The Strolling Musicians
Rembrandt van Rijn · c. 1635 · Art Institute of Chicago
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In this cozy scene, two humble street performers serenade a peasant family with a hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes, instruments long associated with folk music and itinerant musicians. The older man cranks the wheel of the hurdy-gurdy, which functions like a mechanized fiddle, while playing the instrument’s keyboard. The younger man produces a melody by fingering the holes on the bagpipe’s lower pipe while the two upper pipes play single continuous bass notes. Their tune has elicited a mixed response: the small child smiles gleefully, while the little terrier huddles in fear.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch, 1606-1669
- Date
- c. 1635
- Medium
- Etching in black on tan laid paper
- Dimensions
- Plate/image: 13.9 × 11.6 cm (5 1/2 × 4 5/8 in.); Sheet: 14.1 × 17.1 cm (5 9/16 × 6 3/4 in.)
- Place of origin
- Holland
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · Not on view
- Credit line
- Clarence Buckingham Collection
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
