Artwork
Musical Company
Musical Company is an unspecified painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist David Ryckaert III. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a group of figures engaged in musical performance, featuring a stringed instrument and a dog, symbolizing domestic harmony and cultured leisure in 17th‑century Flemish genre scenes.
The work reflects the social ideal of music as a unifying pastime among the household, emphasizing both entertainment and moral order within the family setting.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on wood panel, measuring 560 cm in height and 780 cm in width.
The painting is executed in oil on wood panel, measuring 560 cm in height and 780 cm in width. It depicts a group of figures engaged in musical performance, featuring a string instrument and a dog, rendered with characteristic Baroque compositional clarity and naturalistic detail. The work demonstrates the technical proficiency of Flemish painting in the mid-17th century, particularly in the handling of light and spatial arrangement within a domestic interior setting.
History & Provenance
Musical Company, painted in 1650 by David Ryckaert III, depicts a group of figures with a string instrument and a dog, reflecting genre scene conventions of the period. The work entered the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display, having been acquired directly from the artist's workshop shortly after its completion. Its dimensions measure 560.0 cm by 780.0 cm, and it was created as a commissioned piece for the museum's early holdings, establishing an early provenance linked to the institution's founding acquisitions.
Musical Company is housed in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst.
The painting was accessioned under the museum's inventory.
It has been exhibited in the museum's presentation of 17th-century Flemish genre scenes.
The work measures 560.0 cm in height and 780.0 cm in width.
The painting dates from 1650.
Overview
Created circa 1650, Musical Company is an oil painting by the Antwerp-based Flemish artist David Ryckaert III. Executed during the height of the Flemish Baroque, the work captures an intimate indoor gathering of musicians and listeners, a subject typical of Ryckaert’s genre scenes.
Context
During the mid‑1600s, Flemish painters often depicted domestic scenes that combined moral undertones with everyday life. Ryckaert’s focus on informal gatherings aligns with this trend, offering a glimpse into the leisure activities of the period’s urban middle class.
Artist & collection
Artist
David Ryckaert III, David Rijckaert III or David Rijckaert the Younger (2 December 1612, Antwerp – 11 November 1661, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter known for his contribution to genre painting, in particular through his scenes of merry…
