Bidspirit auction | FLEMISH SCHOOL , 17TH CENTURY

FLEMISH SCHOOL , 17TH CENTURY - FLEMISH SCHOOL , 17TH CENTURY- A Musical Concert with Singers and Lutenist . Allegory of Music. Measuring an extraordinary , this monumental Flemish 17th-century canvas is a masterwork of Northern Baroque genre painting, combining dramatic tenebrist illumination with the expressive figure modeling popularized by the Southern Netherlandish Caravaggisti. The multi-figured composition depicts an intimate yet grand musical gathering gathered around a table laden with open music manuscripts and songbooks. At the core of the ensemble, a bearded patriarch in a teal mantle gestures emphatically toward an open folio while holding a lute (or theorbo), engaged in deep musical discourse with a companion across the table. To the left, a youthful, elegantly dressed noblewoman in a crimson gown reads intently from a handwritten score, flanked by a young woman in profile and an elderly maidservant pouring from a pewter ewer—a classic Flemish trope introducing the concept of Temperance or the passage of time. In the background, a violinist plays in the shadows, while other figures leaning into the light complete the lively acoustic circle. Concerts of this scale in 17th-century Northern art carried rich allegorical significance, serving both as an Allegory of Hearing (one of the Five Senses) and a visual metaphor for concord, love, and emotional harmony. The present work demonstrates strong stylistic affinities with the prominent Antwerp Caravaggisti circle—most notably Theodor Rombouts (1597–1637), Jan Cossiers (1600–1671). Oil on Canvas , 178 x 316 cm Dimensions 178 x 316 cm