METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The Musicians By Caravaggio

2:46

In the spectacular section dedicated to seventeenth-century painting, the Metropolitan Museum boasts three works by Caravaggio: a delicate Holy Family, a powerful version of The Lute Player, and above all, one of the artist’s most intriguing, mysterious compositions, habitually known as “The Musicians” and replete with a number of veiled allusions. Described by sources of the time as “youths playing music very well drawn from nature”, the canvas has not reached us in very good condition. The painting has been damaged by over-zealous cleaning, and the almost complete erasure of the musical score in the foreground shows that some chiaroscuro and glazing effects have been lost. Despite this, the painting maintains an ambiguous allure, and has given rise to numerous, often contrasting interpretations, ranging from a presumed declaration of homosexuality to a complex religious significance.

The painting, dating to around 1596, marked a turning point in the career of Caravaggio, who had moved to Rome a few years earlier, but was having difficulty emerging from poverty: this painting earned him repute among the elite circle of collectors and patrons of the arts.

In an apparently realistic context, with a number of youths depicted in old-style clothes, performing a little concert, it is surprising to note a winged figure (an angel? the god of Love?) on the left, gathering grapes. The traditional title of “Concert of Youths” is also peculiar: the youths are not playing the instruments, and if anything, are shown before the performance of a concert, during a preparatory, study phase.

The composition of the four figures, all young and half-naked, carefully arranged within the limited space of the canvas, is particularly complex. The foreground position of the figure in the center of the scene, very close to the observer, heightens the sense of a looming presence which is impossible to escape from. 

 

An interesting fact: this is probably the first work painted by the artist for Cardinal Giovanni Maria Del Monte, a very important figure in the Roman Curia. The cardinal, who was Caravaggio’s first real patron, also cultivated a passion for music, thanks to which the artist developed a special love of musical instruments and musical subjects. The impeccable scores and instruments present in a number of paintings from his youth demonstrate a personal, in-depth knowledge of music. 

 

TravelMate recommends
Choose the option
that suits you
Buy New York
Permanently unlock the app with all content of New York for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Don't miss out!
NEW YORK INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

NEW YORK INTRODUCTION

It is home to the headquarters of the United Nations, and is the world’s financial capital, with all the other Stock Exchanges influenced by Wall Street.It is also the most densely populated...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

Another famous dish is Chicken à la King, a sauce made with diced chicken cooked in cream with sherry and mushrooms and served with pasta or rice.New York is a multi-ethnic city, and while New...
TIMES SQUARE
2 Audio

TIMES SQUARE

The best time to enjoy it in all its glittering splendor is, of course, at dusk, when darkness begins to descend over the city and a new sun – created by thousands of lights and neon signs...
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
2 Audio

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

This striking 443-meter-high building owes its fame not just to its record height – for over 30 years, from 1931 to 1967, it was the world’s tallest building – but to how quickly it...
NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER
3 Audio

NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER

And the World Trade Center certainly has risen up! It’s an impressive sight, isn’t it?One World Trade Center is the highest skyscraper in the western hemisphere, and one of the top ten...
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
4 Audio

MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

The first location of the museum, in 1929, was the modest twelfth floor of a nearby building. After such humble beginnings and the continual moves along 53rd Street, the museum eventually took up...
CENTRAL PARK
3 Audio

CENTRAL PARK

In the early decades of the 19th century, following the surge in population and the growth of the city, when this area was chosen to create an outdoor space, there was nothing more than bogs, swamps...
BROOKLYN BRIDGE
1 Audio

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

When it was inaugurated in 1883, its 1825-meter span made it the longest suspension bridge in the world, and the first to be stayed with steel cables. However, this marvelous work of architecture,...
STATUE OF LIBERTY
4 Audio

STATUE OF LIBERTY

And so, in 1886, a little behind schedule, this huge, hollow, bronze statue, took up its place on Liberty Island, began greeting the millions of immigrants arriving in the city from Europe and earning...
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
2 Audio

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Its origins are tied to the figure of Solomon R. Guggenheim, a wealthy US industrialist who, towards 1930, began collecting works by classic artists. However, it was thanks to the German artist and...
HIGH LINE
1 Audio

HIGH LINE

Let’s start from the beginning, though, in the early 20th century, when this area of Manhattan, around Chelsea and above all, the Meatpacking District, was both highly industrialized and deeply...
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
1 Audio

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

This circular-shaped building, flanked by Penn Station on one side and the Post Office on the other, is a magnificent music and sports venue, famous not only for the sold-out shows by top rock stars...
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
6 Audio

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Met is one of the largest and busiest art museums in the world, and as you can imagine, given its size, one day won’t be enough to enjoy all the marvelous works displayed here.But...
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
5 Audio

ROCKEFELLER CENTER

The Rockefeller Center is one of the most renowned financial and business complexes in the world, a bricks-and-mortar example of the realization of the great American dream.The Center is named after a...
WALL STREET
2 Audio

WALL STREET

The name of the street, widely used to refer to the emblematic New York Stock Exchange, derives from a barrier that was built in the first half of the 17th century by the Dutch colonists to mark the...
BRYANT PARK
2 Audio

BRYANT PARK

If it weren’t for the commanding skyscrapers surrounding Bryant Park, you might well think you were in Paris, in a sort of “Petit Luxembourg”: and indeed, this is the very nickname...
FLATIRON BUILDING
1 Audio

FLATIRON BUILDING

Its real name is the Fuller Building, but it’s better known by its nickname.Its triangular shape, due to the lot it was built on, indeed resembles an iron, although given its narrowest corner,...
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
3 Audio

GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL

It represents the marble and granite dream of the tycoon Vanderbilt, who turned the Grand Central Depot, built in the second half of the 19th century, into a marvel of early-twentieth-century...
UNION SQUARE
1 Audio

UNION SQUARE

The square, with a little park in the center, is also home to a vibrant farmers’ market, frequented by award-winning chefs and lovers of fine food. The produce on sale at the stalls varies from...
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
1 Audio

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

As you can see, the park is dominated by the imposing Stanford White Arch, better known as the Washington Square Arch.This triumphal arch, now in marble, was originally built in plaster and wood in...
LINCOLN CENTER
2 Audio

LINCOLN CENTER

Its origins date back to the second half of the 20th century, when a group of illustrious figures, led by John D. Rockefeller III, grandson of the famous tycoon and head of one of the richest families...
LITTLE ITALY
1 Audio

LITTLE ITALY

And as if this decline were not enough, the New York home of the Italian emigrants who settled here at the end of the nineteenth century is dramatically disappearing. The original area is now reduced...
CHINATOWN
1 Audio

CHINATOWN

Once you step into Chinatown, which continues to expand well beyond the original area between Canal, Bowery, Worth and Baxter Streets, among the intricate tangle of electrical cables strung between...
SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE
2 Audio

SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE

So it’s fair to say that the aspiration of Bishop Henry Codman Potter to found a cathedral able to rival the Roman Catholic St. Patrick’s Cathedral has exceeded his expectations, and not...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!