Details from Denmark: 3 Trombones on the Ceiling

Yesterday I added a pair of details to the caption below from the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, 1st half). I will also soon be adding them to the HubPages article, How to Hold a Sackbut: The Grip of the Early Trombone in Pictures. Here are the details, along with the full image and caption originally included.

 

c. 1635—Copenhagen, Denmark: A ceiling painting in the Rosenborg Castle depicts musicians of the court of Christian IV of Denmark (1577-1648), including 3 trombonsits (see 2 details and full image below; public domain) (Hindley plate 17).

Another Angel Trombonist in the Clouds

I just added the below entry and pictures to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century—first half). It is an engraving after an image by Peter Candid (also known as Peter de Witte and Pietro Candido). For more trombone images by Candid, see here. As you can see, it features yet another angel trombonist; for many more pictures of angels playing trombone, see Angel Trombonists Throughout History.

 

1615—Munich, Germany (?): Allegory of the Immaculate Conception, an engraving by Raphael Sadeler (1584-1632) after Peter Candid (also known as Peter de Witte and Pietro Candido), includes an angel trombonist among a group of musical angels (see detail and full image below image;  public domain). Click on detail to expand.

Angels at San Stefano, Vicenza

I recently added this painting and caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century—1st half). The painting is quite striking, consisting of only four musicians and featuring a beautiful contrast in colors. The trombone in the picture has an extra loop of tubing on the rear bow, making it look remarkably similar to a modern f-attachment instrument.

c. 1620—Vicenza, Italy: A painting by Vincenzo Maganza in the church of San Stefano features 4 musical angels, including an angel-trombonist (see below image; public domain) (Die bemalten Orgelflügel 564).

Another Angel-Trombonist in Milan

Notice how the angel-trombonist appears to be swooping down to play for the people below. I recently added this picture and caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century—1st half). For another painting in a Milan church by the same artist, see here and 1617 of the Timeline.

 

1615—Milan, Italy: Bartolomeo Roverio’s painting at Santa Maria church, Chiaravalle Abbey, features an angel-trombonist among a number of other angel-musicians (see below image; public domain) (Die bemalten Orgelflügel 360).

Renaissance Trombone Art: 1 Artist, 3 Names, 3 Images

I recently added the second image below to the Trombone History Timeline (16th Century). It’s by Pieter de Witte (c. 1548-1628), also known as Peitro Candido and Peter Candid. He was probably born in the Low Countries, grew up and trained in Italy, then spent his career in Italy and Germany. He seemed to have an affinity for depicting trombone players in his art work. The other two images shown below are also by the same artist. The dates for the three art works, from top to bottom, are c. 1575, 1593, and 1611.

Two New Baroque Trombone Paintings

I just added two new paintings to the Trombone History Timeline. They are shown below, along with their captions. I have also added them to the post, Pick That Thing Up and Play! 11 Trombone Paintings from 17th-Century Flanders (which was formerly titled 9 Paintings from 17th-Century Flanders). It’s interesting how similar several of the 11 paintings in that post are.

 

c. 1610—The Judgment of Midas, a painting by Flemish artist Adriaen van Stalbemt, includes a trombone. The trombone rests on the ground among several other instruments (see below image; public domain).

1639—Adriaen van Stalbemt, a Flemish Baroque artist from Antwerpt, paints Midas Listening to Apollo, which includes a trombone among several other instruments resting on the ground (see below image; public domain).

Cherub-Trombonist by a Man Named Wenceslas

I recently added this print and its caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, first half). I also added it to the article, Trombone History: Cherubs Playing the Trombone, which now features 10 different visual examples.

 

c. 1650—Artist Wenzel Hollar (known as Wenceslas Hollar in England) includes a trombone-playing putto in his print, Concert of Putti in the Clouds (see below image; public domain) (source: Wenceslas Hollar Digital Collection, University of Toronto, Pl. P500).

The Life of an Early Trombone Painting

Throughout art history, you can occasionally find multiple versions of the same image. Sometimes the versions are from the same artist (e.g., preparatory sketches), sometimes they are by other artists in other media (e.g., from a painting to an engraving), and sometimes they are copycat versions by other artists.

There are several historical examples of multiple versions of the same trombone image. I’ve already mentioned some of these in earlier blog posts. See, for example, The Evolution of a Trombone Painting, about a painting by Baldassare Franceschini, or Canvas, Paper, Silver, and Glass: St. Cecilia Trombone Image in Many Forms, about an image originally by Pieter de Witte. Also, along similar lines, Young Trombonists in Four Montserrat Paintings looks at two different pairs of similar trombone paintings.

My latest find begins with a fresco painted by Guido Reni in 1609 in San Gregorio Magno, Rome. Below is a color detail of the left side of the painting, as well as a black and white of the full painting (notice that there is another angel-trombonist on the far right) (see below 2 images; public domain).

Another 17th-century image, supposedly by an anonymous artist from Southern Netherlands, is almost certainly either a preparatory sketch for or a copy of Guido Reni’s fresco (see below image; public domain) (Paris, Louvre; Wangermée vol. 1 287).

 

Finally, in the early 18th century, French artist Etienne Parrocel made a chalk drawing of three of the angel-musicians (see below image; public domain; Avignon Musée Calvet Inv. 996.7.31). The angel-musicians are obviously taken from Reni’s fresco; however, going from left to right in the original full image, only the first, sixth, and eighth instrumentalists are included by Parrocel. The trombonist’s left-hand grip may have been modified from the original underhand position.

For many more drawings and paintings of trombone-playing angels, see Angel Trombonists Throughout History: 50 Images.

Another Baroque Still Life with Trombone

Last April I added a Baroque still life to the timeline and mentioned it in this blog. Still life paintings that include trombone are difficult to find; most often, if they include a brass instrument, they seem to include trumpet rather than trombone. However, I recently found the below image, also from the 2nd half of the 17th century, and added it to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, 2nd half). The trombone in this particular painting is also unusual in that it is shown facing straight on, as if pointed almost directly at the viewer.

 

c. 1670—Italy: Bartolomeo Bettera’s Still Life with Musical Instruments includes a trombone in the center of the image (see below image; public domain).

Angel-Trombonist from Italian Switzerland

Just added the below entry and image to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, 2nd half). I will probably also add it to the HubPages article, Angel-Trombonists Throughout History. I’ve also included the larger view on this post, not just the detail view shown in the Timeline.

 

1652-55—Preonzo, Switzerland: A fresco in the ceiling of Chiesa Santi Simone e Giuda features a number of angel-musicians, including a trombonist (see detail and full image below; public domain image).