The Concert

Painted in Utrecht in 1623 shortly after Gerrit van Honthorst's return from Rome, this work was likely commissioned by either Maurice of Nassau or the exiled Bohemian sovereigns Frederick V and Elizabeth Stuart. By August 1632, the painting was recorded in the inventory of the Stadhouderlijk Kwartier in The Hague as belonging to Prince Frederick Hendrick of Orange. It remained in the House of Orange collection, passing by descent to Prince Willem V, until French revolutionary forces requisitioned it as war booty in May 1795 and transported it to Paris.

Following its removal, the artwork disappeared from public records until re-emerging in a private French collection around 1840. It remained in private hands until 2009, when it was jointly acquired by dealers Anthony Speelman and Adam Williams Fine Art. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., ultimately purchased the canvas on July 31, 2013.

The Concert is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which purchased it on 31 July 2013. Prior to that acquisition, the painting had been bought jointly in 2009 by Anthony Speelman of London and Adam Williams Fine Art, Ltd., of New York, and before that it resided in a private collection in Paris and Senan, France, from 1840 onward.

The work's documented ownership begins in the collection of Prince Frederick Hendrick of Orange by 1632, when it was recorded in the inventory of the Stadhouderlijk Kwartier in The Hague. It descended in the male line to Prince Willem V of Orange, whose pre-1793 catalog listed it as "A company making music" by Honthorst. In May 1795, during the Revolutionary period, the painting was requisitioned by the French Revolutionary Government and transported to Paris as a spoil of war, after which it passed into private hands in France by 1840.

The Concert (1623) exemplifies the Dutch Caravaggisti, merging Caravaggio’s dramatic chiaroscuro with the genre scenes of Honthorst’s Roman period. Scholars highlight its classicist composition, the orderly placement of eight musicians, and the use of impasto to accentuate rich fabrics. The central conductor may allude to Frederick V, suggesting political symbolism.

Its provenance records ownership by Prince Frederick Henry, seizure by French forces in 1795, and purchase by the National Gallery of Art in 2013 after a 2009 reappearance. The work measures 123.5 × 205 cm and is catalogued as a genre scene.

Gerrit van Honthorst's "The Concert," an oil painting from 1623, presents a vibrant genre scene. This artwork captures a moment of social interaction, depicting a group of individuals gathered together, engrossed in musical performance and shared enjoyment. The painting exemplifies the artist's engagement with everyday life subjects prevalent in early 17th-century Dutch art.