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A Musical Company
About the Artwork
Despite the calm demeanor and elegant disposition of the figures, this interior scene probably represents the interior of a brothel, signaled by the row of female portraits in the background, rarely found in other paintings of this period. The depiction of music provides another clue to the subject. The recorder and violin, played without scores, were perceived as cruder instrumentation and associated with prostitution, versus the elegant and complicated musicmaking seen in the work by Pieter de Hooch in the museum's collection.
Provenance
1991-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1990-1991: (Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) After 1947 -1990: Dr. Karl Josef Steger, Vienna, sold to Otto Naumann, Ltd. and Galerie Sanct Lucas Probably early twentieth century - after 1945: Baron Rudolf von Gutmann [1880-1966], sold to Dr. Karl Josef Steger
Exhibition history
Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jacob Ochtervelt (Dutch, 1634–1682)
- Date
- c. 1668
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 73 x 64.5 x 5.5 cm (28 3/4 x 25 3/8 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 58.5 x 48.9 cm (23 1/16 x 19 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1991.23
More by Jacob Ochtervelt in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009646
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