A Lady Playing the Lute

This 1654 Lady Playing the Lute at the Nationalmuseum depicts a young woman engaged in music-making, one of the most popular subjects in Dutch Golden Age painting. Musical performance carried associations with harmony, refinement, and sometimes erotic availability, depending on the context. Ferdinand Bol was one of Rembrandt's most talented pupils, and his portraits and history paintings from his years in the master's studio are sometimes difficult to distinguish from Rembrandt's own work—a testament to his exceptional skill in absorbing the master's technique.

The lute and the lady's absorbed musical concentration are rendered with Bol's warm palette and careful attention to the textures of the instrument, costume, and illuminated features.