The Music Lesson

1671

One of Ochtervelt’s finest works, The Music Lesson was probably painted in Rotterdam, where the artist spent most of his career. The delicate light, which illuminates the girl and leaves the youth partly in shadow, is indebted to Johannes Vermeer, who worked in the nearby city of Delft. Characteristic of Ochtervelt, however, are the angled poses and the playful interchange between the figures.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Jacob Ochtervelt (Dutch, 1634-1682)

Date

1671

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

80.2 × 65.5 cm (31 × 25 3/16 in.); Framed: 98.4 × 81.6 × 6.4 cm (38 3/4 × 32 1/8 × 2 1/2 in.)

Origin

Holland

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection