1/31/2024 0 Comments Youtube sound studio![]() This striking self-portrait appears to show Leyster as a woman fully at ease with herself and in command of her work and her career. Oil on panel - Department of Paintings of the Louvre, Paris Leyster's signature was discovered in 1893. This painting was attributed to Frans Hals for hundreds of years due to a deliberate forgery. Leyster often depicted musicians, either individually or in groups, creating her own interpretations on the theme of "the merry company" which often showed people of mixed genders drinking and having fun. The man's direct look towards the viewer is open and relaxed, suggesting he hopes that the crowd enjoys his music as much as he does. This could lead us to speculate on their relationship: are they a couple? Are they husband or wife? Or is another kind of transaction going on? Leyster leaves this unclear she does however seem to suggest that this woman is sure of herself, and is not shy to show her own desire. The facial expression on the young woman is particularly interesting: her cheeks flushed, she sends her half-smile towards her companion, looking at him fondly, or perhaps rather lasciviously. Like the Jolly Toper, Leyster depicts a moment of fun, and fills the picture with a lively energy. His companion, nestled just behind him, holds an open beer jug and a glass of beer almost to her lips. The man, wearing a wide black hat and large white ruff, leans back into his chair, his legs casually crossed, whilst in his hands he holds a violin aloft, as if about to play. This painting, which is also known as The Jolly Companions, depicts a couple as they drink and play music together. Oil on canvas - Frans Hals Museum, Netherlands The intricate detail of the sitter's face conveys a sense of the individuality and personality that recognizes his enjoyment of his evening (or afternoon) and predicts that he has not had his last drink. The idea of vice is contrasted to cheerful demeanour of the subject of the painting. In adapting this common theme, Leyster clearly shows her knowledge of contemporaneous painterly trends and the desire to give them her own spin. Many paintings of this period included subtle moralizing messages on the transience of life and its indulgences. The subject's clear enjoyment of smoking and drinking might have suggested both the pleasures of life and the dangers of excess. As art historian Cynthia Kortenhorst-Von Bogendorf Rupprath tells us, the subject of this painting was popularized by the group of artists known as the Utrecht Carravaggisiti before becoming a subject common among Haarlem painters from the 1620s. ![]() On the table in front of him is a small pipe and some wrapped tobacco. He wears a greenish-blue long tunic, and the sloping angle of his beret suggests it may be in danger of falling off at any moment. Here we see a good natured, ruddy-cheeked man, lifting up his beer jug as if to show us that his drink has just run out. This painting is one of two earliest paintings attributed to Leyster. Leyster's 17th-century success and subsequent erasure from history provides one important example of the many women who have been omitted from the artistic canon.
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