Lute player by lamplight (at full length)

Lute Player by Lamplight at Full Length from 1633 by Leyster extends her musical subjects into the dramatic nocturnal genre. The artificial light creates dramatic effects that link her work to the Caravaggist tradition through its Utrecht intermediaries. Leyster's musical subjects connect to the allegorical tradition of sound as one of the five senses, animated by her characteristic warm candlelight and direct informal characterization. Her musical figures often double as images of youthful p...

The full-length figure is dramatically lit from a single source, the lute and musician's concentrated expression rendered with characteristic Leyster confidence in the candlelit chiaroscuro.