The Cello Player
c.1658RCIN 405534
The subject of this painting is love. The man leaning on an arcaded landing personifies the melancholic lover. The woman descending the stairs offers a sheet of music to the cellist, possibly a request for a particular tune from the sad (also love-sick) young man. The concise narrative with identifiable emotions is typical of this Dutch master.
Purchased by George IV with the Baring Collection, 1814