Last week I posted on an image by Peter de Witte (Peter Candid) that can be found on an impressive array of media: canvas, paper, silver, and glass. While I was researching that image, I found another by the same…
sackbut history
Missing Something? Bell-less Trombones in Art
The slide is one of the most identifiable visual characteristics of the trombone in artwork. However, when a slide turns up without a bell, it can be problematic. Could it still be a trombone? Are we trying too hard to…
Paper, Canvas, Stone, Silver, Wood, and Glass: St. Cecilia Trombone Image in Many Forms
Last week I posted Evolution of a Trombone Painting, which traced a painting through several sketches to fruition in a church fresco. This new post similarly shows several permutations of an image, though in this case, the images span a…
Moravian Trombone Ensembles
Just finished adding numerous entries on the Moravian use of trombones from Stewart Carter’s excellent “Trombone Ensembles of the Moravian Brethren in America” (in Brass Scholarship in Review, 1999). The entries can be found in the 18th century, 19th century…
New Timeline Image: Trombone and Serpent Together
Added the following somewhat unusual depiction of a trombone player and serpent player together to the 17th century timeline (first half). The crossed legs, as in the images in this earlier post, would have never made it past my grade…
The Evolution of a Trombone Painting
Several weeks ago I blogged about a red chalk drawing by an artist named Il Volterrano (also known variously as Baldassare Franceschini and Franceschini Baldassare detto Volterrano). The image, a preparatory drawing for a 17th-century Florentine fresco, features trombone prominently among two other…
Trombone and the Dance, Part II
Last week I posted Early Trombone and the Dance, focusing on the dance role of the alta capella, of which the trombone was a regular member. This follow-up post deals with the trombone and dance in more recent trombone history. Once…
Early Trombone and the Dance
I recently found the below video, showing a number of different dances in which the trombone serves as a member of what is commonly called the alta capella. Below the video I have added a selection of entries and pictures…
Hi Ho, Brass! Trombones on Horseback
Ever tried playing the trombone on horseback? A pretty contorted affair, one would think. There are, however, several visual depictions throughout trombone history of trombonists on horseback. I recently added one such image of a military musician to the 19th…
Trombone and the Art of Illusion
Quadratura is a type of illusionistic painting that interacts with a building’s architecture, often extending or altering the actual appearance of the architecture. Popular with Baroque artists, it is similar to other illusionistic techniques such as trompe-l’œil, although it tends…