-sized cylindrical duct flute beneath it, showing the head and foot. The latter is seen from underneath, so no finger holes are visible, but the under-part of the mouthpiece shows the beak which is shaped very like that of a baroque recorder.

Willem Gijsbrechtsz. van Odekercken

Netherlandish interior decorator and artist; born Nijmegen or The Hague (ca 1610), died Delft (1677).

• Shepherd Playing the Flute, oil on panel, 75.1 × 61.7 cm, Willem Gijsbrechtsz. van Odekercken (ca 1610-1677). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s (Amsterdam) Sale SALE AM0875, Old Master Paintings from the Sør Rusche Collection, 05 November 2002, Lot 48 (sold). Ref. Catalogue, Sotheby’s Sale AM0875 (2002: Lot 48 – col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Collectie 104338 (2010-col.); Wikigallery (2016-col.) A smiling shepherd wearing a leafy crown holds a perfectly depicted hand-fluyt as if to play it. Formerly attributed to follower of Jacob de Backer.
• Shepherd with a Recorder, oil on panel, 70 × 56 cm, Willem Gijsbrechtsz. van Odekercken (ca 1610-1677 ). Vienna: Dorotheum, 16 June 2004, Lot 85. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Collectie 191675 (2010-col.) A man wearing a floral hat and a fur-collared cloak, a crook across his arm, plays a flared recorder.

Hendrick ten Oever

Dutch artist considered to be a member of the Pieter de Hooch school of genre painting; known for landscapes and cityscapes as well as portraits; born Zwolle (1639), died Zwolle (1716).

• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 130 × 137 cm, Hendrick ten Oever (1639-1716). Dalfsen: Collection of Count van Rechteren-Limpurg. Ref. Warburg Institute, London; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 105956 (2010-col.) Mercury plays a pipe with a slender mouthpiece. No window/labium is visible. One finger holes shows between his hands (left hand lowermost), also an offset hole for the little finger, so this is possibly a recorder.
• Pastoral Scene (1680–1716), oil on canvas, 144.0 × 181.5 cm, Hendrick ten Oever (1639–1716). Detail. Zwolle: Stedelijk Museum, Inv. 700. Ref. Jan Bouterse (2006, pers. comm.); Streng & van Dijk (1996: 120-121 & pl. – col.); Thiemo Wind (2006, pers. comm.); Arnold den Teuling (2017, pers. comm.). Originally a ‘chimney piece’, made for a house in the ‘Bloemendalstraat’ in Zwolle. A shepherd plays a pipe, probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder. Although no beak or window/labium is visible the paired holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand characteristic of the recorder are clearly seen. A woman sings from a sheet on which the text Een niew lied genaamd Rosemont (A new song, named Rosemont) can be read. Rosemont/Rosemond appears in Jacob van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-Hof and has the same tune as Giles Farnaby’s Tower Hill and other pieces from Dutch sources named after various London landmarks, including Londons Bridge and Reformee (New London Bridge). See Ruth van Baak Griffioen (1991: 310–312).

Judith Oksner (op. 2005)

US-American painter and teacher living and working in New Hampshire; subjects include city scenes and people, town or country; born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (contemporary). Artist’s home page.

• Trio con Brio, watercolour & ink, 40.6 × 61.0 cm, Judith Oksner (op. 2005). King Henry VIII, one of his queens, and a courtier play crumhorn, cello and an anachronistic plastic alto neo-baroque recorder, doubtless of the Tudor brand.
• [Recorder-playing Grannies] (2005), watercolour, Judith Oksner (op. 2005). Ref. American Recorder 46(5): front cover (2005 – colour). Four grannies play baroque-style recorders with ivory mounts.
• Two Tudors, watercolour, 25.4 × 35.6 cm, Judith Oksner (op. 2005-2011). In front of a music-stand, King Henry VIII and his Queen (? which one) hold anachronistic plastic alto neo-baroque recorders, doubtless of the Tudor brand.

Jan Olis

Dutch painter of genre scenes, particularly Merry Companies, in the manner of Anthonie Palamedesz and Jan Miense Molenaer; born Gorkum (ca 1610), died Heusden (1676).

• Concert, oil on canvas, 26.7 × 35.0 cm, Jan Olis (ca 1610-1676). Bordeaux: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. Bx E 1069 128, Bx M 6705. Ref. Joconde (2003 – col.) A man and a woman, standing, listen to musicians singing and playing around a table. A woman conducts, a man plays a lute, and young lad plays a slender, cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder.

Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544), Italian

• Virgin and Child Enthroned Between Angels (ca 1500), oil on panel, 136 × 202 cm, attributed to Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, Inv. NGI 480. Ref. Boydell (1985: 45-46, fig. 35); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); dall’Acqua (1975, 1: 479). The National Gallery of Ireland now attribute this to Venetian School c.1500. On either side of the Virgin and Child musicians play lute (left) and a conical duct flute (probably a recorder). The fingering of the latter is haphazard with all fingers of both hands down and yet two open finger holes between the hands are clearly evident. ” … the two angels in this painting are unlikely to represent an actual musical ensemble for their purpose is to represent the Virgin’s supremacy over both the spiritual and the sensual sides of human nature, represented by the lute and the recorder. This painting has been retouched in later centuries, the rosette on the lute in particular showing evidence of repainting. The recorder, with an uncharacteristically expanded body and large tongue and window, is held unmusically, the player’s fingers not over the sound-holes, seven of which are visible” (Boydell, loc. cit.) Boydell must have been looking at the Glasgow Virgin and Child, in which the posture of the recorder player and the general morphology of his instrument are very similar but in which seven finger holes are visible.
• Virgin with Child and Saints Lorenzo and Sebastian, tempera on panel, Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Padua: Basilica Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption; formerly Bovolenta: Oratorio di San Lorenzo. Ref. dall’Acqua (1975, 1: 478); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Vicente Parrilla (pers. comm., 2022). The Virgin sits on a wooden throne beneath a large tree. On her left stands St Lorenzo; on her right is St Sebastian. At her feet on the foot of the throne sits a tiny putto playing a conical flared-bell duct flute (flageolet or recorder). Although the first three holes are covered by the fingers of the upper (right) hand and only a further three are visible below, there may be an offset hole for the little finger of the lowermost hand which is out of view.
• Virgin and Child enthroned with Saints Peter, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and Sebastian, Alessandro Oliverio (op. 1532-1544). Glasgow: City Art Gallery, No. 188. Ref. dall’Acqua (1975, 1: 481); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). Musical angels seated on a plinth play a flared recorder (the fingering haphazard), vielle and lute, all beautifully illustrated. At the musicians’ feet sits a parrot. The recorder player and his instrument are strongly reminiscent of Oliverio’s The Virgin and Child Enthroned Between Angels, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.

Johann Bergmann von Olpe [Alpe]

German printer and engraver active in Basle; born Sauerland (1455/60), died Basle (1532).

• From Sebastian Brant’s Das Narren Schyff [The Ship of Fools], Basel: Fool with a Recorder (1494), woodcut, Johann Bergmann von Olpe (1455/60 – 1532). Ref. Intrada 2(3): cover (1996); Card, Musica Pretiosa, Vilsbiburg (2004). A fool holds a cylindrical duct flute (almost certainly a recorder – although only five finger holes are shown it is grasped in the middle covering the other two) with a simple turned foot very much like those illustrated by Virdung.

Jan Onghers [Jan Angers, Johann Angers, Jan Ingners, Jan Ongers, Johann Ongers, Jan Jakub? Onghers, Johann Onghers, Jan Ungrsch]

Dutch painter and draughtsman who seemed to have trouble spelling his name but is known for his still lifes, genre scenes and religious scenes; born Mechelen (1659), died Prague (1735).

Harm Kamerlingh Onnes

Dutch portrait painter and ceramist, who also produced designs for stamps and stained-glass windows; best known for the small, humorous vignettes of everyday life, he also made portraits including those of physicists Albert Einstein and Paul Ehrenfest; born Zoeterwoude  (1893), died Leiden (1985).

• Portrait of Steven Boudewijn Eric Halbertsma (1946- ) (1955), pencil on paper, 29.5 × 24.0 cm, attributed to Harm Kamerlingh Onnes (1893-1985). Private Collection. Ref. Website: Rijksbureau vor Kunsthistorische Documentatie Image IB00096644 (2016). Eleven-year old Steven is seen in side profile playing a neo-baroque recorder.

Jacob van Oost, the Elder

Flemish painter; a pupil of Carraci, and a follower also of Rubens and Caravaggio, he developed a vigorous and realistic style of his own; his works include portraits and religious subjects; born Bruges (1603), died Bruges (1671).

• Boy with a Flute, painting, Jacob van Oost, the Elder (1603-1671) Amsterdam: Salomon Lilian (2008). Ref. Constance Scholton ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008). The “flute” is a recorder.

Maria van Oosterwijk [Oosterwyck, Oosterwijck]

Dutch painter and student of Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1684) and later Willem van Aelst and Geertje Pieters (1665-1735); known mostly for her floral still-lifes and a score of paintings of the Virgin; born Nootdodrp (1630), died Uitdam (1693).

• Vanitas Still-life (1668), 73.0 × 88.5 cm, Maria van Oosterwijk 1630-1693). Ref. Vienna: Kunsthisorisches Museum, Gemaldegalerie, Inv.-Nr GG-5714. Ref. IJdelheld, #20; Griffioen (1988: 440-441). On a table lie a vase of flowers a skull, a corn cob, a spike of wheat, a globe, an hourglass, a purse, a flask of wine, books, papers, a transverse flute, and a soprano-sized hand-fluyt with a maker’s mark visible beneath the window/labium.

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen [or Oostzanen; called Cornelisz. van Amsterdam]

Dutch designer of woodcuts, painter of portraits and religious pictures whose paintings are crowded with elaborately costumed figures and surface movement, often superfluously ornamented; born Amsterdam (1468/70), died Amsterdam (1553).

• Altarpiece: Triptych of Augustinus van Teylingen (ca 1518), central panel: Virgin and Child, oil on panel, 42 × 32 cm (centre panel) 50 × 17 (wings), Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Gemägalerie Inv. No. 607; Website: Memoria in beeld (2010-col.) Ref. Glück (1928: 277); Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 241, pl. 131); Wiese (1988: fig. 18 – b&w); Archiv Moeck; Munich RIdIM (1999, Bgd – 30); Paris RIdIM (1999); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 374.C813.34[a]; Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers comm., 1999, 2001); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2009); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-col.) Against the background of a town through which flows a river, Mary and Child are serenaded on either side by putti singing and playing musical instruments. In the the left play lute and a duct flute (flageolet or recorder). The window/labium of the latter is clear; although only three fingers of the lower (right) hand cover their holes, the four fingers of the the upper (right) hand are all on the instrument; the bell end is obscured. On the right a singing putto (with music) is accompanied by another on duct flute (flageolet or recorder), the window/labium of which is clear, all four fingers of the lower (right) hand cover their holes, and the bell is flared. The lower wrist position of both putti suggest that these are highly probable recorders. There is a bowl of cherries in the foreground.
• Mary with Child and Child Musicians, panel, 66.0 × 57.4 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, NK1601 (on loan from the Rijksdienst cultureel erfgoed). Ref. Hannema (1936: no. 91, fig. 91); de Lorm (1965: 36 – col.); Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 240, pl. 130); van Dijk (1987: no. 10); Archiv Moeck; Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 374.C813.34C; Rasmussen (1999, Lute; 2004, Bells); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2014); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-col.) Mary and Child are entertained by statuary angels playing lute and a flared-bell recorder. Elsewhere putti play hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, harp, recorder and pellet bells. In the foreground is a basket of cherries. “There is a variant of this painting in Bamberg, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen with a single statuary angel playing a lute” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.)
• Altarpiece, Triptych of All Saints (1523), oil on oak panel, 88 × 55 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Detail. Kassel: Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Inv. GK 30. Ref. Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 245-col.); Munich RIdIM (1999, Kksq – 44); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-col.)   The central panel depicts the Holy Trinity, Moses, King David (with his harp) and others. The left wing depicts Mary, Adam and Eve, and others; in the the clouds above, angels playing musical instruments including lutes, harp, bagpipe, syrinx, triangle, straight trumpet, and tabor. The right wing depicts Christ, the disciples and others: in the clouds above, flying angels and putti play musical instruments including lute, harp, bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, tabor and a narrow, flared-bell recorder of which the window/labium and finger holes of which are very clearly shown.
• Altar-piece, right wing, inside: Adoration of the Child (c.1511-1520), oil on panel, 126.5 × 94.5 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Detail. Basel: Kunstmuseum, Inv. 1230. Ref. Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 246: pl. 137); Paris RIdIM (1999); Rasmussen (1999a; 1999, Lute; 2005); Web-site: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009 – col.); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-b&w).  In a ruined barn festooned with leafy decorations, and with putti and angels literally jumping from the rafters, Mary and Joseph honour the Christ Child. In the foreground an angel plays the organ whilst another works the bellows. Shepherds enter in at the side, one kneeling in amazement. In the background, angels play a long curvy looped trumpet, lute, flute, harp and a pipe. The latter is probably not a recorder as the player’s cheeks are considerably inflated. There are a number of variants of this work (see below).
• Adoration of the Child, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Location unknown. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) There are a number of variants of the above work (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) In the background of one (location unknown), two winged putti play what are clearly flared-bell recorders as they hover in the air, whilst beneath them another couple play lute and a third recorder of the same kind. This latter pair is echoed on the other side of the crib in the foreground by two fully grown angels playing lute and a cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) the foot of which is hidden by the head of the angel in front.
• Adoration of the Christ Child / Nativity (ca 1515), oil on carded panel, 98.5 × 76.3 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Detail. Chicago: Art Institute, 1983.375. Ref. Steinbart (1922: pl. VI/1); Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 254, pl. 142); Ford (1987: #38); Bosseur (1999: 32 – col.); Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2014); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1377 (2023, col.)  “Around Mary, Joseph, and the Child are two angels playing lute and a recorder; three singing putti with a book; and four putti, three of whom play straight trumpets and one playing an S-shaped trumpet. Above the central scene are four groups of putti: four putti with a page of music (notation suggested but not legible); two putti playing recorders; three putti playing fiddle, lute and harp; three putti playing harp, straight trumpet, and a hurdy-gurdy; and two putti playing recorder(?) and lute. In the background, a depiction of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with one shepherd playing a recorder” (Ford 1987, loc. cit.) Bosseur (loc. cit.) gives the date of this work as ca 1520; Friedländer (loc. cit.) notes it as partly by A. Isenbrant. Note that the recorders depicted here lack sidewalls to the window-labium, first illustrated in Francesco del Cossa’s April (1470). Such instruments continue to be represented in artworks well into the eighteenth century. It is possible that these represent choke-bore recorders with a limited range of an octave and a minor seventh rather than Ganassi-style instruments with a more extended range.
• Adoration of the Child with Saint André and Sainte Marguerite (ca 1512), oil on panel, 128 × 177 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Naples: Museo e Galleria Nazionali de Capodimonte. Ref. Friedländer (1975, 12: no. 255); Paris RIdIM (1999); Liesbeth van der Sluijs (pers. comm., 2001); Website: Memoria in beeld (2010-col.); Website: Friedländer 3.0 Database (2016-col.) In front of the crib a strange band of winged putti play two flared bell recorders (the window/labium clearly shown), hammered dulcimer, straight and folded trumpets from a book of music held by a sixth putto. In the background can be seen a harbour with boats and ships. Winged putti playing musical instruments abound, including two who play what are clearly flared-bell recorders as they hover in the air.
• Adoration of the Child, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Detail 1. Detail 2. Utrecht: Centraalmuseum. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Vignau (1999); Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2009); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2009). Mary and Joseph honour the Christ Child. In the foreground angels play lute, organetto, straight trumpets and a long flared-bell recorder, the beak end and window/labium of which are just visible. Further back and to the right an angel plays what is quite clearly another long flared-bell recorder of strange construction: although it has only a single beak and window/labium it appears to have two bores. In the background shepherds kneel and townsfolk hasten to witness the marvel. Further back, in panoply the three kings arrive, cantering past a walled city with towers and turrets.
• Virgin and Child with Angels, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Bamburg: Neue Residenz, Staatsgalerie, WAF 159. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Mstag – 146); Web-site: Ikonographie der Renaissanceflöte (2009 – b&w). Mary holds the Holy Child who reaches out toward the fiddle playing putto, one of a group of winged putti playing harp, hurdy-gurdy and a long cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder). Around the inner frame, tiny winged putti perch on cornices playing tabor, transverse flute and lute.
• Triptych: Mary and Child with Musical Angels and Portraits of the Family Sampsons-Coolen (1518), panel, 118.5 × 41.5 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Detail. Uden: Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Inv. 1754 (on loan from Maria Kapel, Aarle-Rixtel). Ref. Postcard (1960s – b&w); Website: Memoria in beeld (2010-col.); Arnold  den Teuling (pers. comm., 2014). Held by his mother, the Christ Child reaches out to a winged putto playing a waisted fiddle. Another child beside him holds two cherries taken from basket on which rests a large knife with an ornamental handle. On a bench behind the winged putti play lutes, hurdy-gurdy, and long slender recorder with a flared-bell, the window/labium clearly depicted. In the background is a city with a river. Above, God is in his heaven surrounded by a host of winged putti singing and playing musical instruments including rebec, a trio of pipes (possibly recorders), a trio of rauchpfeiffen (the windcaps clearly depicted), straight trumpets, curved trumpets, harp, pipe and tabor, organetto, bagpipe, waisted fiddle, triangle, crumhorn, three, hammered dulcimer, trombone, and two slender cylindrical pipes which may represent more recorders. In the background is a city beside a river in which scenes from the Flight to Egypt are enacted. The side panels depict two generations of the family of Joris Sampsons and his wife Engelken Coolen.
• Virgin and Child surrounded by Musical Angels, oil on panel, 71.8 × 55.3 cm, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, New York, 25 January 2001, Lot 39A (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Databank (2002); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, Image 0000114698 (2010-col.) ; Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2014); Website: Lute Iconography LI-1428 (2023, col.) From the safety of his mother’s lap, the Child helps himself to cherries from a basket offered him by the infant John wearing a breastplate. Surrounding the Virgin’s throne are musical angels. Three on the left play lute, triangle and a flared-bell recorder;  one on the right plays a bladder pipe, another holds a jug. There is another almost identical painting by Oostsanen auctioned H. Lange, Berlin, 1940-12-03 – 1940-12-04, Lot 45, for which see here.
• Nativity, with Unknown Family (1526), panel, Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen (1468/70-1533). Location unknown. Ref. Auction Fursac, 14 December 1923, No. 45; Website: Memoria in beeld (2010:-b&w). Mary and Joseph stand on each side of the crib at the foot of which sit two musical angels playing lute and recorder. The recorder is played right hand uppermost, and details of the beak and window labium and the flared bell and fingering clearly depicted. In the foreground, members of the family kneel in worship, men on the left, women on the right. Behind the crib, musicians play harp and other instruments hidden from view; shepherds arrive, beasts watch from their byre; whilst two hovering angels wave censers. Perched on an arch above four angels sing from an open book whilst two flying angels tie the ends of a leafy decoration to the roof-beams. The Star of Bethlehem shines through the open roof

Johannes Opicius (15th century), Italian

Italian poet and ? illuminator, amongst several Italian poets to visit the English court in the 1490s.

• Marginal decoration: Shepherds (1497), illumination, 26 × 19 cm (possibly trimmed in rebinding), Johannes Opicius (15th century). London: British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian B.iv, fol. 14r. Ref. Whalgren-Smith (2000); Carlson (2002); Carley (2004: 46, pl. 41); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2005). Opicius presented this book to Henry VIII (1485-1509), probably at Christmas 1497, in the hope that Henry would ‘lend aid [to] a foundering’. This manuscript contains five short poems in Latin. The one starting on fol. 14r is a pastoral poem. The foot of the page is decorated by a painting, unframed, to display an historiated initial ‘Q’, at the second of the manuscript’s strongly marked sections. The painting illustrates three groups of trees, symmetrically distributed across a grassy, rolling landscape, with livestock, as a backdrop before which a pair of rustics stand, turned towards one another, gesturing. These are Arcadian shepherds, one being a musician and the other crowned as a poet. From the text we can see that the poet is Lycoris and the recorder player Mopsus, characters from Virgil’s Eclogues. The artist shows the latter’s instrument in such a way as to make sure it is recognized as a recorder – possiblyly knowing of Henry VIII’s predilection for recorders. So the beak and window/labium are shown sideways on to the line of finger holes, of which there are six plus paired little-finger holes near the bell – a little blurred.

John Opie

British historical and portrait painter and writer on the arts; dubbed ‘The Cornish Wonder’, he achieved great popularity in London of the 1780s and was elected to the Royal Academy; today, his work is generally regarded as somewhat crude, but original and individualistic; born Trevellas, St Agnes near Truro (1761), died London (1807).

• The Minstrel (1784), stipple engraving, 25 × 23 cm, by William Ward (1766–1826), after John Opie (1761–1807). London: Roseberys, 10 May 2005, Lot 1. Ref. Witt Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London (Viv. Henta, pers. comm. 2020). The original picture was 73.7 x 61.0 cm (Henta, loc. cit.) In what appears to be fenced field surrounded by trees, sits a young boy with somewhat delicate features leaning against a rock. In his right hand is a duct-flute (possibly a recorder) only the head of which is visible. The mouthpiece is shown as conical with a black square beneath representing the window/labium. None of the finger holes are visible.  Beneath the image is a quote from Scottish poet James Beattie’s The Minstrel; or the Progress of Genius (1771), a lengthy burlesque in Spenserian stanzas  describing the education of a village poet which inspired a later generation of untutored poets who modeled themselves on Edwin.

And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy,
Deep thought oft seem’d to fix his infant eye.
Dainties he heeded not, nor gaude, nor toy,
Save one short pipe of rudest minstrelsy.

In another illustration of Edwin by Joseph Wright of Derby (1778), the  young protagonist also holds ‘one short pipe of rudest minstrelsy’ (clearly a recorder).

• Henry and Emma (1796), coloured engraving, 45 × 35 cm, by Francesco Bartolozzi (1725–1815), after John Opie (1761–1807). Uppsala: Universitet, Bibliotek, UUB 1726 (kapsel 16). Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (2000: 86). Matthew Prior’s Henry and Emma, a Poem, Upon the Model of The Nut-brown Maid is dedicated To Cloe in some lines of the ordinary humorous type, and concludes with a sort of envoi by Venus, in approved rococo style. The pagan deities and their associates disport themselves through the dialogue between the lovers which forms the substance of the poem, and which, as has been well said, is “a futile attempt to apply the external classical style to what is in its essence romantic.” In this engraving, Henry importunes Emma with a bunch of flowers in one hand, a recorder in the other. Only the upper part of the recorder is visible. The mouthpiece is shown as conical with a black square beneath representing the window/labium. None of the finger holes are visible. The body is covered with horizontal striations to indicate its curvature. The finger positions could indicate the recorder, but only two upper fingers of the lower (right) hand are visible. A verse underneath reads:
  

  A shepherd now along the plain he roves:
  And, with his jolly pipe, delights the groves,
  The neighbouring swains around the stranger throng,
  Or to admire, or emulate his song:
  While with soft sorrow he renews his lays,
  Nor heedful of their envy, nor their praise.
  But, soon as Emma’s eyes adorn the plain,
  His notes he raises to a nobler strain,
  With dutiful respect and studious fear:
  Lest any careless sound offend her ear.

  Emma looks out at us questioningly, as if aware of the recorder’s erotic symbolism.

• Young Shepherd, painting, 59 × 48.9 cm, John Opie (1761–1807). Cornwall: Private Collection. Ref.  Viv Henta, Truro (pers. comm. 202o). A young boy with curly hair plays a soprano-sized  baroque style recorder, the beak and widow clearly depicted, all but the two bottom fingers of the lowermost (right) hand covering their holes. A plaque at the bottom of the frame says that this was engraved by  William Ward (1766–1826).

Georg Emanuel Opiz

Bohemian genre painter, draughtsman and engraver who settled in Vienna where he became an important chronicler of the Biedermeier period; his master drawings were etched by artists B. Piringer, K. Ponheimer and others; born Prague (1775), died Leipzig (1841).

• Scenes from the Visit of the French Emperor to the Kaiser, 1814: Procession of the People, ink & watercolour on paper, 36.5 × 28.5 cm, (paper), 34.8 x 26.7 cm. (image), Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775-1841). Coburg: Kunstsammlungen der Veste, Inv. Z 3269. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Cv – 207); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999); RIdIM Munich (2013-b&w). A crowd scene outside an estaminet (coffee-house) with a triumphal arch in the background. At the right a woman pedlar sells song-books, a violinist and a man playing a long cylindrical pipe behind her. Three girls sing from one of the song books. There is insufficient detail to identify the pipe, but it could be a chalumeau, a recorder or even a csakan.
• [Traditional German Wedding], aquarelle, Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775-1841). Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Print Collection, 5389. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Ngm – 431). A wedding procession with everyone in their traditional costume led from the church by a small band which includes a drum, a horn and an alto baroque recorder.

Karen Opstelten

Contemporary Dutch graphic artist, painter, recorder player, cellist and piano tuner; born Amstelveen (1962). Artist’s web-site.

• Self-portrait with Recorder (1980), oil on canvas, 30 × 40 cm, Karen Opstelten (1962–). In an attic, beside a mattress on the floor with cushions, a young woman sits cross-legged, leaning against a radiator. She plays an alto-sized recorder of simple design with a flared bell.

Christophe Orimena (14th century), French

• Missal: Puer Nattus Est: Nativity (1360-1368), illumination, workshop of Christophe Orimena (14th century). Avignon: Bibliothèque Calvet. Ref. Léonelli (1978: 13, fig. 9); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2007). A nativity scene very much in the Byzantine manner. The Annunciation to the Shepherds (with a sheep on a rock) is at the upper right, the two midwives (Mary and Miriam) are at bottom right, and the usual troubled Joseph is at bottom left. The shepherds have no instruments but, unusually, across the bottom is a decorative frieze with two small centaurs facing each other from either side. The one on the right has a bagpipe. That on the left has a pipe of some sort. His hands and fingers slightly overlap, and he has inflated cheeks. His instrument is alto-sized and played in a horizontal position, and it has a small sharp bell flare. It looks more like a small shawm (too small to see details of finger holes) but the shepherd’s scene above perhaps suggests that the centaurs play the two instruments most associated with their kind, bagpipes and duct flute. This Missal originally belonged to the Collégiale St Didier.

Bernard [Barend, Barent, Bernart] van Orley

Netherlandish painter, draughtsman, designer of tapestry and (towards the end of his life) stained-glass; one of the greatest proponents of Romanism, a northern style based on the ideals of the Italian Renaissance, although it seems unlikely that he ever travelled to Italy; established himself as a leading designer for the Brussels tapestry industry, and became official court painter to the Regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria; born Brussels (ca 1488), died Brussels (ca 1541); son of Valentin van Orley (ca 1466 – 1532).

• The Triumph of Chastity, brown copper-plate print, Bernard van Orley (op.1515 – m.1541). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett (West). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Bkk – 356). Probably illustrates Plutarch’s Triumphs. Chastity stands on a platform beside a pillar above a blindfolded winged putto on a float. In the foreground are two unicorns (one ridden by a soldier) which are pulling the float. To the right of the unicorns is a second soldier; to their left are musicians singing and playing a small waisted fiddle and a cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder), the latter played by a young woman. The window/labium of the duct flute is clear, but no holes (or fingers!) are visible behind the fiddler. Notes (in part) by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Enthroned Virgin and Child with Musical Angels (ca 1518-1520), tempera on panel, 34 × 25 cm, Bernard van Orley (op.1515 – m.1541). Basel: Kunstmuseum, Inv. G 1958.31. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image 2945 (2023, col.) On a step at the Virgin’s feet, two winged putti play lute and a pipe with a slightly flared bell, probably a duct flute, possibly a recorder. This composition is closely related to the middle panel of the famous and much-appreciated Malvagna triptych (probably around or shortly after 1511) by Jan Gossaert (Palermo, Galleria regionale di Palazzo Abatellis [formerly Galleria Nazionale]). Still closer in the spatial disposition of the throne architecture as well as the background landscape appears another version of the subject in private possession, likewise by Jan Gossaert and presumably a little earlier (ca  1506).

Lelio Orsi

Italian painter and draughtsman; influenced by Correggio (1489-1534) as well as by the late Mannerist style of Giulio Romano (1488-1546); his large-scale works seem to have been mainly secular decorations, notably illusionistic façades, of which only fragments are extant; the surviving paintings of smaller dimensions exhibit great energy and expressiveness; born Novellara (1508 or 1511), died Novellara (1587).

• St Cecilia and Valerian (ca 1550), oil on canvas, 75 × 59 cm, Lelio Orsi (1508/11–1587). Rome: Galleria Borghese. Ref. Mirimonde (1974: 18); Denvir (1980: 249); Calvesi & Coliva (1994: 139, fig. 73 – col.) [Villa I Tatti N2820G35]; Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000). An angel holding two crowns hovers overhead whilst Valerian enters at the door and his wife, Cecilia, sits at the organ, a viol and a small, flared-bell recorder lying at her feet. It was long supposed that Cecilia was a noble lady of Rome who, with her husband Valerian, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier Maximus, suffered martyrdom, ca 230, under the Emperor Alexander Severus. It is now established that she perished in Sicily under Emperor Marcus Aurelius between 176 and 180.

Prospero Orsi [Prosperino delle Grottesche]

Italian painter of the late-Mannerist and early-Baroque period, active mainly in Rome; his subjects include religious themes and grottesche decorations; born ?Rome (1560s), died there (c.1633).

• St Cecilia, painting, Prospero Orsi (1560s-c.1633). Rome: Private Collection. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2703 (2023, col.) Gazing heaven-ward, St Cecilia holds a palm frond and leans against her pipe organ. At her feet are a violin (with 6 or 7 strings), a lute, and a cylindrical duct flute with six fingerholes followed by two more lower down at some distance from the others.Perhaps Orsi has bee confused by the doubled holes for the little finger of the lowermost hand of the recorder.

Pascual (or Pascasi, or Pasqual) Ortoneda (doc. 1423-1460) – see Master of the Secuita

Walter Frederick Osborne

Irish painter of the British naturalist school; born Dublin (1859) died Dublin (1903); the son of animal painter William Osborne (1823-1901).

• St Patrick’s Close, Dublin (1887), Walter Frederick Osborne (1823-1903). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland. Ref. Music and Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland (1985: 83, fig. 69); Archiv Moeck; Website: a pintura y los pintores impresionistas (2015-col.) A busy Dublin street scene in late afternoon, to judge by the refuse left over from the stalls earlier in the day. In the foreground a young lad plays a tin whistle for his own enjoyment, or perhaps to earn some pennies from passers by.

Adriaen van Ostade

Dutch Baroque painter and etcher known for his genre depictions of peasant life, religious subjects, portraits, and landscapes; born Haarlem (1610), died Harlem (1685).

• Village Musicians (1645/1655), oil on panel, 39.0 × 30.5 cm, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). St Petersburg: Hermitage, #904. Ref. Eisler (1990: 416-col.); Griffioen (1988: 440-1); Web Gallery of Art (2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 1001083668 (2014-col.) A woman sits at a table about to sing from a part-book. On her right, a man holds a violin examining his own part. To her left, another man is tuning his cello. Three curious children poke their heads in at a window behind the musicians. On the table lies a cylindrical soprano recorder with a slightly flared bell, the window/labium and finger holes clearly visible. A lute and a violin hang on the wall behind the open window-shutters.
• Flute player, oil on panel, 29 × 23 cm, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Moscow: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Ref. USSR. Ref. Vipper & Libman (1971: fig. 110); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Web Gallery of Art; Bridgeman Art Library (2003: BAL56568 – col.) A young man sits on a bench playing a soprano flared-bell recorder from music lying on a stool in front of him.
• Genre Scene, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). Location unknown. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). Amongst a group of merrymaking peasants outside a cottage, one stands on a half-barrel playing an alto-sized pipe (possibly a recorder) with a flared bell, left hand lowermost. This could represent the same artist’s Peasants’ Company cited by Griffioen (1988).
• Wandering Musicians (?1642), etching, 10.8 × 8.73 cm, Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (161016-85). Los Angeles: County Art Museum, 31.21.106. Ref. Los Angeles County Art Museum (2003); Website: alamy (2019-col.) Outside a peasant cottage a man plays a alto/tenor sized pipe (possibly a recorder) to the accompaniment of a little boy on a drum.
• Musical Peasants in an Interior, oil on panel, 32.6 × 42.5 cm, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). London: Sotheby’s, 11 December 1996, Lot 281. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 27097 (2010-col.); Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence (2011-b&w). A woman plays a very slightly flared pipe (possibly a recorder) of soprano-size, left hand lowermost, all fingers of right hand down, left-hand with partly lifted fingers, including the little finger. Details of the mouthpiece are unclear, but this is probably a recorder.
• Rustic Concert, oil on board, 27 × 30 cm, Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Madrid: Museo del Prado, Inv. 2121. Ref. Vipper (1957: 223); Sopeña Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 190-191); Tena & Mena (1985: 248, fig. 2121 – b&w); Alcolea i Blanch (1981: 407, fig. 252 – col.); Griffioen (1988: 440-441); Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). ” An interior scene, possibly in the loft of a cottage or small barn, with five figures. A man in centre drinks from a bag and there are two musicians, one playing a large fiddle and the other what could be a small recorder, although the details are not clear. However, the beak is well painted and the hands and fingers are all placed in an excellent position to cover the holes of a recorder. There is very little bell flare, but a strengthening ring at the very end, by wood thickening” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• Hearing (ca 1635), oil on panel, 35 cm diam., Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum, Inv. 1970/15. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, DÜk – 64). A farmhouse scene. A man standing at the back plays a rommelpot. A seated man the right, leaning forward, sings from music. An old woman seated on an upturned basket plays a flared-bell recorder. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Peasant Woman with a Recorder (1637), oil on panel, roundel, 12.5 cm diam., Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685).  London: Bonhams, 2 November 2016, Lot 29 (as circle of Adriaen van Ostade). Ref. Website: Bijl-Van-Urk (2020, col.) An elderly woman, a scarf around her head and neck, plays a soprano hand fluyt. The beak and window/labium are clearly shown but the foot is out of view. Sold with a pendant of a peasant man singing from a page  the title of which which reads ‘eniew liedeken / … / FLORISTEN OFT / …’  This refers to one of several songs mocking botanists after the Tulip crash of 1637 (due to speculation with tulip bulbs a lot of people had lost lots of money). Twee nieuwe Liedekens van de Floristen, met een Liedeken teghen de verachters der Floristen was published in Hoorn in 1637, the same year in which this pair of small paintings was dated.
• The Rommel Pot, oil on wood, 17.4 × 15 cm, school of Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Heidelberg: Kurpfälzisches Museum, Inv. G 514. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002, HDkm – 26); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A rustic musician plays a rommel pot to a group of listening children. Tucked through a loop in his hat is a small cylindrical pipe, possibly a recorder as the lowermost finger hole seems offset.
• The Old Couple, oil on canvas, school of Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). Vienne: Museé des Beaux-Arts. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XIR182564 – col.). An old woman sings from a sheet of music while a rather troubled looking man accompanies her on a hand-fluyt, playing from a sheet of music on a small table in front of him.
• Grotesque (c. 1730), woodcut print on paper, 4.8 × 4.2 cm, by Isaak Vincentsz. van der Vinne (1665-1740) after Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685). Plate 12 from Aartige figuuren, published by Johannes Enschedé in Haarlem (c. 1730). London: British Museum, Inv. 1972,U.9.12. Ref. Website: British Museum (2012-b&w). A grotesque figure; a creature with a bird’s head and human legs, playing a recorder, facing the left. Not seen.

Matthias Ostendorfer (17th century), Austrian

• Musical Angels and Nun, fresco, Matthias Ostendorfer (17th century). Salzburg: Abtei Nonnberg, ceiling to right of the organ. Website: flickr, Traud’s photostream (2012-col.) A nun plays a violin accompanied by musical angels playing harp and a basset-sized pipe with a flared bell and blown with a bocal (possibly a basset recorder). A third angel conducts with a score on her lap.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry

French Rococo tapestry designer, illustrator and painter, considered one of the greatest animal painters of the 18th century, and he became Director of the Tapestry Works in Beauvais where he created an entirely new Gobelins style; born Paris (1686), died Beauvais (1755).

• Still-life with Violin and Recorder (1741), Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Berlin: Archiv für Künst und Geschichte. Ref. Alan Hutchinson Ltd, London: greeting card (col.); CD, Telemann, Six Sonatas for two flutes, Op. 2, American Baroque, Naxos 8.554132 (1997: cover-col.); Archiv Moeck; Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Depicts grapes, peaches, a book, some sheet music, a baroque alto recorder and a violin.
• Still-life with Violin and Recorder, oil on panel, 60.3 × 76.8 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Private Collection: auctioned Sotheby’s (New York), 30 January 1998, Lot 94 (1998). Ref. Woodmansterne Publications Ltd, Watford: greeting card (col.); Weltkunst 62(8): 998 – col. (1992); Gabrius Data Bank (2001 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, illustration 344274 (2014-col.) Another version of the above. Depicts grapes, peaches, a book, some sheet music, a baroque alto recorder and a violin.
• Satyrs in a Rocky Landscape, chalk drawing, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Bremen: Kunsthalle, Inv. 43.13a. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, BMkh – 124). Includes two recorders with other instruments. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). This work is not listed in the Bremen Kunsthalle’s online catalogue (2001).
• Allegory of Europe (1722), oil on canvas 162 × 152 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Houston: Rice University, Blaffer Foundation Collection, Accession No. BF.1987.2 Ref. Sale Catalogue, Sotheby´s (London), 8 July 1987, Lot 85; Web Gallery of Art (2012-col.); Rosenberg (1999 – col.); Bridgeman Art Library (2007: Image NUL115958 – col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 344275 (2014-col.) An elaborate still-life with a bust of a woman crowned by a horse´s head (the horse is a traditional attribute of Europe), lilies, playing cards, a parrot, a monkey toying with a violin, a musette, a guitar, a score (identifiable as Le Maire’s Recueil d´airs sérieux et à boire , published by J. B. Christophe Ballard in 1718), and a baroque recorder with it’s characteristic beak showing from underneath a pile of sheet music. One of a series of paintings representing the various continents.
• Music-making Monkey with Birds, oil on canvas 144 × 118 cm, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, NM 872. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). An elaborate still-life with a column, musical instruments, a monkey toying with a violin, a musette, and a baroque alto recorder, with its characteristic head showing from underneath a pile of sheet music. Some music under the musette is entitled … d’airs à boire (1718), composed by Le Maire.
• Dancers, engraving by Caylus after Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w, as Joueurs de violoncelle et de flûte devant des danseurs). Behind two dancers, Harlequin steps over a cello and Pierrot plays tenor-sized pipe with a strongly flared bell. This seems more likely to be an oboe rather than a recorder, despite the title given by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite neé Rentoul

Australian magazine and children’s book illustrator (Australia’s first); born Carlton in Melbourne (1888), died Melbourne (1960).

• The Piper (1922), black & white print, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960). A book illustration from a children’s book by the artist and her sister (Annie Rattray Rentoul),The Little Green Road to Fairyland, published by A. & C. Black, London (ca 1922). Sitting on a boulder, a boy plays a pipe (probably a duct flute) to a girl sitting beneath a tree in a field with setting sun, watched by two rabbits. Leaning against the boulder is the boy’s crutch.
• [The Boy Piper], ink on paper, with gouache overwork, 28 × 38 cm, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960). Ref. Website: Australian Art Sales Digest (2015).  Beside a p0ol, a young boy sits beneath a tree playing a slender pipe (probably a duct flute) to four listening fairies. One of the latter stands; two sit on the bank with their feet dangling in the water; and a fourth sits in the water.

Jürgen [Georg, Jurriaen] Ovens

Danish-born portrait painter and pupil of Rembrandt who worked in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany as well as his native Denmark; often counted amongst German painters; born in Tönning (1623), died Friedrichstadt (1678).

• The Shepherdess’ Song, painting, Jürgen Ovens (1623-1678). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A young woman in a floral hat sings from a score open on her lap. Beside her is a young boy who holds a cylindrical pipe which has a shadow where the window/labium of a recorder would be but it could just as well represent the embouchure hole of a flute.

Johann Friederich Overbeck (1789-1869)

Romantic painter of Christian religious subjects, who was leader of a group of German artists known as the Nazarenes, or Lucas Brotherhood (Lukasbund), who set themselves the task of recovering the neglected art of fresco and of monumental painting; born Imperial Free City of Lübeck (1789), died Rome (1869).

• Adoration of the Magi (1813), oil on panel, 49.7 × 66.0 cm, Johann Friederich Overbeck (1789-1869). Hamburg: Kunsthalle, Inv. 2878. Ref. Anonymous (1994: 348, col.) Two Kings pay homage to the infant Jesus and Mary who are serenaded by three lads playing a syrinx,  a triangle and a narrowly conical pipe which may represent a duct flute (flageolet or recorder) or a cornetto.

William Owen

English artist who painted a number of rural scenes but specialized in portraiture; born Ludlow (1769), died London (1825).

• Miss Anne Hoare as a Little Girl (? 1814), 124 × 98 cm, William Owen (1769-1825). Warminster, Wiltshire: Stourhead House, Music Room. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999); Witt Library; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm. 1999); Website: I am a child (2014-col.) Anne Hoare (died 1872) was the daughter of Henry Hoare and married Sir George Mathew. Anne is shown as a young girl sitting on a knoll reading a book. Beside her on the ground lies a large soprano-size recorder The finger holes are picked out, oddly, in white paint. The upper central part of the instrument is unfortunately occluded by a tambourine so the labium is not visible, although what is possibly an ivory mouthpiece can just be made out. The lower body shows five finger holes in line plus a little finger hole at the jointed bell end. There is a sharp bell flare, but the bore end hole is small, suggesting that it might be conic.

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