Artists–R

Jean Rabel

French painter and engraver, official artist at the court of Henri III; born c. 1545, died 1603; father of artist and engineer Daniel Rabel (1588-1637).

• Untitled, print by ‘Frans’ after Jean Rabel (ca 1545-1603). The Hague: Gemeentemuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “A hurdy-gurdy player with a boy playing pipe and drum. The pipe is in fact a Dutch-style soprano hand-fluyt. The boy holds it at his lips with his left hand, fingers down covering finger holes two, three and four, with holes one, five, six and seven all visible and in line. The mouthpiece is strongly beaked and the window/labium just showing. The outward form is slightly conical, but there is no bell flare. There is one incised ring near the bell and an outer ring at the bell end itself” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• The Hurdy-Gurdy Player (1615-1638), engraved by Charles David (ca 1600-1636/1638) after Jean Rabel (ca 1545-1603). The Hague: Gemeentesmuseum, Music Department. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “The hurdy-gurdy player is accompanied by a boy with a small drum (tabor) and a soprano recorder, held in his left hand with three finger holes visible above and two below, the lowest offset. There is a slight flare towards the bell starting at hole six. There are three lightly incised rings near the bell. The window/labium is clearly depicted” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)

Arthur Rackham

English magazine and book illustrator; widely known for his illustrations to the classic children’s stories and fairy tales commissioned primarily by Heinemann Publishers in special editions from 1900 to 1914; despite the fantasy of his subjects, he maintained a strict sense of reality by giving his creatures human traits and foibles, and naturalistic, even known, settings; born London (1867), died Limpsfield (1939).

• Illustration to Mother Goose, watercolour on paper, 27.3 × 20.3 cm, Arthur Rackham (1867-1939). Private Collection. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2001: image CH142226). A small child playing a flared bell pipe leads a group of townspeople down a street.

Michelle Ragolia

Italian painter known chiefly for his Neopolitan church paintings, including a documented cycle of 40 canvases in the ceiling of the church of Sant’ Antonio at Polla (Salerno); born Palermo (1638), died Naples (1686).

• The Triumph of David, Michelle Ragolia (1638-1686). Location: Private Collection. Ref. Website: Oronoz (2011, image 176687-col.) Five women dance to music provided by two men who play harp and a slender soprano-sized pipe which could represent a recorder. Two of the dancers plays a tambourines with jingle rings, one small and one large. A small boy runs between them. David sits watching the dancers, one hand on the head of Goliath, the other on an enormous sword.

Rafaello Santi [Sanzio] = Raphael

Marc Antonio [Marcantonio] Raimondi

Italian Renaissance master of engraving whose prints did much to disseminate the style of the High Renaissance throughout Europe; born Bologna (1480), died Bologna (ca 1534).

• Apollo Teaching the Graces Music, (1512-1527), engraving, 27.7 × 20.2 cm, Marc Antonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Francesco Francia (1447-1517). Warwick: Charlotte Park, Collection of Sir Montgomery Fairfax-Lucy; New York: Metropolitan Art Museum, Inv. 29.44.8. Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 9: 300.398); Frings (1992: 123, fig. 11 – b&w); Website: gallica (2016, as as Concert Champêtre  & 2016, as Apollon enseignant la musique aux Grâces); Website: Bowed Strings Iconography Project, bsip2139 (2022, b&w.) Apollo sits on a rock playing his lira da braccio. On either side, one of the Three Graces holds a small transverse flute or duct flute (possibly recorders); a third dances. The Greek myths say that Apollo taught music to the Graces, though there is no mention of whether this involved singing or instruments or both. The engraving bears Raimondi’s own monogram ‘MAF. Francesco Raibolini, called ‘Francia’ was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint. He himself trained Raimondi and several other artists who produced niellos, in which Raimondi first learnt to engrave.
• Marsyas Teaching the Young Olympus (ca 1507-1511), engraving, 17.8 × 13.9 cm (plate & sheet), Marc Antonio Raimondi (1480 – ca 1534) ? after Raphael (1483-1520). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 29.44.12; Adelaide: Art Gallery of South Australia, Inv. 084G1686; Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-OB-11.941 Ref. Bartsch (1854-1870, 9: 223.296 – as Faun); Anita Randolfi (pers. comm., 2004); Website: Corbis Images HT009123 (2009); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A satyr seated beneath a tree in front of a village holds a recorder in his left hand; it is looked at by a boy running up to his side as if to grasp it from him. It is cylindrical and rather fat, narrowing slightly toward the beak, but the window/labium is clear, as are one upper finger hole and three lower holes, slightly offset. The foot shows a wide bore exit. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Note that Marsyas is depicted in literature and art as sometimes Olympus’ son and sometimes as his father.

Johann Anton Alban Ramboux

German painter, lithographer and museum curator, best known for his portraits; born Trier (1790), died Cologne (1866).

• Musical Angel, Johann Anton Alban Ramboux (1790-1866). Detail after drawings by Pietro Perugino for the fresco in San Agostino, Panicale, Italy. Frankfurt: Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Inv. Nr., Bd. IX, S. 35, Nr. 67.1461. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Fsm – 314). An angel holds a slender flared-bell pipe, possibly intended to represent a recorder.

Jean Raoux

French painter of classical and religious subjects, portraits and decorative works; born Montpellier (1677), died Paris (1734).

• The Concert (1717), painting, Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Riom: Musée Francisque Mandet.  Almost identical to the following. A woman plays a guitar, a man (possibly her husband) plays a violin; between them are two young children one of whom holds a baroque recorder of soprano or alto size with a bulbous beak; to the bottom right lies a lute. The recorder is held left hand uppermost with the little finger of the right hand supporting at the side, his fingers are all down, excepting the right hand little finger which is lifted. The boy is not playing but listening to the man (pointing out something in the music. Very similar paintings to this have been attributed to Philip Mercier (1689-1760) and Johann Heinrich Tischbein I (1722-1789) and to unknown imitators (see below).
• The Concert (18th century), oil on canvas, 60 × 75 cm, after a painting by Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Dusseldorfer Auktionshaus, Catalogue 1, Lot 111 (2006). Ref. klassisgitar.net (2007 – col.) Almost identical composition to the above. A woman plays a guitar, a man (possibly her husband) plays a violin; between them are two young children one of whom holds a baroque recorder of soprano or alto size with a bulbous beak; to the bottom right lies a lute. The recorder is held left hand uppermost with the little finger of the right hand supporting at the side, his fingers are all down, excepting the right hand little finger which is lifted. The boy is not playing but listening to the man (pointing out something in the music.
• The Music Lesson (early 18th century), oil on canvas, 132.0 × 98.5 cm, after a painting by Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Bordeaux: Musée des Beaux Arts, Inv. BXE 839; BXM 5768. Ref. Joconde Website (1999). Around a table, a couple and their children play guitar, violin, viol and duct flute. A woman plays a guitar, a man (possibly her husband) plays a violin; between them are two young children one of whom holds a baroque recorder of soprano or alto size with a bulbous beak; to the bottom right lies a bass viol. Some pages of music have been stuffed under the table. The recorder is held left hand uppermost with the little finger of the right hand supporting at the side, his fingers are all down, excepting the right hand little finger which is lifted. The boy is not playing but listening to the man (pointing out something in the music.
• Family Portrait on a Terrace, Playing Music (17th century), after a painting by Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Location unknown: auctioned 1 November 2006 (unsold). Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) A family make music around an ornate table on a terrace. Mother plays the guitar, father holds a violin pointing to a score held by a boy with a bass viol at his side, a second boy plays a recorder. A negro boy serves refreshments. Some pages of music have been stuffed under the table. A tambourine (with jingle rings) lies on top of a book in the foreground left. Whilst by no means a copy, the resemblance in composition and detail of this painting with others by Raoux and his followers here is obvious.
• The Concert, painting, Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Private Collection. Ref. Research Center for Musical Iconography (1978: 20, item 117). A woman plays a guitar, a child plays a recorder, and a man holds a violin whilst gesturing to some music with his bow. There is also a lute and a cello. Not seen, possibly one of the works above.
• Music Lesson, oil on canvas, 134.6 × w 108.0 cm, after Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Falls Church, Virginia: Quinn’s Auction Galleries, 30 January 2021, Ref. Website: Bowed String Iconography bsip1354 (2022, col.) A woman plays a guitar, a man (possibly her husband) plays a violin; between them are two young children one of whom holds a baroque recorder of soprano or alto size with a bulbous beak; to the bottom right lies a bass viol. Some pages of music have been stuffed under the table. The recorder is held left hand uppermost with the little finger of the right hand supporting at the side, his fingers are all down, excepting the right hand little finger which is lifted. The boy is not playing but listening to the man (pointing out something in the music.
• Musicians in an Interior, oil on canvas, 91.1 × 64.1 cm, after Jean Raoux (1677-1734). New York: Christies, Live Auction 1011, House Sale, 6 February 2002, Lot 99. Ref. Website: Bowed String Iconography bsip1354 (2022, col.) Dad plays the violin, Mum has a hand protectively on her little boy’s should while he plays a perfectly depicted alto baroque recorder reading from a crumpled sheet of music on the table in front of him. Perhaps he has written the piece himself.
• Music Lesson, oil on canvas, 61.5 × 100.0 cm, after Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Location unknown, auctioned 20 June 2013. Ref. Website: MutualArt (2022, col.) A relative crude copy of part of the above depicting the mother playing guitar to accompany her sons playing recorder and singing.
• Concertino, oil on canvas, 133 × 96 cm, ?after Jean Raoux (1677-1734). Location unknown, auctioned 11 April 2014. Ref. Website: MutualArt (2024, col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-3734 (2024, col.) A elgantly dressed mother plays guitar to accompany her son playing recorder and daughter singing. The recorder is an expensive alto in 3 parts, with ivory beak and ferrules.

Raphael (born Rafaello Santi or Sanzio)

Italian Renaissance architect, amongst the greatest and most popular artists of all time; he painted in fresco, on canvas and panel and was a designer of sculpture, tapestries and decorative ensembles; active in Urbino, Perugia, Florence (1504) and Rome (after 1508); born Urbino (1483), died Rome (1520); son of the painter Giovanni Santi (?1435-1494).

• Trophy of Musical Instruments and Medallions (1514-1519), fresco, Raphael (1483-1520). Rome: Palazio Vaticano, Loggie di Rafaele. A decorative panel comprising four swags of musical instruments and four medallions. The instruments include a viola da braccio and two viols; trombone, a straight trumpet and two shawms; an oboe, three crumhorns and a mute cornetto, three cornetti and three recorders– soprano, alto and tenor, the latter with a key and fontanelle. The medallions amongst the swags depict a dragon, a man holding a staff (? St Christopher) beside a winged putto, a hunting party, and Orpheus with his lyre. Side panels comprise ten larger medallions depicting scenes from classical antiquity.The Loggie in the Vatican Palace as begun by Bramante and finished by Raphael consists of 13 bays. Raphael was commissioned by Leo X (1513-1521) upon Bramante’s death in 1514 and the work was completed in 1519.
• Delle Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano, Part 3, Rome (1777): Trophy of Musical Instruments and Medallions, engraving by Joannes Volpato (1733-1803), designed by Ludovicus Tesio Taurinensis (1731-1782) after Raphael (1483-1520). Detail. Ref. Website: Art-Prints_on-Demand.com (2012-col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A decorative panel from the Loggie di Rafaele, nel Vaticano (see above) comprising four swags of musical instruments and four medallions. The instruments include a viola da braccio and two viols; trombone, a straight trumpet and two shawms; an oboe, three crumhorns and a mute cornetto; three cornetti and three recorders – soprano, alto and tenor, the latter with a key and fontanelle, all perfectly depicted. Surprisingly, the soprano and alto recorders appear to be of baroque rather than renaissance design! Perhaps they were revised/repaired before Tesio saw them. The medallions amongst the swags depict a dragon, a man holding a staff (? St Christopher) beside a winged putto, a hunting party, and Orpheus with his lyre. Side panels comprise ten larger medallions depicting scenes from classical antiquity.The finely engraved plates in Delle Loggie di Rafaele … are said to show the columns in the loggias as designed and painted by Raphael. Although issued uncoloured, some surviving copies were subsequently coloured.
• The Ecstasy of St Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Magdalene (1515), Raphael (1483-1520). Detail. Bologna: Pinacoteca Nazionale. Ref. Pincherlé (1959: 44); Emiliani (1967: 215 – col.); Vecchi (1969: pll. XLVIII-XLIX – col.); Beck (1976: pl. 35 – col.); Ember (1984: pl. 21- col.); Freedberg (1961: fig. 241); Fishel (1962, pl. 191 & 192b); Mossakowski (1968); Mirimonde (1974: 68); Zaniol (1984, November: 7, footnote 13); Stefaniak (1991: 345-371); Schulze & Apel (1994); Burlington Magazine 136 (1994: 718); Rowland-Jones (1997c: 91 & 92 – detail, b&w); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine); Goulaki-Voutira et al.  (2003 – col.); Ausoni (2009: 150-col.) Lasocki (2023: 117). Commissioned by the Bolognan noblewoman Elena Buglioli dall’Olio, Raffaello Sanzio painted this work for the chapel dedicated to St Cecilia in San Giovanni Monte church, Bologna. Surrounded by Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Madalene, St Cecilia looks heaven-ward, holding a portative organ upside-down so that the pipes are falling to the ground. Beside her (bottom left) a cornetto, a bow, a viol and three recorders, a timbrel (jingle ring), a tambourine, a triangle, cymbals, a lute and a pair of nakers with their beaters. The three recorders are seen laterally, upside-down and right-side-up respectively, thus displaying details of the beak, window/labium and finger holes in line with the lowermost off-set. Their profile is cylindrical throughout. One of the recorders, the viol and the skin of one of the nakers are damaged. St Cecilia gazes rapturously upwards at a choir of singing angels, proclaiming the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music. The instruments are said to have been painted by Giovanni da Udine (1487-1561/4).
• St Cecilia, Dionys Calvaert (1540-1619) after Raphael (1483-1520). Parma: Galleria Nazionale. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.). Surrounded by Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Madalene, St Cecilia looks heaven-ward, holding a portative organ upside-down so that the pipes are falling to the ground. Beside her (bottom left) a cornetto, a bow, a viol and three recorders, a timbrel (jingle ring), a tambourine, a triangle, cymbals, a lute and a pair of nakers with their beaters. The three recorders are seen laterally, upside-down and right-side-up respectively, thus displaying details of the beak, window/labium and finger holes in line with the lowermost off-set. Their profile is cylindrical throughout. St Cecilia gazes rapturously upwards at a choir of singing angels, proclaiming the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music. One of the recorders, the viol and the skin of one of the nakers are damaged. There is another copy in Dresden (see below).
• St Cecilia, Dionys Calvaert (ca 1580) after Raphael (1483-1520). Detail 1. Detail 2. Dresden: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen. Ref. Exhibited Groninger Museum: Het geheim van Dresden – Van Rembrandt tot Canaletto (2014); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2014). Surrounded by Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Madalene, St Cecilia looks heaven-ward, holding a portative organ upside-down so that the pipes are falling to the ground. Beside her (bottom left) a cornetto, a bow, a viol and three recorders, a timbrel (jingle ring), a tambourine, a triangle, cymbals, a lute and a pair of nakers with their beaters. The three recorders are seen laterally, upside-down and right-side-up respectively, thus displaying details of the beak, window/labium and finger holes in line with the lowermost off-set. Their profile is cylindrical throughout. One of the recorders, the viol and the skin of one of the nakers are damaged. St Cecilia gazes rapturously upwards at a choir of singing angels, proclaiming the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music. There is another copy in Parma (see above).
• The Ecstasy of St Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augstine and Mary Magdalene, drawing, after Raphael (1483-1520). Paris: Musée du Petit-Palais. Ref. Mirimonde (1974: pl. 69); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). “Has only the jingle ring (barely sketched), and does not depict the tambourine” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.). Not seen.
• The Ecstasy of St Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augstine and Mary Magdalene (1517), copy by Andrea di Formiggine, after Raphael (1483-1520). Ref. Basler Jahrbuch für historische Musikpraxis 8 (1984: 219 – detail); Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 50 (1987: 2); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). Not seen.
• St Cecilia, engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). Ref. Ember (1984: 21, fig. 4). From an early sketch of Raphael’s The Ecstasy of St Cecilia Here, St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
• St Cecilia, engraving (with monogram), 25.4 × 15.7 cm & 25.8 × 16.4 cm & 25.8 x 15.6 cm, by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). San Francisco: de Young Museum,  1963.30.36341 & 1963.30.36943 & 1963.30.36944. St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
• St Cecilia, engraving (with monogram), 26.5 × 16.0 & 25.8 × 17.7 cm , by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). Glasgow: Hunterian Museum, GLAHA 7160, 7161 & 10120 (2014). St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
• St Cecilia (1567), engraving, black ink on antique laid paper, 26.2 × 15.7.0 cm,  by Giovanni-Paolo Cavagna (1556-1627) after Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). Glasgow: Hunterian Museum, GLAHA 10110 (signed & dated with monogram) & 1020 (inscribed verso, in pencil “G.P.Cavagna”). St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
• St Cecilia, print in black, 26.6 × 15.7.0 cm & 26.1 × 16 cm, by Marco da Ravenna (ca 1493-1527) after Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). Glasgow: Hunterian Museum, GLAHA 10117–10119 also 6405–6408. St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. From a volume of 145 prints by or after Raimondi. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
• St Cecilia (1515-1527), engraving, 25.4 × 15.5 cm (image), by Marco Dente da Ravenna (1493-1527) after the engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480-1534) after the painting by Raphael (1483-1520). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Inv. RP-P-OB-11.798; San Francisco: de Young Museum 1963.30.36944. The original painting by Raphael is in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. Here, as in Raimondi’s engraving, St Cecilia gazes up at angel musicians playing violin, harp and a small pipe (probably a duct flute). She is actually treading on the instruments discarded at her feet – a timbrel and a small, cylindrical duct flute of which only the bottom is visible. This construction seems to have replaced the theme of Raphael’s original (namely the supremacy of vocal over instrumental music) with a more general one concerning the supremacy of heavenly over earthly music. Standing on a book beside St Cecilia is a gryphon, an element introduced by Raimondi.
• St Cecilia, engraving (with monogram) by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480- ca 1534) after Raphael (1483-1520). Ref. Strauss & Field (1978-,  26: no. 116, p. 151; and no. 116B – a reversed copy, p. 152); Gazette des Beaux-Arts 92 (1978: 14); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). “The unplayed instruments are harp, three recorders and tambourine” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.
• The Ecstasy of St Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augstine and Mary Magdalene, engraving by Giulio Bonasone after Raphael (1483-1520). Ref. Strauss (1978-, 28: no. 74, p. 278); Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.R184.38Ce); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). See above for description. Not seen.
• The Ecstasy of St Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augstine and Mary Magdalene, engraving by Texier & Larcher (early 19th century), after Raphael (1483-1520). Ref. Mirimonde (1974: pl. 72); Rasmussen (1999, Tambourine). ” … depicts only the jingle ring with the recorder, and not the tambourine” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) Not seen.
• St Cecilia (19th century), oil on canvas, 39 × 151 cm, German copy after Raphael (1483-1520). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum, Inv. 2134. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, DÜk – 68). Full-size copy of Raphael’s painting of St Cecilia (Pinacoteca, Bologna). The earthly instruments in the hands of the saint and at her feet are damaged because their brilliance can not measure up to the songs of angels. Not seen.
• St Cecilia (16th century), miniature, after Raphael (1483-1520). Paris: Musée Marmottan Monet: Wildenstein Collection, No. 83, Inv. 6073. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2004). Although the colouring is a little different, this shows the broken instruments positioned as in the original, i.e. one recorder with a shattered end (showing beak, window/labium, and three finger holes, one at right-angles to it, snapped in half with underpart of beak and plug showing, and, parallel with the first, an intact cylindrical alto seen from beneath with beak, block and thumb hole (albeit rather far down!) Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Nymph and Satyr (18th century), tapestry, le Fevre & Antoine Coypel after Raphael (1483-1520). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. G 243. Ref. Innsbruck RIdIM (2001, Nr. 99); Prof. Tilman Seebass (pers. comm., 2001). Includes a double pipe, violin, musette, syrinx, bagpipe, organ, transverse flute, tambourine and recorder.
• Amoretti (early 16th century), painting on panel, 51.4 × 95.9 cm, attributed to workshop of Raphael (1483-1520). Location unknown: formerly Collection Harold Shapiro, Miami Beach, Florida (in 1957). Ref. Warburg Institute (2013-b&w); Website: Frick Art Reference Library Frick Research Catalog Online, Record b1104346 (2013). Seven putti dance in a circle to music provided by a putto who leans through a window playing cylindrical duct flute with his left hand only, and another who leans through an opposite window playing cymbals. Yet another putto seems to be pouring wine from a large pitcher. In the foreground are a quiver of arrows and a bow. In the background two paintings, their significance not obvious. The beak and window/labium of the duct flute are clearly depicted, and there are four finger holes below that of the player’s upper hand so this probably represents a recorder. Known also from an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi.
• Three Figures and a Child, Walking to the Right, ink drawing, 15.9 × 13.3 cm, school of Raphael (1483-1520). Paris: Musée de Louvre, Inv. 21789 TER, Recto. Ref. Joconde Website (2007 – col.) Three young men (one robed) are led to the right by a young child playing a cylindrical pipe and dog. After the Sacrifice above one of the entrances to the Vatican.

Jakob Rauch

German stuccoist and designer who specialized in figure work; born Unterpeissenberg, near Schongau (1713), died after 1785.

• Design for ceiling and wall decorations, drawing, ink on paper, Jakob Rauch (1713 – p. 1785). Munich: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Inv. 1967:194. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999, Mgs – 541 b). Amidst floating clouds is Apollo with his lyre. Amongst the border decorations are musical trophies and music-making putti, including one who conducts with a roll of music and a score sheet in his hand. The instruments depicted include a shawm or oboe, a horn, an ambiguous pipe, a bagpipe, a cornetto, a folded trumpet and a recorder. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Design for ceiling and wall decorations, drawing, ink on paper, Jakob Rauch (1713 – p. 1785). Munich: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Inv. 1967:187. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Mgs – 541 c). Probably intended for the upper corners of a music room ceiling. Two musical trophies include ? shawm, timpani, trumpets, recorder & flute. Not seen.
• Design for ceiling and wall decorations, drawing, ink on paper, Jakob Rauch (1713 – p. 1785). Munich: Staatliche Graphische Sammlung. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Mgs – 541 m). Probably intended for a music room. For the ceiling there is a large central medallion in a cartouche. Additional cartouches are for the wall area. In two of the latter there are putti playing: one to the lower right holds up a small recorder: in a cartouche on the left a putto plays a coiled horn, while a second putto holds a trumpet. Above these two cartouches are trophies with musical instruments: that on the left with recorders, guitar, lyre, bagpipe and tambourine; that on the right, with oboe, horn, bombard, trumpet and other wind instruments. Not seen.

Jan van Ravenswaay

Dutch painter, water-colorist, draftsman and lithographer; his themes include landscapes, pastoral scenes, cityscapes, domestic interiors, genre scenes, and military events; born and died Hilversum (1789-1860); uncle of painter Adriana van Ravenswaay.

• Portrait of Hendrik de Blinde (c. 1800), oil on canvas, 27.0 × 33.5 cm, Jan van Ravenswaay (1787–1869). Hilversum: Collectie Hilversum, Inv. 270406. Ref.  Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, Image 0000110707 (2014-col.) A man with a rather worried looking frown sits at a table holding a perfectly depicted alto recorder of late-baroque design. On the table are some books, an open musical score, and a violin. Hendrik de Blinde (1728-1810), one of the notables of Hilversum, had this portrait painted by his grandson, Jan van Ravenswaay. De Blinde was deputy secretary of the municipality of Hilversum for a many years. During the great fire that reduced part of Hilversum to ashes in 1766, De Blinde played a heroic role, entering the courthouse next to the village church and managing to save a number of important documents.

Dirk de Quade van Ravesteyn [Ravesteijn]

Southern Netherlandish draughtsman who became court painter for Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague; born ca 1565-1570, died 1619;  son of artist Claes Quade van Ravesteyn (ca 1468-1588).

• Virgin and Child with Angels Making Music, oil on canvas, 156.2 × 112.4 cm, Dirk de Quade van Ravesteyn (1589-1619). New York: Christie’s Sale 2672, Old Master Paintings, Part 1, 30 January 2013, Lot 24 (sold). Ref. Da Costa Kaufmann (1988: 223, no. 16.10, illustr.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-2667 (2023, col.) Reading from a book, the Virgin is entertained by angels singing and playing lute and a small cylindrical duct flute which clearly has holes for seven fingers. One putto hangs precariously from a drape above.

Nicolas Régnier [Niccolòeri] (called ‘Mabuseus’)

Flemish painter with a taste for formidable size and statuesque contours that, together with a rich and fluent technique, was characteristic of Flemish painting; born Maubeuge, Flanders (1591), died Venice (1667).

• Crowned Shepherd with a Recorder, Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Berlin: Private Collection. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Formerly attributed to Valentin. A heavy-lidded shepherd crowned with a laurel wreath holds a flared-bell soprano recorder.
• Recorder Player, oil on canvas, 62 × 73 cm, Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Location unknown; exhibited at the Biennale of Aniquaries, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, September–October 1971. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). A shepherd crowned with a wreath and a skin over his shoulders holds a flared-bell soprano recorder.
• Portrait of a Young Man, Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) A young man with a plumed hat grasps a duct flute in his right hand. Only the head-piece of the instrument is visible. The window/labium is rather short, and there appears to be a thin metal band immediately above it.
• Portrait of a Pipe Player, Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) A young man in a plumed hat, a red jacket, and an elaborate collar, holds a cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder) in his right hand, his index finger pointing to a score held in his right. Perhaps he is the composer.
• Shepherd Musicians, Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Turin: Circolo Ufficiali di Presidio. Ref. Angelo Zaniol (pers. comm., 2004). Watched by a bearded old man, three shepherds serenade a young woman with bagpipe, cittern and a small, flared-bell recorder.
• Flute Player, circle of Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667). Location unknown: formerly Antiquariato Neri, Florence. Ref. Website: Instituto Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0002483. A youth in a floral wreath holds a flared-bell recorder, left hand uppermost.

Stephen Reid

Scottish magazine and book illustrator, and painter of historical subjects; he developed a distinctive style, and contributed to a number of magazines, including The Connoisseur, The Strand,  and The Temple, born Aberdeen (1873), died London (1948).

• Apollo Playing the Flute (1911), colour lithograph, 31.0 x 41.9 cm, Stephen Reid (1873-1948). From Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by Josephine Preston Peabody (Harrap 1911). Ref. Website: Alamy, ID:C376HX (col.) Apollo sits at the foot of a tree on a grassy knoll, playing a slender, flared, vertical pipe of tenor size, right hand upperemost. Details of the instrument are completely lacking, but it might represent a recorder. In a clearing behind Apollo, four people are listening to his playing. And in the distance can be seen a temple of some kind. A caption reads: “The country folk drew near to wonder at him.”

Henricus Engelbertus Reijntjens [Reyntjens]

Dutch painter of genre scenes, portraits and historical and religious subjects; born 1817, died Amsterdam (1900).

• A Musical Occasion, Henricus Engelbertus Reijntjens (1817-1900). Private collection.  Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). In a rococo room is a musical group consisting of three or four singers, a ?square piano, cello, lute, piccolo and an ambiguous pipe (possibly a recorder). The pipe is of alto size, slender and cylindrical. It is held left hand lowermost with all fingers down except the first finger of the right hand. there is no bell flare.

Tilman [Dill, Dillmann, Thilman, Till] Riemenschneider [Rimenschneider, Rimschneider, Rymenschnyder] (ca 1460-1531), German

German sculptor; one of the most outstanding representatives of the last generation of Gothic sculptors in southern Germany; born Heiligenstadt (ca 1460), died Würzburg (1531).

• Musical Angels, wood sculpture, Tilman Riemenschneider (ca 1460-1531). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Skulpturengalerie. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Komma (1961: 86); Musica calendar (1974: 15-31 December – fig.); Rasmussen (1999, Lute). “One of them plays a lute-like instrument. It seems to have a tight scroll head and anterior pegs, like a cittern; but then, the recorders (?) aren’t very well depicted, either” (Rasmussen, loc. cit.) An angel plays a tabor, one sings from a book, one plays a lute, and two play flared-bell pipes (probably recorders, from the fingering positions).

Johann Christian Reinhart

German painter and engraver, one of the founders of German romantic classical landscape painting; he spent much of his career in Italy; he revitalised the heroic landscape to which he brought a new, more sensitive approach with an air of the romantic; born Hof (1761), died Rome (1847).

• Landscape with Figures and an Ancient Monument with an Inscription in Greek Letters, watercolour & sepia on paper, 60.4 × 86.9 cm, Johann Christian Reinhart (1761-1847). Darmstadt: Hessisches Landesmuseum, Inv. Hz AE 4331. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, DAhl – 313). In a forest clearing with a monument are two antique-dressed men. To the left are two bearded men, one of whom holds a ? recorder. To the right, next to the standing group, are a shepherdess and a shepherd blowing a shawm.

Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn [Rhyn]

Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher; one of the greatest artists in Western cultural history, his fame is partly due to his multi-faceted talent – a gifted painter, an inspired graphic artist, an unsurpassed etcher, and an inimitable draughtsman. His subjects reflect his manifold talent and interests; his subjects included portraits, landscapes, figures and animals, but, above all, scenes of biblical and secular history and mythology; he combined theory and practice, inventing, for instance, a new kind of painting, the tronie or portrait head, a compromise between portraiture and history painting; born Leiden (1606), died Amsterdam (1669).

• Flute Player and Shepherdess, etching, 11.9 × 14.5 cm, 17th-century), Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Christchurch: Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Inv. 69/264. Watched by his animals and an owl, a young lad lies on the ground holding a cylindrical recorder. He is obviously distracted, looking up the skirt of a shepherdess sitting beside him. Someone is looking at them from behind a tree. The lad’s fingers are perfectly positioned for recorder playing, and the window/labium of the instrument is clearly depicted.
• Musical Allegory (1626), oil on panel, 63.4 × 47.6 cm, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Netherlands: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Ref. Legêne (1995: 117, as ‘Hearing’); Website: Wikiart (2017-col.) A woman conducts and sings from a book open on her lap to the accompaniment of a turbaned man playing a viol and a young lad playing a harp. An old woman stands amongst them, listening. In the foreground are littered a violin, a lute and a pile of books. On the wall behind them hangs a framed painting. Prior to its restoration to its original appearance, on the background wall was depicted an alto recorder, probably of ivory, clearly of baroque form and therefore of a much latter date. This unique painting of an early 18th-century ivory alto recorder has now been removed from both wall and painting!
• Belshazzar’s Feast (ca 1635), oil on canvas, 167 × 209 cm, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). London: National Gallery. Ref. Schama (1999); National Gallery Publications Ltd.: postcard 811356 (col.); Rowland-Jones (2002a: 8); Rowland-Jones (2002b: 50, fig. 4-b&w); Recorder Magazine 22(2): front cover (col.) & 19 (2009); Lasocki (2023: 116). Belshazzar and the other banqueters watch in astonishment as the hand of Doom completes the final letter, thus sealing the fate of the King, who would perish the same night Daniel interpreted for him the meaning of the vision. The hand vanishes into air, and with it the entirety of Belshazzar’s worldly dominion. The plumed and pearled courtesan seen at the extreme left sits silhouetted against the garish brightness, her stillness pointing up the agitated stupefaction of the rest of the company. The shadowy woman at left in Rembrandt’s preparatory “dead-color” monochrome fingers her pipe (probably a recorder) and seems to eye the rest of us – or is her gaze fixed on the vanitas still-life on the table in the foreground?
• Mercury and Argus, pen and brown ink on paper over white gouache, 178 × 146 mm, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Paris: Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Inv. RF 4693 (Lugt 1148). Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Argus sits leaning sleepily on his staff watched by Mercury (Hermes) in his winged helmet holding a cylindrical pipe which is almost certainly meant to be a recorder.
• Three Shepherds, One Playing the Flute, pen with brown & black ink on paper, 17.7 × 12.3 cm, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Wroclaw: Ossolineum, Inv. 8718. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 110586 (2010-b&w). Surrounded by their beasts, a shepherd and a shepherdess listen to a companion who plays a slender pipe, possibly a recorder. As if to encourage the piper, the shepherdess has her hand on his knee, and the shepherd has his arm around the other’s shoulder.
• Three Singers / Allegory of Hearing (1624-1625), oil on oak panel, 21.6 × 17.8 cm, attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).  Location unknown: Private Collection; formerly Hans Cramer Gallery, The Hague (1965-1979); Christie’s, London, Important and Fine Old Master Pictures, 7 July 1995, Lot 57; Johnny van Haeften, London (2007). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, BD/0552 – ONS/Genre 1: General (illustration 0000113385); Wikimedia Commons (2013-col.) Around a table lit by a candle, an elderly man with  pince-nez spectacles sings from an open book, accompanied by his wife and son. On the wall behind, in the shadows, hang a cittern and a clearly depicted three-piece alto baroque recorder. This painting was one in a series of early works attributed to Rembrandt which includes The Operation / Allegory of Touch (Private collection), The Spectacles Pedlar / Allegory of Sight (Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, Inv. S 5697) and the recently discovered Unconscious Patient / Allegory of the Sense of Smell. If it was correctly dated 1624-1625 and if the recorder depicted was original and not added later then it would be amongst the earliest depictions of the baroque recorder. Others include Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts’ Trompe l’oeil with Musical Instruments] (1672), and a painting  (ca 1670) by Cornelis Brize (see Jan Bouterse (2001: Appendix C.1). However, Bruyn et al. (1982, 1: no. B1) and Wetering (2014: no. 2)  have identified the whole of the background of the Three Singers as being among  later additions dated broadly in the mid-18th century and, as can be seen from the image on their page 404, not much at all remains of the original painting itself. This painting was purchased from Johnny van Haeften, London in 2007 by a private collector. It was exhibited in Rembrandt in America at the North Carolina Museum of Art , Raleigh  (30 October 2011 — 22 January 2012, Cat. No. 1) and has been the subject of a major restoration in 1988 by Menno Dooijes, a private conservator from Makkum, Netherlands; the drape and the instruments in the background have been completely removed, as can be seen here.

Karl Augsburg Remshard (1678-1735) – See Bernard Picart (1673-1738)

Simon Renard de Saint-André

French painter and copperplate engraver working in Paris; deeply influenced by the Dutch school, he is known for his portraits and vanitas still-lifes; born Paris (ca 1613), died Paris (1677).

• Vanité (ca 1650), oil on canvas, 60 × 43 cm, Simon Renard de Saint-André (ca 1613-1677). Lyon: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. 1956-5. Ref. Archiv Moeck; Rowland-Jones (2000e; 2000b: fig.-b&w; 2002b: 50, pl. 5 – b&w; pers. comm., 2003; 2007: 42 & fig. 7); Website: Les cahiers d’Alain Truong (2007, detail – col.); American Recorder Journal 49 (1): front cover (2008 – col.); Website: gallica (2012, detail-b&w). On a shelf are a book, a shell, documents with seals, a bottle of wine in a wicker basket, a skull crowned with a laurel wreath, a glowing taper, a document with seals, some music stained by wine from a shattered glass, and two renaissance-style recorders of soprano and alto size. Bubbles float above. “The offset little-finger hole and the shape of the nearer instrument show that recorders rather than four-finger holed French flageolets are intended, despite the missing upper first-finger hole. The recorders are approximately side-by-side and the same way round … and the right-hand recorder is slightly larger; in some pictures, such as Titian’s The Three Ages of Man (Edinburgh), two parallel recorders signify marriage. But the recorders [here] are crossed, not quite parallel, as death (the skull) has broken the ongoing harmony of marriage. The sweet music they played (Ronsard’s Bonjour mon Coeur set as a chanson by Lassus – the male, tenor part is shown) is crumpled and stained with wine from the shattered glass” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.) The missing first finger hole on the upper instrument could either be the painter’s error, or symbolic like the broken lute string and missing flute in Holbein’s Ambassadors.
• Vanité, oil on canvas, Simon Renard de Saint-André (1613-1677) Bourges, Musées du Berry–Hôtel Lallemant. Ref. Website: Centre d’iconographie musicale (2005 – col.) On a table are a globe, a lute, an open book of music from underneath of which projects the head of a renaissance-style recorder seen in side profile.
• Vanité, Oil on canvas, 61 × 77 cm, Simon Renard de Saint-André (1613-1677). Private Collection. Ref. Website: Les cahiers d’Alain Truong (2007, detail – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2009); Website: Bright Cecilia (2010 – col.) On a table covered with a crimson cloth are a skull with the remains of a leafy wreath, a pochette and bow, an elaborate candlestick and candle, an open book of music, a medallion, and an elaborately turned duct flute with an elongated beak (probably a flageolet rather than a recorder) around which a blue ribbon is tied. Although the title of the music in this picture is illegible in the photograph the shape of the music itself suggests a dance form frequently used by Lully in his ballets and tragedies lyriques, and by other contemporary composers as well, then imitated by Henry Purcell (e.g. ‘Fear no danger to pursue’, in Dido and Æneaus). The obvious symbolism is that ‘Dancing days are over’. Simon de Saint André was a contemporary of Lully in Paris and the extract could quite easily be taken from that composers work. Also on the table are a watch, and three white roses.
• Vanité, oil on canvas,  38.1 x 47.3 cm, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). Auctioned 24 April 2018. Ref. Website: artnet (2019). This appears to be a detail of the above omitting the watch and the roses on either side.
• Vanité, 61 × 50 cm, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). France: Private Collection. Ref. Faré & Faré (1974: 169); Paris RIdIM (1999). A number of objects lie scattered on a table, including some flowers in a vase, a skull, books, dice, coins, an hourglass, a document with a seal, a pen and ink, and a recorder, only the head of which is visible.
• Still-life with a Lute, 35 × 45 cm, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). France: Private Collection. Ref. Faré & Faré (1974: 174); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). A number of objects lie scattered on a table, including a lute, a book of music, a bust, a casket, some sea-shells, and a small cylindrical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) with a decorated foot and a slightly bulbous beak, only six finger holes of which are visible though a seventh if off-set would be naturally hidden from view.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). Location unknown: Sold by Sotheby’s, New York (19 May 1995). Ref. Sale Catalogue, Sotheby’s, New York (1995: 78); Paris RIdIM (1999). On a draped table lie scattered playing cards, a purse with coins, several plaster sculptures of putti and Christ carrying the cross and a bust of a man, open books (including one of prints), a flute and two recorders. Only the heads of the recorders are visible. One has turned rings below the beak; the other appears to be of wide bore and plain profile.
• Vanité, 54 × 65 cm, oil on canvas, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). Private Collection. Ref. Website: myartprints.co.uk (2010-col.) On a table are scattered books (one open at a chapter headed LE TOMBEAV, tombeau, grave or tomb), the cranium of a human skull, a thigh-bone, an hourglass, coins, dice, reading glasses, quill and ink-stand, documents, a sheet of music, a vase of flowers, and what appears to be a one-piece recorder, only the head and body of which are visible. There is a very similar image to this one with no recorder but containing many of the same elements and  giving a date of 1613 but no further details  here.
• Vanité, Simon Renard de Saint André (1614-1677). Paris: La Collection Motais de Narbonne. Ref. Palais-Royale/Musée de Louvre, Exhibition “La Collection Motais de Narbonne: Tableaux Français et Italiens des XVIIe et XVIIIe Siècles” 25 March to 21 June 2010. On a table are scattered the cranium of a human skull, a thigh-bone, an hourglass, a candle, a letter, shells, a roll of sheet music, a snake, a book open at a page illustrating the Last Judgement, and a small duct flute (probably a flageolet since only four finger holes are depicted).

Guido Reni

Italian painter; one of the outstanding masters of the Bolognese school whose early work employed chiaroscuro, but who later adopted a plainer more airy style and were almost entirely monochrome; painter of religious and mythological scenes; active in Bolgona, Rome and Naples; born Calvenzano near Bologna (1575), died Bologna (1642).

• Coronation of the Virgin (ca 1607), oil on copper, 66.6 × 48.8 cm, Guido Reni (1575-1642). London: National Gallery, Inv. 214 Ref. National Gallery, London: postcard, 400645 (1994: detail- col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1990 (2023, col.) A small version of this painting. The Virgin in splendour is surrounded by angel musicians two of whom play cylindrical pipes, one of which has a definite beak and is a duct flute (probably a recorder); others play viol, harp, lute, violin, cello, organ; some sing. This would appear to be another version of the painting below (on wood). The subject is more properly the Glorification of the Virgin, who is usually shown crowned by Christ and God the Father. Here the Virgin is crowned by angels (possibly as ‘Regina angelorum’ – Queen of angels) and elements of the Assumption are mingled with those of the Glorification.
• Coronation of the Virgin (1626), oil on brass, Guido Reni (1575-1642). Bayonne: Musée Bonnat. Ref. Grubb (1995: 80 – col.); Bridgeman Images XIR391414 (2014-col.) The Virgin in splendour is surrounded by angel musicians two of whom play cylindrical pipes, one of which has a definite beak and is a duct flute (probably a recorder); others play viol, harp, lute, fiddle, organ; some sing.
• Coronation of the Virgin, wood, 78 × 54 cm, ? Guido Reni (1575-1642). Bruges: Stadsbibliotheken. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). The Virgin in splendour is surrounded by angel musicians two of whom play cylindrical pipes, one of which is clearly a duct flute (probably a recorder); others play viol, harp, lute, fiddle, organ; some sing. The flute-player’s wrists are low and all fingers are down so this adds to the possibility of its being meant as a recorder.
• Assumption of the Virgin, (1602–1603), oil on panel, 77 × 51 cm, Guido Reni (1575-1642). Madrid: Museo del Prado, Inv. P000213. Ref. Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 198-199, pl. – col.) Numerous angels surround the Virgin one of whom (in the shadows to the right) holds a slightly flared recorder the lowermost paired finger holes of which are clearly depicted. Others sing and play violin, lute and organ.
• Assumption of the Virgin, oil on copper, 58 × 44.4 cm, Guido Reni (1575-1642).  Frankfurt: Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städelsche Galerie, Inv. 2434. Ref. Website: Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) Numerous angels surround the Virgin one of whom holds a flared-bell pipe which looks very much like a recorder. Others sing and play lutes, harp, and several other wind- and string-instruments. Once owned by the stepson of Napoléon and later the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, Russia, this painting spent more than four decades in a Swiss private collection before being auctioned and sold for $1.1 million in 2013.
• God the Father Above a Concert of Angels (ca 1608), ceiling fresco, Guido Reni (1575-1642). Detail 1. Detail 2. Rome: San Gregorio Magno al Celio, Oratorio di Santa Silvia. Ref. Zaniol (1984, November: 7, footnote 14); Paris RIdIM (1999); Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2014). From one of two balconies angel musicians play lute, cornetto, a small viol and a slender cylindrical pipe from sheets of music hanging over the parapet. The latter is clearly a recorder (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm.) “Depicts a slender cylindrical recorder” (Zaniol, loc. cit.) From a second balcony, angel musicians play sackbut, violin, timbrel, lute and another slender recorder of tenor size with a slightly flared bell. An anonymous 17th century drawing (Louvre, Paris), putatively from the southern Netherlands, is clearly either a preparatory sketch or a copy of Guido Reni’s painting.
• God the Father Above a Concert of Angels (17th century), oil on canvas, 33.0 x 48.5 cm, anonymous after Guido Reni (1575-1642). Location unknown. Ref. Website: Debat Art Figuration, Musical Angels (2016, col.); Website: Will Kimball Trombone, Iconography (2017, col.) An unknown artist from the 17th century made a fairly close copy of a detail of the above  painting. The artist changed the location of God in the picture because of the lack of vertical space, but the image is otherwise very similar to Reni’s fresco.
• [Musical Angels], engraving, Jean Charles Allet (c. 1668-1732) after  Guido Reni (1575-1642). London: British Museum. Ref. Website: Will Kimball, Trombone (2013). Allet, a French engraver who spent the bulk of his life in Rome, copied parts of Reni’s fresco God the Father above a concert of angels (see above). He reproduced 6 of the 10 original angel musicians in his engravings  one of which includes the two recorder players.
• L’Amour, Guido Reni (1575-1642). Vichy: Musée Municipal, Inv. 559. Ref. Lallement & Devaux (1996: 256). Includes a violin and bow, an archlute and a recorder. Not seen.
• Love, engraving after Guido Reni (1575-1642). Location unknown: formerly Galerie du Palais d’Orleans, Paris. Wings open, Cupid strikes a pose, leaning against a table from which hangs a sheet of ? music. In his left hand he holds a bow and arrow; in his right hand he holds a recorder above his head. Two crowns, a mace and a violin lie at his feet. Behind him is a theorbo. An astrolabe sits on the table. Clearly this illustrates the motto ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’.
• Adoration of the Shepherds (ca 1640), oil on canvas, 480 × 321 cm, Guido Reni (1575-1642). London: National Gallery, Inv. NG6270. A huge canvas in which the Virgin shows off the Christ Child in his basket, bathed in light. Joseph prays. Shepherds kneel and gaze with other visitors in wonder, some leaning on their staves. A shepherd on the right plays bagpipes, his companion a flared-bell alto recorder. Putti hover in the air above against a landscape with hills in the background.
• St Cecilia or A Sybil, possibly by Guido Reni (1575-1642). Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum. Ref. Munich RIdIM; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). At the top right beneath a violin is a wind instrument with a recorder-like flared bell and offset little finger hole; however, no other finger holes show and the mouthpiece end is in shadow. This is dubiously a recorder; but St Cecilia would not appear with a shawm or a bagpipe chanter!
• Girl Playing a Flute, black and white ink on paper, 17.5 × 21.7 cm, Guido Reni (1575-1642). Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Inv. No. 2000-1902. Ref. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (2002: DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 02021280 – col.) A girl plays a tenor-sized conical pipe with a flared bell. The instrument appears to be beaked and a slight lightening near the mouthpiece may represent the window/labium. The position of the hands and fingers, especially the thumb, are consistent with this being a recorder.

• The Flaying of Marsyas, oil on canvas, Simone Cantarini, ‘Il Pesarese’ (1612–1648), after Guido Reni (1575-1642). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2000, col.) A copy of the partially completed original by Reni (1620-5) in the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse (Inv. 2004 1 45). Marsyas bound with his arms outstretched, screams as Apollo flays the skin from his shoulder. Vaguely depicted at the bottom left is Apollo’s lyre; and at the bottom right lies what must be Marsyas’ pipe, a duct flute – the window/labium of which may just be visible. This differs from Reni’s original which depicts a syrinx and a cylindrical object which may represent a pipe of some kind.

(Pierre-)Auguste Renoir

French painter, printmaker and sculptor; one of the founders and leading exponents of Impressionism from the late 1860s, producing some of the movement’s most famous images of carefree leisure. He broke with his Impressionist colleagues to exhibit at the Salon from 1878, and from ca 1884 he adopted a more linear style indebted to the Old Masters; in the early 20th century, Renoir began to work in new media, modeling with clay as his hands became paralyzed from rheumatism, in the terracottas and bronzes below, Renoir harks back to the classical world, the tambourine and flute players recalling the nymphs and shepherds of pastoral poetry; these sculptures were some of the last works he produced before his death; born Limoges (1841), died Cagnes-sur-Mer (1919).

• Joueur de flûteau [Flute-player], bass relief, bronze, 60 × 44 cm, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Location unknown: sold Hôtel Georges VI, Paris (17 June 1976), A.P.T. Ref. Haesaerts (1947: pl. xlvii); Sale catalogue (1976: lot 57); Paris RIdIM (2000); Courtauld Institute, London. Signed on the bass and numbered 4/20. Cast by C. Vasuani. A man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.
• Joueur de flûteau [Flute-player], bass relief, bronze with different patinas, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Location unknown: Auctioned 10 November 1994 (sold). Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.) A man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands playing a small duct flute, the window/labium of which seems to be indicated by an indentation.
• Joueur de flûteau [Flute-player], bass relief, bronze with patina, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Location unknown: Auctioned 30/06/2003 (unsold). Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.) A man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands playing a small duct flute, the window/labium of which seems to be indicated by an indentation.
• Dancer with Tambourine and Flute Player, bass reliefs in bronze with patina, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Location unknown: Auctioned 17 November 1998 (sold) Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.) Two separate bronze reliefs sold together. In one, a female dancer plays a tambourine. In the other, a man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.
• Dancer and Flute Player, bass reliefs, bronze, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Location unknown: Auctioned 14 October 1992 (sold) Ref. Website: Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.) Two separate bronze reliefs sold together. In one, a female dancer plays a tambourine. In the other, a man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.
• Dancer and Flute Player (1981), bass reliefs, bronze, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). San Antonio: Museum of Art. Two separate bronze reliefs. In one, a female dancer plays a tambourine. In the other, a man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.
• Dancer with a Tambourine (1918, cast 1946) and Flute Player (1918, cast 1946), bass reliefs, terracotta, both 58.42 cm × 41.91 cm × 4.45 cm, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Sacramento: Crocker Art Museum, 2005.66.2 & 2005.66.1. Two separate terracotta reliefs. In one, a female dancer plays a tambourine. In the other, a man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.
• Dancer and Flute Player (1981), bass reliefs, bronze, 61.9 × 43.8 cm & 60.3 × 44.1 cm, Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). New York: Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, 15 November 2016, Lot 384. Two separate bronze reliefs. In one, a female dancer plays a tambourine. In the other, a man, naked but for a cloak hanging over his shoulders, stands with his hands apart and fingers flexed as if to play a duct flute. Unfortunately the instrument itself is absent.

Albert Reuss [born Reiss]

Austrian painter who sought asylum in the UK along with other Jewish refugees where he lived and work in Gloucestershire and Cornwall; his depictions of both objects and people have an estranged air about them – taken out of context, of time, of place, they appear oddly strange, perhaps reflecting the artist’s own life-journey; born Budapest (1889), died Cornwall (1975).

• Recorder Player, oil on canvas, 64.8 × 53.3 cm, Albert Reuss (1889-1975). Newlyn: Art Gallery. Ref. Website: BBC – Your Paintings (2012-col.) A man sits uncomfortably on a chair leaning to the right playing a decidedly conic pipe with a decidedly flared bell but no other details visible. This is possibly a recorder, given the title, but is much more reminiscent of a taragato from the artist’s native Hungary.

Sir Joshua Reynolds

English painter in the Grand Manner, the foremost portraitist of his day; born Plymton Earl, Devonshire (1723), died London (1792).

• Caricature of Aristocratic Gentlemen in Rome (1751), oil on canvas, 63 × 52 cm, Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, NGI.737. Ref. Boydell (1985: pl. 6 – col.); Moeck, Celle: TIBIA – Musikbilder auf Postkarten, Series 2(3), No. 11102 (1987, col.); Croke et al. (1994: 10, fig. 2 – b&w); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 136, fig. 32). A group of musicians in the front LH corner of the painting depicts Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean (flute), James Caulfield (baroque alto recorder), Mr Ward (? singing), and Mr Richard Phelps (cello). In this version James Caulfield, later first Earl of Charlemont and a VIP in Dublin Society during the Protestant ascendancy, appears with a shamrock in his hat. The Scotsman (Culzean) has a hat with a blue and white St Andrew’s cross, The Welshman (Phelps) a leek, and the Englishman a red St George’s Cross. They appear in place of Pythagoras and students in Reynolds’ Parody on Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’ (see below).
• Parody on Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’ (1751), oil on canvas, 97 × 135 cm, Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, NGI.734. Ref. Research Center for Musical Iconography (1978: 41, item 216); Thompson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 136, pl. 32 – caption). A caricature of Raphael’s fresco in the Vatican. A group of musicians in the front LH corner of the painting depicts Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean (flute), James Caulfield (baroque alto recorder), Mr Ward (singing), and Mr Richard Phelps (cello) in place of Phythagoras and his students trying to measure a pie. Here, their hats lack national emblems.
• Parody on Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’ (1751), mezotint, 25.7 × 31.2 cm, by by James Scott (1770-1848) after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). London: National Portrait Gallery, Inv. D16142. Ref. Website: National Portriat Gallery, London (2007-b& w.) A caricature of Raphael’s fresco in the Vatican. A group of musicians in the front LH corner of the painting depicts Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean (flute), James Caulfield (baroque alto recorder), Mr Ward (singing), and Mr Richard Phelps (cello) in place of Phythagoras and his students. Here, their hats lack national emblems.
• Venus and a Young Boy playing a Flute, oil on canvas, 137.0 × 104.2 cm, Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Private Collection. Ref. Witt Library, London (2000); Mirimonde (1977: 147, pl. 84); Postle (1995: 204, pl. 75 – b&w); Paris RIdIM (1999); Rowland-Jones (200c: 86); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Sold from the collection of Cuthbert Quilter, New York, 27 January (1913: No. 93); sold by Bonhams, London, 15 December 1977. Venus, naked, her hair decorated with flowers, legs crossed, reclines on a blanket in a shady grove, serenaded by a young man playing a cylindrical recorder. “Reynolds’ patrons … used the euphemism ‘Venus’ to legitimise their purchase of paintings of nude women, and Reynolds himself called this little hussy – she is certainly no noble goddess – a ‘nymph’ in the tradition of Aracadian pastoral love-scenes, complete with ‘shepherd’ and recorder” (Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm, 2000).
• The Piping Shepherd Boy (1773), painting, 74 × 63 cm, after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Plymouth: Antony House. Ref. Waterhouse (1973: pl. 62). A shepherd boy with a dog looks round at us, continuing to play a slender pipe of alto size with only sight overall conical expansion to its plain bell. The top of the instrument by his lip is in shadow (no window/labium visible) and no finger holes can be seen. But hands and fingers seem to be in recorder-playing position, the left hand uppermost, first finger lifted, thumb well under and slightly bent. All four fingers of the right are in a playing position, the third down. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). One of Reynolds “fancy pictures”. Such images often idealized the life of the working poor and were also labeled “sentimental pictures.”
• The Piping Shepherd Boy (1788-1858), engraving, 30.0 × 24.7 cm, John Agar (?dates) after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).  British Museum: Prints & Drawings, 1874,0711.764. Ref.  Website: British Museum (2014). An engraving based on the original painting by Reynolds at Antony House, Plymouth. A shepherd boy with a dog looks round at us, continuing to play a slender pipe of alto size with only sight overall conical expansion to its plain bell. Lettered with title, Sir William Jones when a Youth.
• The Piping Shepherd Boy (1859), engraving, Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).  Ref.  National Magazine 1 (1859). An engraving based on the original painting by Reynolds at Antony House, Plymouth. A shepherd boy with a dog looks round at us, continuing to play a slender pipe of alto size with only sight overall conical expansion to its plain bell.

Francisco [de] Ribalta [Ribaltá]

Spanish baroque painter, mostly of religious subjects; he was amongst the first followers in Spain of the austere tenebrist style of Caravaggio; born Lérida (1565), died Valencia (1628); Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652 is said to have been one of his pupils.

• Madonna and Child with Music-making Angels, oil on panel, 76 × 106.5 cm, Francisco Ribalta (1565-1628). Wimborne Minster: Kingston-Lacey, National Trust Inv. 1257129. This painting on a wooden panel originally hung in a church in Valencia. It was brought to England in the early 19th century. The glass orb or globe under the Christ child’s left foot identifies him in the role of Salvator Mundi or ‘Saviour of the World’. The winged angels to left and right of the Madonna play a tenor-sized cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) and a 5-course guitar. The window/labium of the flute is clearly depicted and although the player’s hands are rather low down on the instrument both are in play, so this probably represents a recorder rather than a three-holed pipe.

Jusepe [Josepe] de Ribera

Spanish-born painter, an important figure in the transition from Mannerism to a more naturalistic style  who spent most of his life in Naples; his work is noted for its severity, dramatic intensity and lofty pathos; the majority of his works have religious themes; born Játiva, Southern Valencia (1591), died Naples (1652). 7

• The Flaying of Marsyas, Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652). Brussels: Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België. Ref. Wyss (1996); Ausoni (2009: 76-col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). Surely the most gruesome of paintings featuring the recorder! Marsyas screams in agony as he is skinned alive; his cylindrical recorder lies discarded on the ground before him with Apollo’s lira da braccio.
• Adoration of the Shepherds, Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652). Location unknown. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (ex Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm., 2002). Shepherds crowd around in admiration of the Christ-Child. In the background two shepherd boys play bagpipe and a cylindrical pipe, probably a recorder. The image comes from a Christmas card printed for an Irish charity.
• Pastoral, Shepherd and Sheep, oil on canvas, 163.1 × 124.0 cm, follower of Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652). Hull: Ferens Art Gallery. Ref. Website: Bridgeman Images, FER185696 (2014-col.) Formerly attributed to Philipp Peter Roos (Rosa da Tivoli) (1657-1706); possibly Spanish or Neapolitan School. This picture has been restored. A shepherd wearing a leafy crown sits with one of his flock at the foot of a steep hillside. He holds an alto-sized cylindrical duct flute, probably a recorder, the beak, window/labium clearly depicted. He holds the instrument right hand uppermost and only six finger holes are visible.

Gabriele Riccardi

Italian architect and sculptor, born Lecce, Apulia (after 1548), died 1586.

• Shepherd with a Duct Flute, stone sculpture, Gabriele Riccardi (p.1548–a.1555). Lecce: . Ref. Fabris (1991: 18, fig. 14 – b&w). A shepherd with curly locks wearing a felt hat plays a small (soprano) duct flute, probably a recorder.

Sebastiano Ricci, or Rizzi

Italian painter of religious subjects whose gay, easy style followed the direction that Venetian painting led by Tiepolo had taken; active in Venice, Florence, Rome, briefly in France, London and Vienna; born Belluno (1659), died Venice (1734).

• Bacchanal in Honour of Pan, Sebastiano Ricci, or Rizzi (1659-1734). Venice: Galleria dell Accademia. At the left a nude man plays an alto recorder, the lower (left-hand) little finger poised for its hole. The bottom little finger hole slightly offset, the window/labium area uncertain, the player’s lips pursed forward in relaxed position. Although there is some turned decoration of the flared bell, the instrument is otherwise cylindrical. The player performs for dancing, with two timbrels. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.) One of a group of four paintings representing Procris before Diana, a Centaur Family, and Apollo and Marsyas sold at Christie’s in 1950 (Brooke 1960: 174).
• Marriage Feast at Cana, oil on canvas, 165.1 × 134.6 cm, Sebastiano Ricci, or Rizzi (1659-1734). Kansas: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Ref. Steer (1970: 177, fig. 143-b&w). Partly derived from Veronese’ Marriage Feast at Cana (Louvre). At the bottom left three young men play for the feast – a singer with music, standing; on the steps a lutenist, and a recorder player playing from an open book of music on his lap. The recorder is of alto size, somewhat narrow, and with a medium but short bell and bore flare. The player’s hands cover the instrument roughly in recorder position with the little finger of the lower (left) hand down (on its finger hole). Although details of the beak and window/labium are unclear it seems hardly likely to be a shawm in the company of a lute.
• Bacchus and Ariadne, Sebastiano Ricci, or Rizzi (1659-1734). Prague: Šternberský Palác, Inv. 0 14422. Ref. Wilfried Praat (pers. comm., 2010). An infant gazes up at a boy satyr who tries to blow a pipe, the shape of which is suggestive of a recorder.

Domenico Riccio – see Domenico Brusasorci

Richards

• A Monkey with a Lute and a Recorder, Gouache on cardboard, 24.8 × 18.4 cm, Richards (20th century). New York: Doyle, Important English & Continental Furniture / Old Master Paintings – Sale 10CN02, Lot 57, 19 May 2010. A monkey sits before a mandolin lying on its belly. Beside him is an upturned neo-baroque recorder with a striped ribbon tied around the foot-joint. Sold as one of a pendant pair with A Monkey with a Pot of Chestnuts.

L. Richer

• Music, copper engraving by Pierre Lombart (1612-1682) after L. Richer. Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie. Ref. Mirimonde (1975: fig. 4); Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum; Website: Lute Iconography, Image 2787 (2023, col.) A personification of Music in a feathered hat plays the lute, her tablature book in her lap. Behind her is a viol, and hanging on the wall is a small viol and a garland of a flared-bell duct flute (probably a recorder), and what looks like a capped reed instrument (possibly a rauschpfeife). Some doggerel beneath the picture reads:

  Although the Cannon, and the Churlish Drum
  Have Strooke the Quire mute, and the Organs Dumb:
  Yet Musicks Art with Ayre and String and Voyce
  Makes glad the Sad, and Sorrow to Rejoyce.

  These words from Henry Lawes’ The Treasury of Musick (1669) refer to the Puritan Revolution when even organs and choirs had no place in the church and were seen as ‘distractions’ from prayer, study and meditation.

Lizzie Riches

Contemporary English painter and muralist living in Norfolk; her works focus on the relationship between human civilisation and the natural world, but also include portraits and still-lifes; many of her paintings contain stories or conundrums; born London (1950).

• Personification of the Sense of Hearing / August, oil on canvas, 122 × 90 cm, Lizzie Riches (1950–). Red Dot Gallery: Exhibition: In Search of the Golden Caroline, 1 July – 31 August 2012. Ref. Website: Red Dot Gallery (2012 – col.); Website: KL Magazine (1 July 2012 – col.); Website: Our Nofolk: Apple Inspired Art; The Long Gallery Blickling (1 August 2012 – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2012). Part of an exhibition to explore, through 16 paintings, history, flora and fauna of Blickling, Norfolk. The paintings, inspired by Richet’s study of Elizabethan portraiture and symbolism, are the basis of a treasure trail (with a guide-map to the clues!) in the house and grounds of Blickling Hall, for which the final objective is a gilded and jewelled Golden Garoline apple. They are designed to incorporate observations of the flora and fauna of Blickling, as well as to reflect the imagery in the splendid plaster ceiling of the Gallery (Edward Stanyon, c. 1616-1627). Here the seated lady representing the Sense of Hearing is surrounded with accurately painted birds,including on her embroidered gown. She holds an equally realistic alto neo-baroque recorder, in black-wood. If pitched in F she would be fingering the note G, ready to play. The recorder, of course, has a long association in art, literature and music with birdsong.

Hans Theo Richter

German draughtsman and printmaker; with the exception of a few landscapes he drew only people in an essentially realist style, exploring themes such as motherhood, love and mutual understanding, along with simple but timeless daily activities; he often applied washes with a brush in order to create an illusion of three-dimensionalism; born Rochlitz, near Leipzig (1902), died Dresden (1969).

• Three Children Making Music (1951), Hans Theo Richter (1902-1969). Calendar: Musica, Bärenreiter (1965); Archiv Moeck. A boy and a girl, sing accompanied by another boy on an alto recorder of modern design.

Isaac Richter

Contemporary Israeli photographer and artist who paints in oils and acrylics and also works in art glass; his subjects include nature, architecture and people as well as his country’s historical sites.

• The Lonely Shepherd (2012), acrylic on canvas, Isaac Richter (contemporary). Against the backdrop of a castellated wall, a bearded man in a leather hat and a long coat plays a clearly depicted alto baroque-style recorder, left hand uppermost. Since all fingers are covering their holes he is probably playing a bottom f’. The title may refer to the haunting melody made famous by the Romanian pan-pipe player Gheorghe Zamfir.

Ludwig Richter

German draughtsman and painter of rural scenes and landscapes which were immensely popular in 19th-century Germany with their idealization of the landscape and popular literature of a simpler German past; born Dresden (1803(, died Loschwitz bei Dresden (1884).

• Shepherd’s Song (1871), coloured copperplate engraving, Ludwig Richter (1803-1884). Leipzig: Museum der Bildenden Künste. Ref. Archiv Moeck. A woman and her infant are crossing a stile, followed by an old man. In front of them a shepherd sits, playing a slender cylindrical pipe with a slightly flared bell; two children sit beside him. In the foreground are a dog and some sleepy sheep.
• Piper in Antique Clothes (mid-19th century), pencil on wove paper, 10.5 × 40 cm, attributed on stylistic grounds to Ludwig Richter (1803-1884). Upton: Spaightwood Galleries (2005). Probably a drawing for an illustration of the fable of the Pied Piper of Hamlin. The pipe is sketchily drawn, of exaggerated tenor size with a markedly flared bell, the mouth-piece apparently beaked rather than with a reed, so this might just represent a recorder.

Johann Elias Ridinger

German painter, engraver, draughtsman and publisher; he depicted animals, above all horses, as well as hunting and copies of works by earlier masters; founder of an art publishing house, selling prints that he himself designed and engraved; born Ulm (1698), died Augsburg (1767).

• Der alle Instrumente accompagnirende Basson, print, Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767). Coburg. Ref. Archiv Moeck. A man in a three-cocked hat leans against a pillar and plays a highly ornate baroque three-piece basset recorder with a very long bocal and a foot key. His music is supported by a stool in front of him. Behind him is a carved sphinx. Below is a verse in German and Latin.
• The Shepherd and his Delightful Flute (1718 -1767), print, 53.6 x 42/7 cm (plate), Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767). Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Inv. JERidinger AB 2.66; Coburg. Ref. J. Chr. Schickhardt, Sechs Trio-sonaten, Nagel 508; Archiv Moeck; Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). A shepherd in a turban with an enormous feather stands playing his three-piece alto/tenor baroque recorder against a mountainous landscape. Beneath is an inscription: Es mag das […] es übermeistert seyn.; Die Hertz und Ohr vergnügende Flöte.; Quod natura dedit […..    [It may […] be overpowered.; The flute is pleasing to the heart and ear; Quod natura dedit [.. .] ciet aura levis.]

Eduard von Riedel

German architect and theatre painter, perhaps best known for his contribution to Schloss Neeschwanstein for Ludwig II of Bavaria; born Bayreuth (1813), died Starnberg (1885).

• Italian Shepherd (1813-1885), pencil drawing, 16.3 × 16.3 cm, Eduard von Riedel (1813-1885). Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Inv. Cod. icon.207k. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2002: Mbs – H 571); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). A young shepherd in a landscape with trees holds a duct flute in his hand. Copy of an original by Pietro Carpentero (19th century).

Max Rieder

Austrian painter, sculptor and teacher; his works are classically stylized in form and include both secular and religious subjects; born Salzburg (1909), died Salzburg (2000).

• Musical Graces (1952), bronze sculpture, Max Rieder (1909-2000). Salzburg: Kulturpark (between the Altstadt and the railway station). Ref. Website: Max Rieder (2009 – col.); Jan Bouterse (pers. comm., 2009 – col.) Three standing naked figures (two female, one male), play syrinx, recorder and triangle. The Max Rieder website gives the date of this work as 1955; however, the base of one of the figures is cleared marked RIEDER 1952. Originally, each figure stood on its own block of cement in front of the Congress Centre. They may have been moved to their current position in 1955 when they were mounted on a single block.

Pieter de Ring

Dutch painter who successfully adopted Jan (Davidsz.) de Heem’s compositional schemes and styles to the extent that many of his fine, large ‘pronk’ (sumptuous or ostentatious) still-lifes, have been confused with his model; born Leiden (ca 1615), died Leiden (1660).

• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, Pieter de Ring (ca 1615-1660). Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie. Ref. Wiese (1988: fig. 67-b&w); Schneider (1994 – col.); Archiv Moeck; Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Arnold den Teuling (pers. comm., 2009). On a table lie a soprano flared-bell recorder with violin, music, an instruction book (with a drawing of a man playing a slender cylindrical duct flute), a shell, three playing dice, some coins, an inkwell, an hour-glass and a terrestrial globe. A maker’s mark is visible just below the window/labium of the recorder. The music is legible.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, oil on canvas, Pieter de Ring (ca 1615-1660). Private Collection. Ref. Web Gallery of Art (2000). Seemingly identical to the painting with the same title from the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (see above). On a table lie a soprano flared-bell recorder with violin, music, an instruction book (with a drawing of a man playing a slender cylindrical duct flute), a shell, three playing dice, some coins, an inkwell, an hour-glass and a terrestrial globe.
• Fruit, 117 × 170 cm, Pieter de Ring (ca 1615-1660). Antwerp: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, #659. Ref. Griffioen (1988: ch 4 & 440-441). On table food of all kinds is piled high – ham, scallops, grapes, peaches, quinces, melon, apples, lemons. And there is a candlestick, an ornate chalice, glasses, a chest with an ornate clasp, a lute, and an open music book in front of which the foot of a soprano-sized hand-fluyt pokes out from beneath a muslin cloth.
• Still-life with Fruit, Oysters, a Pie, a Watch and Musical Instruments, painting, Pieter de Ring (ca 1615-1660). Location unknown; sold Galerie Birkenwald, Stuttgart. Ref. Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0033180 (2009 – b&w). On a table food of all kinds is piled high – fruit, oysters, a pie. And there is an ornate chalice, a lute, and an open music book in front of which the foot of a soprano-sized hand-fluyt pokes out from beneath a muslin cloth.

Girolami Ristori (ca 1455-1512), Italian

• Scenes from Courtly Life (1475-1490), fresco, Girolami Ristori (ca 1455-1512). Prato: San Domenico, Museo di Pittura Murale. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2002). This graffiti-style painting originally decorated the garden wall of the Palazzo Vai, Prato. A young man with a feathered hat plays for another who dances. His instrument is an alto-sized conical-looking pipe. A mark near the mouthpiece end could represent a window/labium but, having been out of doors, this fresco is unclear.

Johann Heinrich Ritter

German court painter and frescoist whose work included portraits, church paintings, mythological and heroic scenes; active in Gotha, Altenbug , Sealfeld and Rudolstadt (op. 1720-1750)

• Holy Trinity (18th century), ceiling fresco, Johann Heinrich Ritter (op. 1720-1750). Detail. Waltershausen: Stadtkirche, false dome ceiling. Ref. Website: Anges Musiciens (2011-col.) An illusionistic architectural painting. Around the Holy Trinity, musical angels sing and play cornetto, cello, horn and a perfectly depicted baroque alto recorder. The present church dates from 1723, when only the original tower remained. Further restorations were carried out in 1992 and 1996.
• Allegory of Music (ca 1750), fresco, Johann Heinrich Ritter (op. 1720-1750). Rudolstadt: Schloss Heidecksburg. Ref. Website: bildindex der Kunst und Architectur (2011-col.) Female musicians sing and play lute, cello, and a baroque tenor recorder. A putto leans against the recorder player singing from a book. Elsewhere at Schloss Heidecsburg, similar frescoes by Ritter depict Pegasus, Uranie (Muse of astronomy), Rhetoric, Allegory of Archtecture, etc.

John Ritter

Contemporary USAmerican illustrative artist whose post pop compositions incorporate vibrant colors and photo collage while revealing a unique interpretation of contemporary politics, youth culture and media, and how each affects our interpretation of reality.

• Man Playing a Flute, John Ritter (contemporary). Ref. Website: Corbis Images MUS-04-RIT001 (2009 – col.) Standing on a path, a man plays a tenor-sized conical pipe which, given the title, can only be a duct flute, though no window/labium can be seen. Further back along the path a couple approach.

Giovanni della Robbia

Florentine sculptor, son of Andrea Della Robbia and grandnephew of Luca Della Robbia who, upon the death of his father in 1525, assumed control of the family workshop; born Florence (1469), died Florence (1529).

• Nativity, glazed terracotta, Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1529). Florence: Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Ref. Woodmansterne Publications, postcard (1994). The central scene is framed by angel musicians playing fiddles, lute, timbrel, psaltery, a flared-bell pipe (? shawm) and a cylindrical pipe (possibly a duct flute). The player of the latter seems to be covering the lowest hole with his little finger, so this may well represent a recorder.
• Altarpiece, glazed terracotta, Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1529). Poggibonsi: Basilica di San Lucchese. The Virgin and Child are flanked by saints and bishops. Above them, the Coronation of Mary is depicted in a lunette with a border comprising winged heads wearing small cone-shaped hats!, flanked by more saints and putti musicians playing timbrel, lute, a small cylindrical pipe and a narrowly rectangular psaltery. The pipe could represent a duct flute of some kind, but there are insufficient details.

Laurent Robert

French born, contemporary woodcarver, designer and cabinet maker; trained in France and England, now based in Dayville, Connecticut. Artist’s Website.

• Musical Trophy (2016), drawing, 18th-century style organ panel, Laurent Robert (contemporary). Baroque recorder, trumpet, oboe and violin, with scrolling Acanthus leaves winding in the background.
• Musical Trophies (2016), 18th-century style organ panels, carved limewood, Laurent Robert (contemporary). The left-hand panel depicts a baroque recorder, trumpet, oboe and lute; the right is the same but the lute is replaced with a violin. Both panels have scrolling Acanthus leaves winding in the background.

Henry Roberts

English engraver and print-seller and music publisher operating from London in the 18th century; amongst his publications are Calliope or English Harmony (1739) and Clio and Euterpe or British Harmony, both collections of songs.

• Frontispiece: John Tyther The Complete Flute Master, London (1740-1760), engraving, Henry Roberts (18th century). Ref. Welch (1911/1961: pl. 80-81, fig. 39; 84); Vinquist (1974: 60, 224-225); Lasocki (1999: 16, fig.) An elegantly dressed gentleman sits on an ornate chair reading from music propped up on a ledge in front of a mirror and playing a three-piece, turned, baroque recorder.
• Frontispiece: Anonymous, The Compleat Tutor for the Flute. Containing The Best and Easiest Instructions for Learners to obtain a Proficiency. To which is Added A Choice Collection of the most Celebrated Italian, English, and Scotch Tunes. Curiously adapted to that Instrument (John Johnson, London), engraving, Henry Roberts (18th century). London: British Museum. Ref. Möhlmeier & Thouvenout (2006: 107). A gentleman in a wig, frills, waistcoat and stockings stands in a chamber playing an alto-sized baroque 3-piece recorder from a score open on a lectern, left hand uppermost. The beak and window-labium are clearly depicted, though seen in side-profile.
• Frontispiece: Clio and Euterpe or British Harmony, a Collection of Celebrated Songs and Cantatas by the most approv’d Masters, Curiously Engrav’d with the Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord and Transposition for the German Flute. Embellish’d with designs adapted to each song. In III volumes, volume the first containing near two hundred airs. (1758-1780), engraving, Henry Roberts (18th century). University of Edinburgh Library; Oxford: Bodleian Library; London: Royal College of Music Library; Florida: Florida State University, College of Music, Music Library SPEC M1738 .C55; Washington: Library of Congress; Yale University Library; Harvard University Library. Facing each other, Euterpe (Muse of music and lyric poetry) holds a baroque recorder, Clio (Muse of history) holds a straight trumpet. Putti below sing and play cello, violin, flute. Apollo in his chariot rides across the sky above. John Welcker of London published the three volumes of Clio & Euterpe or British Harmony, a three-volume collection of 600 pages of songs from the 18th century adorned with beautifully detailed engravings, and sold them in his “Music and Instrument Warehouse” across from the Opera House.

Thomas Roberts

English stuccoist and plasterer who decorated many of the Georgian stately homes, university colleges and public buildings in and around Oxford; his work exhibited considerable virtuosity, generally in the rococo idiom; born 1711, died 1771.

• Two Musical Trophies (1753), plaster decorations, Thomas Roberts (1711–1771). Trophy A & Trophy B. Oxford: Christ Church College, Upper Library. Ref. Halfpenny (1974); Lyndon-Jones (2000: 30-b&w). The interior and fittings mostly date from the 1750s. Along one wall are stuccoed decorations, the central two (one on either side of the large window facing the entrance) of which are bundles or “drops” of musical instruments made to look as if they are suspended from a ring in a lion’s mouth. They include some real instruments, and some fanciful freaks, such as the short square cornetti. Others include English guitars (with 10-strings, here), recorders, shawms, horns, pipe and tabor, violins etc. In total ca 50 instruments are represented. The trophy on the left (A) includes three alto recorders; that on the right (B) includes four alto recorders. Other drops to the left and right all represent mathematics, and contain actual tools, dividers, set-squares and the like, plus some rather arbitrary looking fictitious geometrical shapes which contribute to the general effect.”These recorders show post-baroque turnery such as Stanesby Jnr was using on his latest instruments, the classic outlines being somewhat blurred, with all swellings rather angular and a smooth pear-shaped socket to the foot joint. It is unusual to find recorders with these characteristics” (Halfpenny, loc. cit.)

William [Patrick] Roberts

British war artist and portrait painter; his acerbic depiction of the arduous and deadly life in the firing lines of the Western Front are in a class of their own; his portrait subjects include T.E. Lawrence, John Maynard Keynes, Stanley Spencer; later, he turned to group portraits and large-scale urban scenes; born Hackney (1895), died London (1980).

• The Artist’s Son Playing the Recorder (1935-1936), oil on canvas, 41 × 31 cm, William Roberts (1895-1980). Woking: Ingram Collection, on loan to Lightbox Gallery, Woking; formerly London: Sotheby’s, The Evill/Frost Collection Part II, 16 June 2011, Lot 182 (sold). Ref. Cleall & Davenport (2016 – b&w). Half-length portrait of the artist’s son, the guitarist and poet John David Roberts (1919-1995), playing a slender, 2-piece alto recorder of modern design made of a dark wood with a brass ferrule at the joint.
• Recorder Players (1943), oil on canvas 19 × 24 cm, William Roberts (1895-1980). Location unknown: formerly purchased from the artist by A.E. Henrickson. Exhibited Tate Gallery (1965). Ref. Roberts (1964: 20); Cleall (2016 – b&w). Two people of indeterminate gender play stylised, cylindrical recorders of tenor size.
• Recorder Players (1934–1935), drawing in pencil, 18.5 × 27.0 cm, William Roberts (1895-1980).  Estate of John David Roberts (held in Tate store, 2014). Ref. Cleall & Davenport (2016). Study for a detail from The Gutter. Two men play  slender cylindrical pipes which must be recorders, given the title. A third helps a child to finger his notes. Another child dances.
• The Gutter (1934-1935), pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, 21.5  ×  39.5 cm, William Roberts (1895-1980). Christie’s 5 June 1992. Ref. Cleall & Davenport (2016-col.) On a crowded footpath people amuse themselves with dancing, acrobatics, skipping, brawling and playing recorders – two men play slender, cylindrical pipes whilst a third helps a young girl to finger her notes and a boy dances beside them. This is the group depicted in the above study.

Thomas Robins the Elder

English painter; known as the Limner of Bath, his many panoramic watercolours of Bath provide an interesting record of that city; he was also well known for his delightful paintings of prospects of houses and gardens framed with borders of flowers, birds, shells and butterflies; his works depicting various gardens provide us with a unique record of the brief Rococo period of garden design; born Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham (1716), died 1770; father of floral artist Thomas Robins (1748-1806).

• Jacob’s Ladder (ca 1745), decorated fan, gouache on paper, Thomas Robbins (1716-1770). Cheltenham: Wilson Art Gallery & Museum. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image CHE151247 – col.) ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ was a famous tree in Charlton Park, to the east of Cheltenham. A landscape with a tree (Jacob’s Ladder) with a cow, a milkmaid and her bucket, and a man playing a recorder. The detail is too small to discern the latter.

John Robinson

English artist who first made his name as a sculptor of children and sports figures after years spent sheep farming in Australia, where there are far more sheep than people; his works include sculptures in bronze, wood, stainless steel, and marble, and eleven tapestries; he had a lifelong interest in archaeology and anthropology; towards the end of his career he focused on symbolic sculptures, some based on mathematical formulae; born London (1935), died Somerset (2007).

• Recorder Player, bronze sculpture, John Robinson (1925-2007). Punta del Este, Uruguay: Museo Ralli, Patio de Esculturas. Ref. Website: Braman’s Wanderings (2014, b&w). A commissioned work. A life-sized young girl plays a neo-baroque recorder, held high.

Nicolo Roccatagliata

Italian baroque sculptor, apprenticed for nine years in his native Genoa to a silversmith, Agostino Groppo, and then his son Cesare (1571–1580); a follower of Sansovino; born Genoa (ca 1560), died Venice (p. 1636); father of the sculptor Sebastian Roccatagliata.

• Boy Playing a Flute, bronze statue, 26.5 cm high, Nicolo Roccatagliata (ca 1560 – p.1636). St Petersburg: Hermitage. A young boy, standing, holds a small cylindrical duct flute (possibly a recorder), the beak, window/labium and one finger hole clearly visible. The lower part of the flute has become bent towards the player.

Abraham Roentgen

German cabinet maker known for his marquetry work; after study with his father he traveled to Den Haag, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, learning from established cabinet makers, working in London until 1738; born Mülheim am Rhein (1711), died Hernhut (1793).

• Folding table for Johann Friedrich von Walderhoff, Elector of Trier, marquetry, 81 × 104 × 52 cm, Abraham Roentgen (1711-1793). Frankfurt: Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Inv. V. 70. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Fmk – 79). On the top, between fruit, blossoms and birds, are three cherubs in mother of pearl play tambourine. violin and shawm. To their right right are shawm and syrinx; at bottom right singers, to the left are two instruments, probably shawm and recorder. Not seen.
• Two padded chairs, marquetry, 100 × 56 × 62 cm, Abraham Roentgen (1711-1793). Hamburg: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Inv. 1961.104a u. b, St. 166a. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Hmkg – 82 /1-3). In the middle of the frame above the back of each are musical trophies. On Inv. 104a are a syrinx, small bells with a wrist-strap and a shawm-like instrument amongst foliage. On Inv. 104b are a violin, recorder, score and the bell of another shawm-like instrument. Not seen.

Pieter (Gerritz.) van Roestraten

Dutch painter, active in England; initially trained as a portrait painter, but when Peter Lely, apparently afraid of competition in the field of portraiture, offered to introduce him to Charles II on the condition that he ceased painting portraits – van Roestraten presumably kept his promise, for there are no further known portraits, other than self-portraits; Lely portrayed collectors, and van Roestraeten, formerly a portraitist, instead painting their prized possessions; born Haarlem (1629/30), died London (1700).

• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 71.5 × 90.8 cm, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Location unknown: auctioned Phillips, London (1992); Christies, London (? date); Dorotheum, Vienna, 6 March 1996, Lot 294 (attributed to Collier). Ref. Phillips auction catalogue (1992: 212, pl. 207 – col.); Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0033198 & 0033230 (2009 – b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriches Documentatie, illustration 48565 (2014 – col., as Anonymous) On a table covered with an embroidered drape lie a stoneware jug, a wine bottle in a basket, a glass beaker, a candlestick, a teapot and cup, a medallion and ribbon, a book, an ink bottle, a music score, a violin and bow, and a perfectly depicted turned, baroque three-piece alto recorder. RKD attribute this to an anonymous painter and date it 1750–1799.
• Still-life with Musical Instruments, canvas, 118.5 × 108.5 cm, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). The Hague: Gementemuseum, Music Department. Ref. Dijk (1987: n. 158); Buijsen & Grijp (1993); Legêne (1993: 278-281; 1995: 107); CD Cover: Trio Passagio, Italian Recorder Sonatas, RN Classics 93010; Bridgeman Art Library (2001: Image HGM81130 – col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-193 (2023, col.) A ‘pronk’ still-life in which several instruments are piled on top of a harpsichord, including a violin, a lute, a baroque alto recorder with ivory mounts and beak, and tortoiseshell finish, an inkstand and quill, and an ornate clock. A bass recorder leans against the foot of the harpsichord. There is a circular mirror on the wall behind.
• Vanitas Still-life, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Private Collection. Ref. Christie’s Images, London; Bridgeman Art Library, CH20843 (2003 – col.) On a table covered by an embroidered cloth are a pitcher, an hourglass, a chalice, books, scores, a theorbo and a small slender recorder with a flared bell.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2001 – col.) On a table covered with an orange drape lie a violin, a candlestick, books, playing cards, an hourglass, a music book, a watch, a skull, and a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) with eight finger holes and the window/labium clearly depicted, though the instrument is partially hidden behind the hourglass and the skull.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 86.7 × 102.0 cm, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2002 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunstihistoriche Documentatie, Image 0000045911 (2010-col.) On a table covered with an embroidered drape lie an open book, hour glass, earthenware flask, gilt nautilus cup, recorder, music score, porcelain bowl, papers and an oriental teapot. The recorder is of baroque design with ivory beak and ferrules; only the head and upper body are visible.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) On a marble ledge beneath a drape lie three ornate goblets, a skull crowned with a laurel wreath, a document, a necklace, a violin and a small baroque-style sopranino recorder with what looks like an ivory beak.
• Still life with Silver Vase, 61.5 × 54.0 cm, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Locality unknown: formerly Collection William M.J. Russell, Amsterdam; offered for sale by Norbert Pokutta, Munich (1987). Ref. Bol (1969: 352, fig. 315); Weltkunst 22: 3309 (1987 – col.); Constance Scholten (pers. comm., 2005); Universitatario Olandese di Storia dell’Arte Firenze, Special Photo Study Collections, Image 0033207 (2009 – col.) On a table lie a violin and bow with broken strings, a bunch of grapes, a silver vase elaborately ornamented with relief carving, a piece of music, a coin (or medallion) and a baroque recorder with an ivory ferrule on the head joint.
• Still-Life oil on canvas, 70.o × 81.7 cm, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Private Collection. Ref. Sotheby’s Sale Catalogue: Old Master Paintings, Sale AM1027, 8 May 2007, Amsterdam, Lot 97; Sale AM1032, 13 November 2007, Lot 26; Christies: Sale 2840, Old Masters and 19th Century Art, 13 April 2010, Amsterdam, Lot 66. A silver ginger jar, a violin, a pearl necklace, a recorder, music sheets, a silver porringer, a book, a globe, a gilt candlestick, a glass, a porcelain bowl, a pipe, a silver box and almonds, all on a wooden table, draped with a red cloth. The recorder, a hand-fluyt, is viewed almost end on, the narrow, curved windway clearly visible. The different silver objects in this still life suggest that it was painted after van Roestraeten moved to London. To the far left, a remarkable example of an English Charles II porringer reveals its four silver maker’s marks. Although the silver marks are hard to read, the Leopard’s head town mark of London can be clearly observed (fourth mark).
• Vanitas Still-life, painting, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Location unknown. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) On a marble shelf are a sugar bowl, an ornate silver ginger jar, a skull with laurel branches, a standing cup and cover with silver-gilt mounts, a silver chased dish, a letter with a red seal, a violin and a small duct flute with a slightly flared foot and three finger holes.
• Still-life, painting, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a draped shelf are a teapot and cup, a medal, an elaborate candlestick, an upturned tankard, a highly ornamented chalice, a sheet of music, and a baroque recorder or flute with ivory mounts, only the head and upper body visible. The instrument is unusual in that it lacks either the embouchure hole of a flute or the window/labium of a recorder. Furthermore, the ivory ‘beak’ has a simple hole to blow through rather than the narrow windway of a normal recorder.
• Still-life, painting, Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Location unknown. Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w). On a draped table lie a lute, a notebook, a compass, an hourglass, and a book of music with a soprano-sized pipe serving as a bookmark. The pipe appears to have wave profile on the upper part and the foot is opened out widely internally, so this may be a small shawm rather than a recorder.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas, 126.0 ×102.5 cm (framed), Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Vienna: Dorotheum, Exhibition 29.10, Old Master Paintings, 10 November 2021, Lot 80. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-2921 (2023, col.) On draped table is a jumble of vanitas objects, including a globe, a book, a cranium with laurel leaves, crossed thigh bones, an elaborate silver challice, dried flowers, an ornate vase, a crown and sceptre, some coins, a document with a seal, a lute, an open book of music, and a small soprano recorder with ivory sheathed beak and foot.
• Still-life, canvas, 84.0 × 61.5 cm, in the style of Roestraten (1630-1700). Zurich: Galerie Koller, 17-19 September 1997, Lot 50. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie, Image 0000056978 (2010 – col.) On a carpet-draped table are books, a teapot, a flask, a very large wineglass, an open music book, and a dark-coloured hand-fluyt.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 76.3 × 63.7 cm, in the style of Roestraten (1630-1700). London: Christie’s, 8 July 1998, Lot 354. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 47685 (2010-col.) On a carpet-draped table are an open book, a medallion, an ornate tankard, an ornate chalice, an elaborate candlestick, a jar, a teacup, a necklace, a sheet of music, and a baroque recorder with ivory beak and middle mount, the foot not visible.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 52.7 × 76.2 cm, in the style of Pieter van Roestraeten (1630-1700). San Francisco: Butterfields, 19 November 1997, Lot 4036. Ref. Artfact (2004). Books, a wine jug, music sheets, a recorder, a teapot and a compass on a ribbon on a carpet-covered tabletop. Not seen.
• Vanitas, oil on canvas laid on panel, 37.8 × 30.1 cm, follower of Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). London: Christie’s, Old Masters Pictures (Sale 9695), Lot 173, 26 September 2003. Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) A violin, a baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts, a music score, a quill and ink, a silver teapot and books on a partially draped table. An identical work dated 1702 has been attributed to Evert Collier, formerly in the collection of Lord Brownlow.
• Vanitas still-life with a skull, oil on canvas, 60.3 × 71.4 cm, follower of Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). London: Sotheby’s Sale W04705, Old Master Paintings, 20 April 2004, Lot 295 (sold). Ref. Catalogue, Sotheby’s Sale W04705 (2004: Lot 295 – col.) On a draped table lie an hourglass, coins, an ornate silver ginger jar, a candlestick and candle, books including one open at a page headed ARTAMINIS OR THE GRAND CYRUS BOOK I and another with a skull on top and a ticket reading VANITAS VANITATUM ET OMNIA VANITAS, a violin and bow, an open music book (legible), and a baroque recorder with ivory-sheathed beak and ferrule at the head joint, but most of the body and the foot hidden beneath the violin. Madeleine & Georges de Scudéry’s Artaminis (perhaps the longest French novel) was originally published in 10 volumes between 1649 and 1653, which gives an earliest date for the painting.
• Still-life, oil on canvas, 76.3 × 63.7 cm, circle of Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). London: Christie’s, Old Master Pictures, 8 July 1998, Lot 354. Ref. Artfact (2004). An upturned tankard, a candlestick, a book, a medal, a teapot, a porcelain bowl, a recorder, a sheet of music and a silver gilt tazza on a draped table. Not seen.
• Still-life with lute and recorder, oil on canvas, circle of Pieter van Roestraten (1630-1700). Vienna: Dorotheum, Alte Meister, 15 October  2013. Ref. Web-site: artvalue.com (2014-col.) On a desk stand a globe, two ornate goblets, a teapot, a cup, a chain and pendant, an open book, a lute with an extended neck, and a soprano baroque recorder with ivory beak and mounts. Three open drawers at the front of the desk contain jewelery and a document with a seal attached.

Estienne Roger

A Francophone printer and publisher working in the Netherlands; he concentrated on histories, grammars, dictionaries, and musical scores; perhaps the best-known, and almost certainly the best-organized music printer/publisher of the baroque era, his editions were sold throughout Western Europe; born Caen (1665 or 1666), died Amsterdam (1722).

• Title page: Concertia quatro da chiesea (1712) by Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, engraving by Estienne Roger (1665/6-1722). Ref. Early Music 13 (4): 532, fig. 3 (1985). A portrait of Maximilian Emanuel II, Elector of Bavaria (1662-1726), to whom these sonatas were dedicated, is surrounded by an ornamental plaque on the sides of which are garlands of musical instruments. That on the left includes viol, lute, guitar, violin and at least two recorders the windows of which are clearly shown; that on the left includes violin, guitar, viol, ? harp and at least one recorder.

Johann Georg Rohrer (1732-1812)

Alsacian organ builder, a contemporary of Silbermann; active in Alsace (1712–1761); born Tissau, Moravia (1732), died Strasburg (1812).

• Trophy (1747), wood carving, Johann Georg Rohrer (1732–1812). Detail. Haguenau (Bas-Rhin): Eglise St-Nicolas, balustrade of the organ loft. Ref. Meyer-Siat (1983 – col.); Matte (2001–, col.); Wikimedia Commons (2015, col.) A trophy with flute, oboe, musette, triangle (with jingle rings), and a baroque-style recorder. Rohrer was at Haguenau until 1804.

Werner Rölerfintz (op. 1642-1663), Swedish

• Portrait of K.G. Oxenstierna (1658), oil on canvas, 210 × 121 cm, Werner Rölerfintz (op. 1642-1663). Tidö Slott (Västmanland), Sweden. Ref. RIdIM Stockholm (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Against a country landscape, a small boy wearing a feathered hat holds a shepherds crook and bow in his right hand and plays a flared-bell duct flute (flageolet or recorder) held in his left hand with two fingers above and two underneath. Four finger holes are visible and a clear window/labium. One finger hole is closed by the middle finger of the left hand. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)

Girolamo Romanino (born Girolamo di Romano, also called Girolamo Romani, or Rumani, also called Girolamo Brescia or Hieronymus de Brescia)

Italian (Veneto-Lombard) painter, leading artist of the Brescia school during the Renaissance, known for his religious fresco cycles, painted altarpieces and other religious easel pictures; born Brescia (ca 1484), died Brescia (1562).

• [Recorder Quartet] (1531/1532), fresco, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, Loggia. Ref. Zaniol (1984, November: 7, footnote 13); Chini (1988: 623 – col.); Buijsen & Grijp (1993: 227, footnote 14); CD Capriccio di Flauti (L’Oiseau-Lyre 440 207); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995: 41, pl. 14 – b&w; 2003: 8, fig. 2 – b&w); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image ALI79366 – col.); Myers (2005: 46-49 & fig. 2-3 – col.); Darmstädter & Brown (2006: 54, pl. 10 – col.) A lunette with a quartet of cylindrical recorders played by two men and two women. The quartet comprises soprano, two altos and a tenor recorder. Nearby, Romanino has painted Lust as a courtesan holding a recorder to contrast with a representation of Chastity. Myers (loc. cit) has amended a photograph of this fresco, replacing the two alto recorders with a tenor and basset in order to illustrate how the larger instruments could easily dominate the composition.
• [Lust] (1531), fresco, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, Loggia. Ref. Winternitz (1979: 54, pl. 11a – b& w); Passamani et al. (1965: fig. 92 – b&w); uijsen & Grijp (1993: 227, footnote 14); Rowland-Jones (1997); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2000); Lasocki (2023: 117). A courtesan (extravagantly if not provocatively over-dressed, strands of hair falling on her deep décolletage, and her expression clearly seductive), who personifies Lust (Buijsen & Grijp, loc. cit.), holds a recorder, contrasting with the figure beneath of another woman, evidently Chastity, caressing a unicorn. The window/labium and seven finger holes (the lowermost offset) of the recorder are clearly depicted.
• Concerto campestre, sketch on white card, 10.1 × 16.4 cm, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). Florence: Galleria del Uffizi, No. 1758 F. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Sketch for the frescos in the Castello Buonconsiglio, Trento. Depicts a man and a woman playing narrow, cylindrical recorders.
• Pastoral Concert with two Women, a Faun and a Soldier, red chalk on paper, 24.9 x 41.0 cm, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1973.37; formerly Collection of Janos Scholz. Ref. Nicodemi (1925: 144-145). Sketch for the frescos in the Castello Buonconsiglio, Trento. Depicts a standing satyr and a seated woman playing narrow, cylindrical pipes which may be recorders; another seated woman plays a lute, and a seated man holds an object which appears to represent a violin.
• Virgin and Child with St Cecila and St Catherine, painting, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). Gallerate: Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta. Ref. Website: Arte Ovunque (2015-col.) The Virgin, seated with the Holy Child on her lap is flanked on either side by St Cecilia holding a portative organ and St Catherine holding a sword (with which she was beheaded), a crown at her feet (she was a princess). On the steps beneath the Virgin, a putto holds a slender cross with an elongated stem. In the centre foreground on the floor lies a perfectly depicted tenor recorder with its window/labium, six finger holes and a fontanelle with brass ferules and key, all clearly visible. There is what looks like a small rebec and bow passing through the crown at St Catherine’s feet. Partially hidden behind Cecilia’s left foot, up against the riser of the lowermost step, is a case for wind instruments. Everyone looks suitably dolorous.
• Pegasus and the Muses (ca 1540), oil on wood, 38.o × 115.4 cm, attributed to Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). London, National Gallery, NG3093. Depicts the Muses playing for Pegasus, the winged horse as he strikes the ground causing the fountain of Hippocrene to flow. On the left of the picture, one of the Muses sings to an accompaniment played by two of her companions on rebec and a slender narrowly conical pipe, possibly a mute cornetto or a recorder; a man standing behind them looks as if he has got over-excited, but perhaps he is just holding the hilt of his sword. To the right of this group, four of the Muses sit in a circle: perhaps they are singing. On the right side of the picture, another of the Muses plays a vielle and one has her back to us; beside her a man plays a pipe and tabor and another holds a lute. In the background, the daughters of Pierus, who sang in competition with the Muses, stand in a circle, clasping one another. The story illustrated here comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The painting was probably intended to be part of a piece of furniture.
• Musicians (1557-8), frescos, Girolamo Romanino (ca 1484-1562). Brescia: Duomo Vecchio. Ref. Websites: Brescia and Hinterland (7 June 2018, col.); quibrescia.it (1 Marzo 2023, col.); Il Cantico all vita (2023, col.) During the restoration of the Antegnati-Serassi organ, removal of the sets of pipes added at either side of the instrument during a nineteenth-century expasion revealed two frescoes depicting musicians by Romanino. Thse were mentioned by the historian Faino in the seventeenth century but had disappeared from view. The panel on the left of the organ depicts musicians playing transverse flute and pipe & tabor; that on the right, cornetto and a perfectly depicted tenor-sized recorder. The latter is cylindrical in profile with incised rings at the centre and foot; the beak, window/labium and several finger holes are clearly visible.

Francisco da Silva Romão (1827-1856) – see Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746)

Brazilian draftsman, painter, daguerreotype portraitist, and copyist who worked in the city of Salvador; there are disagreements regarding his birth and death, some cite 1834 as his birth and 1895 as his death; grandson of the sculptor Manoel Ignácio da Costa; brother of Ângelo da Silva Romão, also a draftsman and painter; father of João Francisco Romão, one of the founders of the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios da Bahia. 

Theodoor Rombouts

Flemish painter, follower of Caravaggio; he had a distinguished career, producing mainly secular paintings for private individuals and for the open market but also some altarpieces; he also added figures to still-lifes by other artists; born Antwerp (1597), died Antwerp (1637).

• A Musical Party (1627), Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Location unknown: auctioned Sotheby’s, London. Ref. Early Music (1982, 10 (1): 87, b&w); Thomson & Rowland-Jones (1995c: 80, pl. 22, b&w); Wells (1977: 251); Zaniol (1984, December: 14, footnote 20). Similar but not quite identical to other works by Rombouts; and similar to Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Figures Making Music Around a Table (auctioned by Sotheby’s, 8 May 2001). Sitting at a table, a theorbist and a recorder player accompany a singer who stands between them. A serving man brings them wine. On the table are open music books, a lute, a cittern and an unusual flute which appears to be made of ivory with a wooden insert in the head joint. The recorder is a near-cylindrical tenor with a one-keyed foot-joint and fontanelle.
• Three Musicians Playing in a Tavern, oil on canvas, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Location unknown: offered for sale by Christie’s, 24 November 1992 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) Similar but not quite identical to other works by Rombouts and to Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Figures Making Music Around a Table (auctioned by Sotheby’s, 8 May 2001). Sitting at a table, a theorbist and a recorder player accompany a singer who stands between them. A serving man brings them wine. On the table are open music books, a lute, a cittern and an unusual flute which appears to be made of ivory with a wooden insert in the head joint. The recorder is a near-cylindrical tenor with a one-keyed foot-joint and fontanelle.
• The Concert, oil on canvas, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Location unknown: offered for sale by Étude Tajan, Paris, 23 June 1999 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) Similar but not quite identical to other works by Rombouts and to Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Figures Making Music Around a Table (auctioned by Sotheby’s, 8 May 2001). Sitting at a table, a theorbist and a recorder player accompany a singer who stands between them. A serving man brings them wine. On the table are open music books, a 2 lutes, a viol, a cittern and an unusual flute which appears to be made of ivory with a wooden insert in the head joint. The recorder is a near-cylindrical tenor with a one-keyed foot-joint and fontanelle.
• Concert in an Interior, oil on canvas, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Location unknown: auctioned by Christies, 19 April 2002 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002 – col.) Similar but not quite identical to other works by Rombouts and to Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Figures Making Music Around a Table (auctioned by Sotheby’s, 8 May 2001). Sitting at a table, a theorbist and a recorder player accompany a singer who stands between them. A serving man brings them wine. On the table are open music books, a lute, a cittern and an unusual flute which appears to be made of ivory with a wooden insert in the head joint. The recorder is a near-cylindrical tenor with a one-keyed foot-joint and fontanelle.
• Allegory of the Five Senses (c.1632), oil on canvas, 207 × 288 cm, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Ghent: Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Inv. S-76. Ref. Leppert (1977: 107, pl. 23); Postcard: Promotie Museum voor Schone Kunsten-Gent, 96 (1996 – col.); Ausin (2009: 49-col.); Website: Wikimedia Common (2010-col.); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1767 (2023, col.) The five senses are represented by five men of different ages gathered on the terrace of a palace. A richly attired man with an inspired expression plays an archlute. He represents Hearing, and at his feet lie a number of instruments: lutes, violin, an indeterminate bowed stringed instrument, curtal, shawm, and five pipes (possibly recorders) of different sizes in a case of which only the ends are visible. The old man on the left with spectacles and holding a mirror represents Sight. A blind sculptor in the centre running his fingers over fragments of statues (including the Belvedere Torso) represents Touch. A young man drinking wine personifies Taste, his feet resting on a copper pot used as a wine cooler. At the extreme right, in shadow, an elegant young man who represents Smell smokes a pipe with one hand and holds a cluster of garlic bulbs in the other.
• Musicians, canvas, 169 × 204 cm, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Dessau: Staatliches Museum Schloss Mosigkau, Cat. 17. Ref. Leppert (1977: 108). Musicians around a table sing and play guitar, lute, and recorder.
• Musical Gathering (ca 1620), oil on canvas, 117 × 168 cm, Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Darmstadt: Hessiches Landesmuseum, GK 704. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: DAhl – 26). Around a table are gathered players of violin, lute (with music) and tambourine. The oldest player of the group holds a duct flute, (possibly a recorder) the window/labium of which is clear; right hand is uppermost with all fingers down; the left hand has three fingers down, but the little finger is tucked under the instrument with no sign of a hole for it. The instrument is uncertainly a recorder, although it would fit with the group. Notes by Antony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999).
• Farmer with a Flute, oil on canvas, 62 × 52 cm, attributed to Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). London: Brun Fine Art (2018 & 2020, col.) A jaunty moustacheoed man wearing a crimson cap over his curly hair holds a clearly depicted soprano hand fluyt, right hand uppermost. Details of the beak and window/labium are clearly visible.
• Musical Company (1630-7), oil on canvas, 125.7 × 107.3 cm,  London: Christies, 8 December 2015, Lot 23. Ref Website: Wikimedia Commons (2018-col.) Seated at a table a woman plays lute and a man plays a violin; between them stands a man wearing a cape and a soft hat plays a hand fluyt, left hand uppermost.
• Allegory of the Five Senses, attributed to Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). Rome: Museo Nazionale degli strumenti musicale. Ref. Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-1720 (2023, col.)  Five characters are seated around a table: on the left a finely dressed young man playing an archlute symbolizes Hearing; in front of him are a musical score, a horn and a recorder. To his left, a young woman gazing at her reflection in a mirror personifies Sight. The bearded old man warming himself before a small brazier on the table represents Touch. The girl who carries a bunch of flowers and holds a rose to her nose alludes to Smell. The young drunk with his head surrounded by vines and bunches of grapes, making a toast with a cup brimming with wine, symbolises Taste.

George Romney

English portraitist, landscape and historical painter, the most fashionable artist of his day; in 1782, Romney met Emma Hart and became obsessed with her, at least as a subject for his painting, before she became Lady Hamilton and then Lord Nelson’s mistress. She appears in a great number of his portraits and allegorical paintings and also in some of his Shakespeare paintings; he left a legacy of 2,000 paintings and about 5,000 drawings (not all of Emma Hart) scattered through 23 countries; born Dalton-in-Furness (1734), died Kendal (1802).

• Emma Hart, Lady Hamilton as Calypso (1791-1792), oil on canvas, 120 × 150 cm, George Romney (1734-1802). Aylesbury: Waddesdon Manor, Baron’s Room, Inv. 2469. Ref. Website: Waddeson Manor (2013-col.) Emma Hart (1765-1815) married Sir William Hamilton, Ambassador at Naples, in London in 1791, when she must have posed for this portrait. George Romney had painted Emma repeatedly between 1782-1786. On her return to England in 1791, he painted several canvases of her including this one which probably shows her in the guise of the nymph Calypso, upon whose island Odysseus was shipwrecked. Calypso, or Emma, holds a flared-bell pipe (possibly a recorder) with both hands at the head end, but with right hand lower.  The hands surround the head of the instrument, which she seems to cuddle, holding it close to her face but not so close as to obscure a rather fetching smile. The erotic symbolism points strongly to the instrument being a recorder. Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney.

Nicolò Rondinelli

Italian painter, amongst the more distinguished pupils of Giovanni Bellini; a painter of altarpieces and other religious works; active mainly in Ravenna, 1495-1502.

• Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Nicholas, Peter, Bartholomew and Augustine, Nicolò Rondinelli (op. 1495-1502). Milan: Pinacoteca di Brera. Ref. Visual Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 372.R667.34[a]; Rasmussen (1999, Lute); Website: gallica (2012-b&w). The Madonna with the Child in her lap are seated on a three-tiered plinth. On either side stand the Saints. Standing before the lowest tier of the plinth upon which one of their companions is seated, two child musicians play lute and a near-cylindrical recorder with off-set lowermost finger holes close to the bell end. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm.)

Thomas Matthews Rooke (1842 – 1942)

English Pre-Raphaelite Painter who became Burne-Jones’s studio assistant around 1869 and continued devotedly in this role until his master’s death in 1898; he was also active in the Arts and Crafts movement and a skilled topographical draughtsman; born 1843, died (1942).

• The Dancing Girls (1882), oil on canvas; 61 × 97 cm, Thomas Matthews Rooke (1842 – 1942). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, A686. Ref. Website: Ashmolean Museum (20016- col.) In a garden two groups of girls dance in circles, holding hands. Three girls in the foreground watch the others. One girl sits alone playing music for the dancers on a very slender pipe.

Jean van Roome

Flemish painter associated with the Netherlandish court of Charles V (1500-1558) and Margaret of Austria (1480-1530); active Brussels (1509-1521).

• Cartoons for Brussels tapestries The Victory of the the Virtues over the Vices, namely The Last Judgement, Tapestry of the Dance, The Prodigal Son, all of which are by the same hand. ? Location. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000).

Francesco de Rosa [Pacecco or Pacecco de Rosa]

Italian painter active in Naples; born c. 1600, died Naples (1664).

• Meeting of Jacob and Rachel at the Well, Francesco de Rosa (ca 1600-1664). Naples: Certosa e Museo di San Martino. Ref. Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A shepherd boy beside the well holds a pipe left hand lowermost, hands far apart. Five finger holes, two with fingers half-covering them, are visible. The bell end is cut off by Rachel’s clothing. The instruments is cylindrical throughout, slightly if at all beaked, and with only faint signs of a window/labium. This is, perhaps, more a shepherd’s pipe than a recorder as such. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.)
• Adoration of the Shepherds, Francesco de Rosa (ca 1600-1664). Rome: Camera dei Deputati, Palazzo di Montecitorio. As Mary wraps the Holy Child watched by Joseph, admiring shepherds bring their gifts of a sheep, a basket of doves, and a cylindrical pipe, possibly a duct flute though no details are visible. Putti tumble from the rafters.

Salvator Rosa

Italian poet, actor, musician, satirist, letter-writer and self-confessed Stoic philosopher and etcher, as well as painter of battle scenes, landscapes of rugged mountain scenes peopled with hermits or bandits, and macabre scenes of witchcraft which exerted a considerable influence on 18th-century taste; active in Naples, Florence and Rome; born Naples (1615), died Rome (1673).

• Romantic Landscape with Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, ca 250 × 150 cm, Salvator Rosa (1615 – 1673). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, Accn 2883-4. Mercury (Hermes) charms Argus to sleep by playing on a gently flared, one-piece pipe. The figures are very small against the imposing landscape in which they are placed.
• Allegory of Music, oil on canvas, 73 × 58 cm, Salvator Rosa (1615 – 1673). Stra: Villa Pisani. Ref. Salerno (1975: 86, no. 30, pl. VII-b&w); Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence (2011 – b&w). A female impersonation of Music looks heavenward, a sheet of music in her right hand, her left arm around a child who points to a score he is holding. Behind her are two putti, one singing, the other playing a slender, cylindrical pipe. Although the latter is held somewhat cross-ways it does not project beyond the player’s lips and may well represent a duct flute, possibly a recorder.

Eduardo Rosado Munoz

Contemporary Spanish painter of landscapes, cityscapes, religious subjects and still-lfes.

• Still-life with Flute and Books (2010), oil on canvas, 40 × 30 cm, Eduardo Rosado Munoz (contemporary). Ref. Website: Artelista (2015-col.) On a desk two decoratively bound books and an open notebook lie on on top of the other.  Beside them is an absurdly depicted neo-baroque recorder, the labium/window positioned within the beak of the instrument, the foot far too narrow. Behind the books is a painter jar containing four coloured pencils. This composition bears a striking resemblance to Desk with a Recorder by Javier Cano (undated) and to Pedro de Abajo Cordero’s Still-life with a Flute. Perhaps these fellows attended the same art-school.

Joseph Rose, the elder & George Green

Joseph Rose was an English stuccoist and plasterer; born 1723, died 1780. George Green was his assistant.

• Ceiling decoration (1752), stucco, Joseph Rose (1723-1780) & George Green. Norwich: Felbrigg Hall, Dining Room ceiling. Ref. Website: National Trust Images 182111 (2012 – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2012). At Felbrigg, two soprano-sized recorders appear in the stucco in the Dining Room ceiling. This room was made for William Windham by James Paine around 1750, near the southern end of the West Range on the main floor, by removing the Grand Staircase from 1676 and substituting a more modes staircase, making ample space for a new dining room. The stucco decorations were done by Joseph Rose and George Green. The ceiling, completed in 1752, uses hunting motifs but in the centre of each of the symmetrically-matching halves a recorder is shown crossed with drum-sticks as a decorative device. The window/labium in each is clearly depicted, but only one hole is evident being, it seems, the recorder’s off-set little finger hole, more clearly on the recorder in the southern half of the ceiling. Small recorders could replace small transverse flutes played with drums (e.g. tambourin) both for dance and military music, when they were categorised as loud instruments (see David Lasocki’s The Recorder and other Members of the Flute Family in Writings from 1100 to 1500 (Portland, Oregon, 2011: 24) where he quotes relevant documentation dating back to 1489 and references are made elsewhere in this book.

Stanley Roseman

Contemporary USAmerican draughtsman and painter; his various projects have included landscapes, the performing arts, clowns, the Saami people of Lapland, and the monastic life; born 1945.

• Brother Florian Playing the Recorder (1978), chalk on paper, 48 × 33 cm, Stanley Roseman (1945–). Switzerland: Private collection. Ref. Website: Stanley Roseman: the Monastic Life (2013-col.) Roseman was invited to share in the day-to-day life in monasteries of the Benedictine, Cistercian, Trappist, and Carthusian Orders, the four monastic orders of the Western Church. The artist painted portraits and made drawings of monks and nuns at prayer, work, and study. He drew them at the communal worship in church and in meditation in the quietude of their cells. Roseman’s ecumenical and critically acclaimed work, brought to realization in the enlightenment of Vatican II, depicts monks and nuns of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran faiths. Roseman created his work in over sixty monasteries throughout England, Ireland, and Continental Europe. Roseman drew the present work at the Benedictine Abbey of Tyniec, in Poland. In this drawing, strong, rhythmic strokes of black chalk describing the black habit form a bold abstraction in contrast to the detailed rendering of the monk’s face, dark hair and beard, and his hands as he plays a neo-baroque recorder. Brother Florian was a philosophy student at the University of Krakow to which he commuted for classes during the week.

Theodor Rosenhauer

German painter of landscapes and portraits; born Dresden (1901 ), died Berlin (1996).

• Youth with a Recorder (1958), oil on canvas, 99.2 × 70.2 cm, Theodor Rosenhauer (1901-1996). Leipzig: Museum der Bildenden Künste. An earnest looking young man wearing a beanie and an open jacket holds a two-piece soprano recorder.

Cosimo Rosselli

Italian artist whose works peopled with large dryly painted, dimly coloured figures are characterised by charm and delicacy; born 1439, died Florence (1507).

• Coronation of the Virgin, Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507). Florence: Galleria del Uffizi. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). The Virgin is crowned with a triple crown by Christ, himself wearing a triple crown. They are surrounded by putti and angel musicians singing and playing lute, fiddle, psaltery, timbrel, shawm and a cylindrical recorder (beak, window/labium and paired holes for the lowermost finger clearly shown).
• Coronation of the Virgin, wood, 154 × 92 cm, follower of Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507). Florence: Galleria della Academia, Inv. 490. Ref. Bonsanti (1987: 41-42, col.) The Virgin is crowned with a triple crown by Christ, himself wearing a triple crown. They are surrounded by putti and angel musicians singing and playing lute, fiddle, psaltery, timbrel, cylindrical recorder (top lhs; beak, window/labium and paired holes for the lowermost finger clearly shown, though there are otherwise rather more holes than fingers), and a second conical pipe with a fontanelle and flared bell but no window/labium visible (top rhs; shawm or recorder), possibly a ?tenor recorder since all fingers of the lower (left hand) are deployed covering their holes, and the player’s cheeks are not inflated.

Antonio Rossellino

Italian sculptor who, with his brother Bernardo Rosselino (?1407-1464), was responsible for some of the most important sculptural projects in Florence between 1440 and 1470; born Settignano (1427), died Venice (1479).

• Nativity Altarpiece (1470s), marble, Antonio Rossellino (1427-1479). Naples: Sant’Anna dei Lombardi. Ref. Burckhardt & Humfrey (1988: 37, pl. 23). “The nativity shepherds may be playing instruments, possibly two recorders and a bagpipe” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 2000).

Johann August Rossmäßler [Rosmäsler] (1752-1783), German

German draftsman and copperplate engraver; in 1777 and 1778 he published the works Auerbachs Hof and Promenade bei Leipzig, which made him known; born Leipzig (1752), died Dresden (1753); brother of  engravers Adolf (1770-1821) and Friedrich Roßmäßler (1775-1858).

• From 84 sheets with 110 drawings for the Almanach der Philosophie (1782), Früchte der ländlichen Muse (1777) and Preußische Blumenlese (1781): ink, watercolour & pencil, 7.5 × 9.3 cm & 7 × 8 cm (images), Johann August Rossmäßler (1752-1783). Coburg: Kunstsammlungen der Veste, Inv. Z 222, fol. 81, fol 84b (below). A child kisses the hand of a man seated at a table; 3 boys playing soldiers are marched out the door with a child with a toy drum. Fol 84b: Apollo with his lyre appears with three of the Muses one of whom holds a book, one sings, and one holds a recorder in her hands. Not seen.

Annibale dei Rossi

Italian harpsichord maker working in Milan; some of his instruments are amongst the most ornate known; active 1542-1577.

• Pentagonal spinet (1555), relief-carved cypress key-well cheek, Annibale dei Rossi (16th century). London: Victoria & Albert Museum, No. 156-1869. Ref. Thornton (1982: 3, fig. 1 – b&w). The cheek at each end of the keyboard comprises a plaque decorated with musical trophies and an allegorical figure of the Italian Mannerist Style, the one on the left holding a lyra da braccio and the one on the right a lute.  The small carved plaque on the left  cheek is decorated with a swag of musical instruments, amongst them harp, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, lute, trumpet, bow, two ?shawms, and a duct flute (probably a recorder). The beak, window/labium and first three finger holes of the latter are clearly depicted, but the rest of the instrument is hidden.

Michael Rössler

German engraver known for his many portraits; his most important work was for the Journal du couronnement de Charles VII; born Nuremburg (1705), died Copenhagen (1777).

• A Female Woodwind Instrument Maker (1730), etching & engraving, 29.2 × 19.5 cm, Michael Rössler (1705-1777); Lancaster (2007: 20). Washington DC: Library of Congress 20540, Dayton Miller Iconography Collection 0369L. Published by Martin Englebrecht (1684-1756). A woman (a woodwind instrument maker) plays a baroque-style alto recorder and wears various woodwind instruments and wood-turning tools on her person, some attached at her shoulder, many attached at her belt, and each is identified by a number corresponding to text beneath her describing the instrument or tool. In the background on the left, a bagpiper strolls in front of a tall hedge; another musician sits at the right playing what appears to be another recorder, but possibly an early chalumeau. In the caption, the recorder the woman plays is identified as a 2 une flutte à cornet, 2. ein Cornet flötte. Amongst the instruments hanging from the maker’s belt are two more recorders of similar design – one a soprano, the other a tenor.
• A Male Woodwind Instrument Maker (1730), etching, & engraving, plate impression & 29.2 × 19.1 cm, Michael Rössler (1705-1777). Berlin: Kunstbibliothek, Pe 8 Nr. 161; Washington DC: Library of Congress 20540, Dayton Miller Iconography Collection 0368/L. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Bkb – 388); Lancaster (2007: 20). Published by Martin Englebrecht (1684-1756). A man (a woodwind instrument maker) carries his work stool above his head; his body is decorated with the tools of his trade and a number of wind-instruments amongst them cornetti, bassoon, oboes, flutes and several duct flutes, including recorders, many identified by a number corresponding to text beneath him describing the instrument or tool. Behind him on his left, is a tall hedge in front of which a seated musician wearing a tricorn plays an oboe; another man, at the right, leans against a wall playing a transverse flute.

Pietro Rosso

Bolognese stuccoist; active 1598-1601.

• Coronation of the Virgin, stucco, Pietro Rosso (16-17th century). Enna (Sicily): Duomo di Maria Santissima della Visitazione, dome of central apse. Ref. Website: flickr, Luigi Strano’s photostream (2013-col.) On the left, angels sing and play lute, tambourine, and a slender pipe which is featureless but could represent a duct flute. On the right, angels sing and play harp and viol. The cathedral, first built in 1307, was largely destroyed by fire in 1446 and rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries.

William Rothenstein

Britsh painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art; although he covered many subjects, ranging from landscapes in France to representations of Jewish synagogues in London, he is perhaps best known for his work as a war artist and for his portraits; born Bradford (1872), died London (1945).

• Arnold Dolmetsch (1895), chalk on paper, 23.8 × 28.3 cm, William Rothenstein (1872-1945). London: National Portrait Gallery, 4642. Two small studies of (Eugene) Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940), musician, instrument maker and musicologist.
• Arnold Dolmetsch (1895), chalk on paper, 23.8 × 28.3 cm, William Rothenstein (1872-1945). London: National Portrait Gallery, 4641. A sketch of  (Eugene) Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940), musician, instrument maker and musicologist.

Hans [Johann] Rottenhammer, the Elder (1564-1625), German

German painter and draughtsman who stands in the vanguard of those German artists, mainly from Bavaria, who journeyed to Italy, made Venice their residence and absorbed the style of the great Venetian masters of the 16th century; born Munich (1564/5) died Augsburg (1625)

• Adoration of the Shepherds, drawing, 56.7 × 34.9 cm, Hans Rottenhammer the Elder (1564/5-1625). Brunswick: Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Inv. Z 1189. Mary and Joseph admire the Christ-child, as do two friendly looking cows. Shepherds rush in, Wise Men approach the stable, and musical angels hover overhead playing tabor, harp, lute and organ. High above them all a putto plays a small cylindrical pipe (possibly a recorder).
• Minerva and the Muses (1603), possibly by Hans Rottenhammer the Elder (1564/5-1625). Cologne: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: KNwr – 228); Website: Wikepedia (2005 – col.) Painted in Venice. Behind a five-stringed violin an alto- or tenor-sized pipe (possibly a recorder) can be seen. The head and centre of the body are occluded, but two upper and two lower finger holes are visible with a very slight bell flare and expansion of the bore. Other Muses play or hold harpsichord, lyre, viola, lute and cornetto. Notes by Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 1999). Includes two duct flutes (flageolets or recorders).
• Satyr admiring Sleeping Venus, see print by Jacob Matham (1571-1631).

Johann Michael Rottmayr

Austrian artist, the first notable baroque painter north of Italy; a pupil of Johann Carl Loth in Venice, and later greatly influenced by Rubens and van Dyck; best known for the decorations of the magnificent Karlskirche in Vienna; born Laufen an der Salzach (1656), died 1730.

• The Triumph of the Sciences and the Arts (1710), oil on canvas, 274 × 180 cm, oval, Johann Michael Rottmayr (1654-1730). Sibiu: Muzeul National Brukenthal. Ref. Charles Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2008); Website: Wikimedia Commons (2012, col.) Probably intended to become a ceiling fresco. Depicts Minerva as the presiding goddess surrounded by Muses, who cover ‘the two cultures’ by peering through a telescope or holding aloft a caduceus as a symbol of medicine. At centre left ? Terpischore (Muse of dancing and song) plays a lute, while behind her, just about within the curve of the oval, dark-haired Euterpe (Muse of music and lyrical poetry) plays a wind instrument, alto-sized, the lower part of which is hidden behind Euterpe’s back – but part of the upper (left) hand is just visible. The instrument just touches the player’s relaxed lips. The mouth-piece is hard to make out, but the outline is clear a little lower down where there is what looks like a baroque-style ornamental bulge. A reed instrument with Terpischore’s lute (there are no other instruments) is improbable, so this is possibly a recorder, especially because of the popularity of the instrument at the time of the painting. ? Calliope (Muse of epic poetry) plays a straight trumpet. Above another female figure (? Fame) also blowing a straight trumpet, is borne aloft by Pegasus.
• Mercury Lulls Argus to Sleep by Making Music, oil on canvas, 112 × 147 cm, Johann Michael Rottmayr (1654-1730). Sibiu: Muzeul Brukenthal, Inv. 980. Ref. Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence (2011, b&w). Argus drowses as Mercury tootles away on a small flared bell pipe, probably a duct flute (possibly a recorder).

Jacques des Rousseaux

Flemish artist working in Leiden; born Tourcoing (ca 1500), died ca 1638.

• Four Musicians / Men and Women Making Music (1631), oil on canvas, 118.1 × 104.1 cm, Jacques des Rousseaux (ca 1600-ca 1638). New York: Sotheby’s, 30 January 1997, Lot 21 (sold). Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 19027 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2002-col.); Website: gallica (2012-b&w, also attributed to “D. Bleker”). Men and women play music around a table. A young man, wearing a jerkin with slashed sleeves, plays an alto hand fluyt, right hand lowermost, all fingers down. The window/labium, is just visible. On the table are a violin and bow and a music book.

Giovanni Mauro della Rovere [Il Fiammenghino]

Italian painter, one of two brothers who were known as ‘I Fiamminghini’, due to the Flemish origin of their father, Riccardo della Rovere, a native of Antwerp; the brothers possessed an easy decorative style and worked extensively on canvas and in fresco in Lombardy, Emilia and Piedmont, almost always in collaboration; they helped to popularize late Milanese Mannerism through an expansive narrative style, rich in realistic effects, and based on highly developed and brilliant perspective skills, evident in their spectacular architectural and landscape backgrounds; Giovanni Maro was born Milan (ca 1575), died ca 1640; brother of the artist Giovanni Battista della Rovere (ca 1575 – ca 1630).

• Musical Angels, Giovanni Mauro della Rovere (ca 1575 – ca 1640). Venice: Galleria della Accademia. Ref. Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (1973, 3: no. 153); Rasmussen (2002, Lute). “Angels sing and play violin, lute, woodwind (recorder?) and cornetto” (Rasmussen, loc cit.) Not seen.
• Musical Angels, mural, fresco, Giovanni Mauro della Rovere (ca 1575 – ca 1640). Bienno: Chiesa  dei Santi Faustino e Giovita. Ref. Website: Kimball Trombones (2010, col.); Website: Lute Iconography LI-2037 (2023, col.) Angel instrumentalists play organ, violin, lute, double-bass, cornetto, trombone, harp, double-bass, tambourine (with jingle rings), and a narrowly flared pipe (possibly a recorder). Above and below, putti sing and play crotales, straight and coiled trumpets, triangle (with jingle rings), and lute.

Thomas Rowlandson

Prolific English caricaturist; whose bawdy, boisterous subject-matter was depicted with an accomplished technique that had affinities with the French Rococo of Fragonard; born London (1756), died London (1827).

• Two Musicians (ca 1774), watercolour on paper, 18.5 × 17.7 cm, Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827). Bedford: Cecil Higgins Art Gallery. Ref. Bridgeman Library of Art (2001: Image CEC128115 – col.) A caricature of a man playing a viol (the frets clearly depicted) and another a slender pipe with a flared bell. The instrument is in no way realistic. The Bridgeman Art Library interpret these instruments as a cello and a recorder.

Royal Doulton Company (1815-)

Royal Doulton began as a partnership in Lambeth, London, in 1815 specialising in stoneware bottles and sewer pipes. The Victorian revolution in hygiene and sanitation proved crucial, creating a base on which to develop a portfolio of tableware and commemoratives. The company moved to Nile Street, Burslem in ‘The Potteries’ in 1882, attaining a Royal Warrant in 1901 to effectively put the royal into Royal Doulton.

• Doctor Who – The Second Doctor, 1966-1969 (ca 1984), Royal Albert bone china plate, 21 cm in diam., Royal Doulton Company (1815-). Ref. Gift Music Book & Collectibles (2006 – b&w). Chicago: Gift Ministries, Item No. DOCTORWHO4 (currently for sale). Depicts the actor Patrick Troughton (1920-1987) as the Second Doctor Who in the BBC television series Dr Who playing a soprano recorder near the iconic police call-box time machine.

Felice Rubbiani

Italian artist; born Modena (1677), died S. Pancrazio di Modena (1752).

• Still-life, oil on canvas, Felice Rubbiani (1677-1752). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2000 – col.) On a rocky ledge, beneath a classic column, are an elaborately mounted vase of flowers, fruit (apples, grapes, peaches, pears), and an antique frieze representing Mercury and Argus. Argus falls asleep as Mercury plays a conical pipe, possibly a recorder, though no details are shown.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Flemish diplomat, designer and painter who was the greatest exponent of Baroque painting’s dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance; Rubens also pursued an astounding diplomatic career; active in Antwerp, Mantua, Venice, Rome, Genoa, briefly in Paris, Madrid, London; born Siegen, Westphalia (1577), died Antwerp (1640).

• Shepherds and Shepherdesses in a Rainbow Landscape, (ca 1630), canvas, 133 × 172 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Detail. Valenciennes: Musée des Beaux Arts, Inv. 1801. Ref. Lepert (1977: 118); Rowland-Jones (1997c: 50, fig. 6B, detail – b&w; 2009: 239 – col.); Recorder & Music 17 (2): cover (detail – col.) Shows a pair of lovers, a satyr and a women prominent in the centre foreground, sheep, cattle, and a woman kneeling beside a shepherd who plays two recorders. In this (final) version the shepherd is given more prominence and now holds two crossed narrowly cylindrical recorders in utter confusion as a lewd horned satyr, his syrinx in his belt, a creature of depravity, urges a woman forward who exchanges a glance with the other seemingly suggesting a lesbian relationship. The shepherd, seated and leaning against a tree ‘making the woods resound to his love for Amaryllis’, is modelled on Tityrus in Virgil’s first Idyll. This was the first Rubens painting to be acquired by Louis XIV. There is another version in the Hermitage, St Petersburg,  in which the shepherd is less prominent and holds but one recorder. A scene of temptation to sensual indulgence through supernatural powers, accompanied by recorders, occurs in Lully’s Amadis (1684).
• Shepherds and Shepherdesses in a Rainbow Landscape, (ca 1630), oil on canvas (transferred from panel), 86 × 130 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). St Petersburg: Hermitage. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1997c: 49, fig. 6A – b&w; pers comm., 2001); Eisler (1990: 48 – col.); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 10115 (2001). Two pairs of lovers, cattle, a dog, and a shepherd holding a single narrowly cylindrical recorder are seated under a tree. Otherwise similar to the Valenciennes version.
• Study for ‘Shepherds and Shepherdesses in a Rainbow Landscape’, (ca 1630), Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Paris: Institut Néerlandais, Fondation Custodia. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1997c: 50, footnote 7). A study for the recorder-playing shepherd in the painting of this name in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Valenciennes and Hermitage.
• Shepherds and Shepherdesses in a Rainbow Landscape, engraving by Schelte Bolswert (ca 1581-1659) after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ref. Cafritz et al. (1988: 117, fig. 107). The group by a tree are very similar to those depicted by Rubens (Hermitage version) with a recorder in the hands of a shepherd who looks up from playing to see a rainbow (Rowland-Jones, pers comm.)
• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, 179 × 297 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and L. van Uden (1593-1672). Madrid: Museo del Prado 1673. Ref. Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 163); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “The recorder-like instrument held by Mercury, who has his sword lifted to strike off the head of the sleeping Argus, has a very wide but fairly gradual bell flare, with bore flare as well. Three finger holes are visible up to the point where Mercury has the instrument hidden by his hand and arm. There is no sign of an offset hole, but the lowest of the three holes is fairly close to the bell – just at the point where the flare starts. This could certainly be a recorder, but is not definite” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• Mercury and Argus (ca 1635-1638), oil on panel, 63 x 87.5 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Dresden: Stadtuseum, Inv. No. 962 C. Ref. Ember (1984: pl. 37 – col.); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001); Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (DISKUS-Objekt-Dokument 00021760 – b&w); Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Documentatie 46673 (2010-col.) Holding a sharply conical duct flute (flageolet or recorder) one-handed, Mercury (Hermes) watches intently as Argus sleeps against a tree watched by Io (as a heifer), and is already reaching for the sword with which he will behead the sleepy guardian. Despite its conicity, the instrument could be a recorder as finger holes five, six and seven are all in line, with seven being lower than the little finger of the left hand.
• Mercury and Argus and Io (17th century), oil on wood, 59 × 84 cm, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Auctioned: Old Master Paintings, Dorotheum, Vienna, 25 May – 5 June 2002, Lot 274. Ref. Website: International Auctioneers (2006 – col.) Copy of the orignal by Sir Peter Paul Rubens in Dresden (see above).
• Mercury, Argus and Io, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Munich: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Staatsgalerie Aschaffenburg, Inv. 6397 (3987). Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Mstag – 554). In this copy of an original in Dresden (see above), what is probably intended as a recorder is shown too outwardly conical. Note by Anthony Rowland-Jones (1999).
• Mercury and Argus, oil on canvas, copy after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank, OMP (2000 – col.) A poor copy of an original by Rubens.
• Mercury and Argus (1592 – 1640), oil on canvas, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).  Wassenaar: G.C. Dekkers (1982–). Ref.  Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, illustration 41264 (2014-col.) Copy of an original in Dresden (see above).
• Mercury, Argus and Io, painting, school of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Location unknown: auctioned 16 June 2004 (unsold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) A copy of an original by Rubens.
• Mercury and Argus, wood, 26.5 × 44.5 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Brussels: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, Cat. 394. Ref. Leppert (1977: 114). A study in which Mercury holds a duct flute (see above).
• Mercury and Argus, (ca 1617/1618), wood, 40.5 × 57.7 (at top) to 58.3 cm (at bottom) cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). London: Frank T. Sabin Collection. Ref. Leppert (1977: 114). A study in which Mercury holds a conical pipe (duct flute or shawm, see above).
• Mercury Preparing to Sever the Head of Argus, wood, 26.5 × 44.5 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Seville: de Alumia Collection. Ref. Leppert (1977: 114). A study in which Mercury holds a conical pipe, only the bell end of which is visible (see above).
• The Bacchanal of the Andrians, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Detail. Stockholm: Nationalmuseum. Ref. Rowland-Jones (1997c: 89-90, b&w); Recorder & Music Magazine 17 (3): cover (col.); Rowland-Jones (2000d: 84-90, figs. 1 & 7); Rowland-Jones (2004: 41-42, fig. 4-col.) A copy of the original of the same title by Titian. Rubens omits the discarded recorder at the foot of the reclining nude, and substitutes a shepherd boy playing a recorder on a hill in the background.
• Group of Satyrs (ca 1650), 116 × 74 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Prague: Nostitz-Rieneck Gallery. Ref. Leppert (1977: 118). A bacchanal in which one of the satyrs holds a duct flute (possibly a recorder).
• La féliciteé de la Régence [The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de’ Medici], Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Paris: Musée du Louvre. Ref. Tervarent (1947: fig. 23). Marie de’ Medici, wife of Henry IV of France, sits enthroned in state holding a sceptre in one hand, a pair of scales in the other. As the personification of Justice itself she is flanked by a retinue of some of the primary personifications/gods in the Greek and Roman pantheon. admiring figures some above blowing straight trumpets, some in military dress, and some handing out wreaths and medallions to gambolling putti one of whom holds a syrinx under his arm. Bound captives lie at her feet. In the foreground a shawm lies across some music. Underneath the latter the head of a duct flute (probably a recorder) projects. An engraving after this work by Bernard Picart (1704) in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (Accn. 374.1985) omits the recorder.
• Triumph of the Eucharist over Idolatry (1625/1699), 65.1 × 91.1 cm, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Madrid: Museo del Prado. Ref. Ibañez & Gallego (1972: 162). Amongst those driven away by the angel, a small child holds a cylindrical pipe which has a number of finger holes visible but no other details. On the ground lies a lyre. A copy by D. Teniers Jnr of this painting is on loan to the Museo de Pontevedra. A tapestry based on this design, woven in the workshop of Jan Raes II, Brussels, includes the child but not the pipe (Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, Madrid).
• Sunset Landscape with a Shepherd and his Flock (ca 1638), oil on wood, 49.4 × 83.5 cm., Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). London: National Gallery, NG2924. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie 10111 (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). A stately landscape depicting an old shepherd sitting with his flock ? playing a pipe (possibly a recorder) and, to the right, a village. The view has not been identified, but it is likely to have been inspired by the countryside around Het Steen, an estate owned by Rubens. It is traditionally thought to depict a sunset.
• Wooded Landscape with Putti and Satyrs Playing Music and Dancing, school of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Location unknown: auctioned 08/12/2005 (sold). Ref. Gabrius Data Bank (2007 – col.) Three putti and a baby satyr dance in a circle to the accompaniment of a putto on tambourine (with jingle rings) and a baby satyr playing cylindrical pipe with a slightly flared bell. The piper’s fingers are disposed as for recorder playing, but his cheeks are inflated and no window/labium is visible.
• Allegory of Music, tapestry from a cartoon by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Catrogeriz (Spain): Church of Santo Domingo. Ref.Centre for Music Documentation (CMD), Madrid (2001); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001). “A tambour, with wires strung across it, is shown behind the raised right arm of a putto angel. On it lies a wind instrument showing six holes. It is cylindrical, with very little bell flare. The upper part of the instrument is hidden behind the putto so it cannot be identified” (Rowland-Jones, loc. cit.)
• Bacchanal, school of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Caen: Musée des Beaux Artes. Ref. Paris RIdIM (1999). Men and women cavort lasciviously to the sound of a bagpipe and a slender gently flared pipe played by two men. Putti dance about the sky and amongst the trees above them. The pipe “looks as though a recorder may be intended” (Anthony Rowland-Jones, pers. comm. 1999).
• The Triumph of Bacchus, school of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland. Ref. Boydell (1985: 60, fig. 49). Bachus holds his wine-glass aloft as those around him cavort and gambol, amongst them a faun who plays a conical pipe which may represent a recorder, though it is played with inflated cheeks.
• Peasant Dance (1636-1640), oil on panel, 73 × 106 cm, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Madrid: Museo del Prado. Ref. Bridgeman Art Library (2003: Image XIR36861 – col.) A crowd of peasant men and woman dance holding hands, looping the loop. In the fork of a tree a lad plays a conical pipe, possibly a recorder but more likely a shawm given the player’s swollen cheeks, the absence of a window/labium, the fact that the instrument is pressed against the player’s lips, and that the the noisy mob would never have heard a recorder.
• Dancing Italian Peasants (late 19th century), tapestry, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Limburg: Private Collection. Ref. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriche Docmentatie, Image 0000094770 (2010-col.) After Rubens’ Peasant Dance (Prado, Madrid). A crowd of peasant men and woman dance holding hands, looping the loop. In the fork of a tree a lad plays a conical pipe.
• Rustic Dance Observed by Three Bourgeoise Women, wood, 54 × 67.5 cm, [pseudo] Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Uccle (Brussels): Collection G. Beetz. Ref. Leppert (1977: 118); Paris RIdIM (1999). A rustic dance scene in the countryside in which a peasant boy sitting in the fork of a tree plays a conical pipe, possibly a recorder.
• The drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs (c.1620), 197 × 133 cm, attributed to Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). London: National Gallery Ref. Website: gallica (2012-b&w); Website: National Gallery (2013-col.) Silenus was the teacher and companion of Bacchus, the god of wine; he is often shown supported by satyrs because of his age and drunken condition. At the lower right two putti offer him grapes, while above them an old Bacchante carries a torch. On the left a figure plays the double pipes, and a young Bacchante squeezes grapes over Silenus. Both pipes are duct flutes, each with their characteristic beak window/labium clearly depicted. But one of these at least is a recorder since it has holes for seven fingers.The painting is thought to have been executed in Rubens’ studio. The sky and landscape are probably by Jan Wildens, and the foliage and fruit by Frans Snijders. The design of the figures may have been executed by a member of the studio, possibly Van Dyck, and then reworked by Rubens himself. The composition derives in part from a work of a similar subject by Rubens, The March of Silenus (Alte Pinakothek, Munich).

Joseph Ruddiman

Scottish luthier working in Aberdeen (from ca 1760); widely regarded as the best Scottish violin and cello maker of his day; he also made violas, Spanish guitars, English guittars (citterns), and psalteries; born 1733, died 1810.

• English guittar (a kind of cittern): rose (late 18^th century), gilt metal, Joseph Ruddiman (1733–1810). Location: London, Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. 375-1882. At the centre of the rose, an eight-pointed star is surrounded by musical instruments: two guittars (sic.), two viols, four horns, and four 3-piece baroque recorders.

Georg Philipp Rugendas the Younger (1701-1774), German

Member of a German family of painters, draughtsmen and engravers; born Augsburg 1701, died Augsburg 1774; son of Georg Philipp Rugendas I, an esteemed painter and graphic artist in Augsburg who established a print publishing house there in 1735.

• Shepherd Playing a Recorder in a Landscape (1758), print, 22.5 × 36.5 cm, Georg Philipp Rugendas the Younger (1701-1774). Augsburg: Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv. G 5967. Ref. Munich RIdIM (1999: Ask 206).

Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl

German printmaker, illustrator and writer; Ruhl studied from 1806 at the Kassel Kunstakademie; best known for his portrait of the German philosopher Arthur Schoppenhauer as a young man; born Kassel (1794), died Kassel (1887); son of sculptor and printmaker Johann Christian Ruhl (1764-1842).

• [Allegorical Study], Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl (1794-1887). ink & watercolour on paper, 24.8 × 32.0 cm, Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl (1794-1887). Kassel: Staatliche Museen, Inv. Leihgabe Städtische Sammlungen, Lfd.Nr. 3219. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Kskg – 398). Two bird-catchers hugging each other. At their feet lie a tambourine, a syrinx and two recorders. Not seen.
• Two Figures after Giorgione, ink on paper, 21 × 25 cm, Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl (1794-1887). Kassel: Staatliche Museen, Inv. AZ 2277, Leihgabe Städtische Sammlungen, Lfd. Nr. 3067. Ref. Munich RIdIM (2009, Kskg – 385). A man sits before a bush playing a recorder. Not seen.

Pierre Rup (15th century), Swiss

• Altarpiece: [Angel Musicians] (mid-15th century), Pierre Rup. Dijon: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Cat. No. 57. Ref. Mirimonde (1964: 119-120; 1965); Bret & Martin (2000); Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2001 & 2003). Originally in Geneva Cathedral. Four saints in large rectangular panels. Above them four more in triangular panels. Along the the top are angel musicians grouped in four pairs playing shawms, rebec and duct flute (possibly a recorder), psaltery and nakers, cymbals and bells respectively. The size of the pipe in the painting is too small for any details to show, but it seems to be of alto size, with a slight flare both externally and of the bore. The mouthpiece is unclear – it may be beaked. It is played left hand lowermost with most fingers raised. In the higher rank of Saints the second is St Catherine, which may account for the soft music above her. Notes by Rowland-Jones (loc. cit.) This work has recently been restored (Bret & Martin, loc. cit.)

Giorgio de Rusconi (16th century), Italian

• Title page of Costantonio Carmignano’s Le cose Vulgare, Venice (1516), Giorgio de Rusconi (16th century). Italian. Location unknown. Ref. Paris RIdIM (2000). This appears to depict Apollo and the Muses. Apollo stands in the centre before a rectangular pond playing a viola da braccio. Around him the Muses sing and play straight trumpet, cymbals, cornetto, lute and a cylindrical duct flute (probably a recorder) of alto size the window/labium of which is clearly visible.
• Opera moralissima de diversi autori, published by Nicolò Zoppino & Vince[n]tio di Pollo su compagno, Venice (1516), frontispiece, Giorgio de Rusconi (16th century). Venice: Biblioteca Nazione di S. Marco, Misc. 2429.4 Ref. Ferino-Pagden & Marques (2001: 216); Paolo Biordi (pers. comm., 2002); Web-site: Violin Iconography (2012-col.) A writer sits working at his book beside a pool surrounded by musicians who sing and play two duct flutes, syrinx, guitar, and viola da braccio. The two duct flutes, played by a man and a woman, are narrowly cylindrical and probably represent recorders, although the player’s lowermost hand (left and right, respectively) is towards the end of the instrument in each case.

John Russell (1745-1806) – see P.W. Tomkins

British artist widely recognized as the greatest English pastelist; From 1770 through 1806, the year of his death, he exhibited the staggering number of 330 works at the Royal Academy. His portraits were engraved by Collyer, Turner, Heath, Dean, Bartolozzi, Trotter and other prominent engravers; as “Crayon [pastel] Painter” to Their Majesties King George the III, Queen Charlotte, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York he developed a large and fashionable clientele; born Guildford (1745), died 1806.

Sergio Ruzzier

Contemporary Italian artist now resident in New York (USA); works in pen, ink and watercolor; born Milan (1966). WWW Page

• Cover: American Recorder 40 (5): Solo (1999), Sergio Ruzzier (1966-). A lone rat sits in the corner of a renaissance alley mellowing out on his recorder, enchanting worms out of the ground. A wry comment on The Piper of Hamelin, perhaps.

David I Ryckaert [or Rijckaert] (Netherlandish, 1500 – c.1607) or David II Ryckaert [or Rijckaert] (Flemish, 1586-1642)

• [Untitled] (1600), David Ryckaert. Vienna: Galleria Czernin. Ref. La Rassegna Musicale 4 (April 1929); Angelo Zaniol ex Anthony Rowland-Jones (pers. comm., 2000). Musicians play lute, chittarrone and a recorder. The photocopy is obscure.

David III Ryckaert [or Rijckaert]

Flemish painter of domestic and rustic genre-scenes; born Antwerp (1612), died Antwerp (1661); nephew of Marten Ryckaert (1587-1631).

• Concert (1650), oil painting, 554.0 ×  148.1 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612 -1661). Vaduz: The Princely Collections. Ref. London: University of London, Courtauld Institute of Art, negative); JMA (1968: 199, fig. 25); Leppert (1977: 120). A domestic scene in which musicians play guitar, harp, lute, violins, harpsichord, flute a conical pipe, and a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Concert (1650), wood, 105.5 × 135.5 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Salzburg: Residenzgalerie, Cat. 163 (Czernin Collection). Ref. Courtauld Institute of Art (negative); JMA (1968: 198, fig. 24); Leppert (1977: 121). A domestic scene in which musicians sing and play guitar, lute, violin, cello, virginals, mute cornetto, and a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Drinking Song [“As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe”], David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Budapest: Zichy Jenö Collection. Ref. Leppert (1977: 121). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb, showing a rustic domestic scene in which two men and a woman sing, a man plays a bagpipe, and a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Family Feast [“As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe”], oil on canvas, 92.o × 77.5 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Budapest: Szépmüvészeti Museum, Inv. 53.452. Ref. Marburg (negative); JMA (1969: 190, fig. 15); Leppert (1977: 121). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb, showing a rustic domestic scene in which peasants sing whilst a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• “As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe.” [As the old cock crows, the young one learns.] (1639), wood, 59 × 96 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Dresden: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen. Ref. JMA (1968: 189, fig. 14); Leppert (1977: 122). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb, showing a rustic domestic scene in which peasants sing whilst a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• “As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe.” [As the old cock crows, the young one learns.] (1639), wood, 59 × 96 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Brussels: Christian Laitat Collection. Ref. Leppert (1977: 122). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb, showing a rustic dance scene in which peasants sing whilst a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder); another duct flute lies unused.
• Happy Family, David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Private Collection. Ref. JMA (1968: 188, fig. 11); Leppert (1977: 122). Rustic domestic scene in which a peasant plays a bagpipe and a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Peasant Company [“As the old ones sing, so also the young ones pipe”], canvas, 104 × 134.5 cm , David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Salzburg: Residenzgalerie, Cat. 162. Ref. Residenzgalerie, Salzburg (negative); Leppert (1977: 123). Allegory illustrating a Flemish proverb, showing a meal in a tavern which is accompanied by musicians singing whilst a child plays a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Parody of a Fight among Urchins, after David III Ryckaert (1612 – 1661). Private Collection. Ref. JMA (1968: 206, fig. 32); Leppert (1977: 125). A parody of a military march in which three peasant children play a drum, a stool (used as a drum) and a small duct flute (flageolet or recorder).
• Invitation to a Duet, oil on canvas, 55 × 57.5 cm, David III Ryckaert (1612-1661). Vienna: Palais Dorotheum, 3 April 2023, Lot 51 (sold); ex von Mühlein Collection, Cat. 113. Ref. JMA (1969: 183, fig. 6); Leppert (1977: 122); Website: Lute Iconography, Image LI-3299 (2023, col.). A domestic scene (possibly allegorical) in which a man plays a lute and a woman holds an ambiguous pipe. There is no recorder here!

Marten [Martin] Ryckaert

Flemish landscape painter whose work was characterized by rocky forest landscapes, often with waterfalls, ruins, and architecture, in the ‘Italian manner’; born 1587, died 1631; son of David Ryckaert I (1500 – c.1607), the younger brother of David Ryckaert II, and the uncle of David Ryckaert III (1612-1661).

• Mountain Landscape with Flute-playing Shepherds, Marten Ryckaert (1587-1631). Austria: Private Collection. Ref. Bernt (1970); Archiv Moeck. On a slope beside a steep mountainous pass leading down to a river a shepherd plays a flared-bell recorder whilst his companion holds his. Their goats frolic about the ruins of an old castle.

Cite this article as: Nicholas S. Lander. 1996–2024. Recorder Home Page: Artists–R. Last accessed 22 December 2024. https://recorderhomepage.net/recorder-iconography/artists-r/