Trombone History: Trombone with 16th Century Wind Band

Added color version of Pinturicchio’s fresco (see below) to the 16th Century Trombone History Timeline. The painting provides one of the earliest examples of trombone iconography showing the instrument in a wind band setting (called pifferi in Italy). The color version of the fresco shows the vibrancy of the painting, as well as revealing the three instruments in a little better detail than in the more common black and white reproductions.

Pint detailPintc. 1503—Siena, Italy: Bernardino Pinturicchio includes a depiction of a trombonist in his painting, Coronation of Pius III, a fresco decorating the exterior of the Piccolomini Library in the cathedral of Siena. The trombonist is part of a trio of wind players seen performing at center-right (see facing detail and full image, below; public domain) (Jenkens 159; Cecchi 19). Documents have shown that trombone did, indeed, perform at this particular coronation (see below).

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