1729

The identification of musical instruments in the prints from the Dayton C. Miller Collection is not without difficulties. As in any art works, the artist may or may not draw his subject accurately. An artist often takes liberties in illustrating a scene and, often, details are subordinated to the overall effect of the image. In the case of a musical instrument, the artist may or may not have had an actual instrument before him. Many of the prints in this collection, in particular, are reproductive prints, meaning that they are engraved or etched copies from paintings or drawings by other artists. Of course, much detail can be lost in translating one medium to another, that is, to make an engraving or etching after a painting or drawing, especially in the details of a musical instrument, and even more so if the engraver (or even the original artist) was not familiar with that instrument.

Most of the musical instruments depicted in the Miller prints are wind instruments as the collection complements Dr. Miller's more well-known collection of flutes which he donated to the Library of Congress in 1941. However, there are many other musical instruments represented in the prints, as well, including stringed, keyboard, and percussion instruments from the Renaissance to the present, ancient Greek or Roman instruments, and instruments indigenous to Asia, India, Africa, and the South Pacific.

In many instances, it is not possible to identify an instrument precisely because the illustration of it is too small, too generalized, or too vaguely drawn. Regarding wind instruments, in particular, the term duct flute must suffice to indicate a type of instrument from this family. The artist's intention may have been to illustrate a recorder or flageolet, for example, but the illustration is too imprecise to identify it clearly as such.

Whenever the term flute is given, it refers to a transverse flute. One must remember, however, that in prints, the musical instrument is often reversed, or is held in reverse, because it is inherent in the printmaking process that the original image is inverted. See, for example, an etching by Bernard Baron (1696-1762), L'Accord Parfait (Perfect Harmony), which he copied after a painting by Watteau (1684-1721), in which the flutist holds the transverse flute in the opposite manner to which it is normally held.

The aulos, a double-reed pipe usually played as a pair, is an ancient Greek instrument which is also seen in prints of Roman processions, such as the Circus Maximus, or in prints of wall paintings of theater scenes at Herculaneum (Miller nos. 44 and 430). The Latin name for this instrument is tibia, thus both terms, aulos and tibia, are given as the identification for this instrument. In many instances, the aulos is drawn incorrectly in the prints, as it is often shown as a conical instrument with a flared bell. In fact, the aulos is a slender pipe, more-or-less cylindrical, about twelve to fourteen inches in length with five holes in front and a single hole on the back for the thumb.[1]

The identifications of the instruments in the prints, unless otherwise indicated, are courtesy of Robert Bigio, London, who graciously agreed to undertake this effort in a very short time-frame. He has also enlisted the aid of his friends and colleagues who have specialized interests, for example, in recorders, bagpipes, keyboard instruments, or ancient instruments. Credit for their contributions is given in the individual entries for the prints and in the Acknowledgments, but among those who helped Robert Bigio in this effort were: Maurice Byrne, Jenny Nex, Frances Palmer, Anthony Rowland-Jones, Peter Spohr, Jon Swayne, and William Waterhouse.

Certain Musical Iconography Web sites have also proved to be very helpful because in many instances, a print identical to one in the Miller Collection may be described and the instruments identified. Whenever this is the case, the description and source are given, though sometimes they offer alternative identifications to those given here. Two of the most helpful Web resources have been that of Nicholas S. Lander, Recorder Iconography;and, Mary Rasmussen's Musical Iconography.

It is our intention merely to introduce the Dayton C. Miller Collection of prints to the public; much research is yet to be done on the collection. Undoubtedly, scholars and specialists in musical instruments and in musical iconography may disagree with the attributions given here. We welcome their comments. If you have any questions or comments on this collection, please send them to the Music Division's QuestionPoint Service (Ask a Librarian).

1626-1679

after Jan Steen, genre painter, 1626-1679

In a Dutch household, a man courts a woman and offers her sweets. The woman sits in a chair in the center of the room and she holds out her hand to receive the offering from the man. The man stands on the right and holds a basket over his left arm and his hat is in the same hand. He bows slightly as he offers the sweets to the woman. Behind the woman on the left is a flutist. A violin lies on the table next to him and a cittern hangs on the wall above him.[1] An old woman stands in the center background and her hand rests on the shoulder of the young woman. There is an open cupboard at the upper left and, through an arched doorway in the center of the room, one sees a view of the next room with its windows of diagonal-paned glass. On the floor in the foreground is an overturned pot with a spoon next to it and a little spaniel barks at the suitor.

The inscriptions on this engraving are in Dutch and in French. A translation of the Dutch text, "J. Steen begint zyne vryaadje met eene hant vol zoets," is "J. Steen begins his courtship with a handful of sweets." The French text, "Les Amours et les Douceurs de J. Steen," means "Loves and Sweets by J. Steen."

This engraving is a copy of a painting, De Oude Koekvrijer (The Old Cake Suitor) of about 1662-64, by Jan Steen (1626-1679). The original painting is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen.[2] The title used here, The Old Cake Suitor, is that given to the painting in the catalogue raisonné of Jan Steen's work by Karel Braun, Alle tot nu toe bekende schilderijen van Jan Steen. Rotterdam: Lekturama, 1980, cat. no. 163. National Gallery of Art Library, call number: N44.S7B72. There is a reference in this catalogue entry to another painting by Jan Steen on the same subject, Naaistertje met verlegen Koekvrijer (Seamstress with the shy Cake Suitor), cat. no. 193. In this entry, the name of the cake is given as a heiligmaker, meaning "Holy maker," and when a young man presents a woman with this cake, it is understood that he is making a marriage proposal. He does not even have to speak the words of the proposal, it is merely understood.[3]

About the Artists

Lambertus-Antonius Claessens, draughtsman and engraver, 1764-1834

Lambertus-Antonius Claessens was a Flemish draughtsman and engraver who was born in Antwerp in 1764 and he died in Rueil, near Paris, in 1834, according to Bénézit. He began as a landscape painter, then he studied with Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815) in London. Claessens worked in Amsterdam and Paris and married the widow of the miniature painter, Pelletier.

Lodewyk Gotlieb Portman or Portmann, engraver, 1772-after 1813

Lodewyk Gotlieb Portman, or Portmann, the other engraver of The Old Cake Suitor, was a Dutch artist who was born in Darmstadt in 1772 and he died in Amsterdam after 1813. According to Bénézit, he was a student of Golpfers in Utrecht. The Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress has a series of stipple engravings by Claessens and Portman of seventy-eight leading members of the French Revolution, including Danton, Robespierre, and Marat.

Jan Steen, genre painter, 1626-1679

Jan Steen was a well-known 17th-century Dutch genre painter from Leyden.[4]

1732-1801

This is an interior of a large music room with arched windows along the left and at the back. Two rows of four Corinthian columns, front to back, divide the room into three parts. Musicians play stringed instruments just inside the columns along the center of the composition. The audience is seated at the right before a long wall having two paintings and two large doorways. There are small groups of musicians in the foreground, some choristers and an organist in the center background, and various figures stroll or converse along the perimeter of the room. Among the instruments seen here are: trumpets, violins or violas, double bass, bass viol, French horns, possibly a bass recorder or a bassoon, flute, organ, harpsichord, and timpani. The red coats and black hats were hand-colored using a stencil. The greens, yellows and pinks were hand painted in watercolor.

This etching is called an "optic view" ("vue d'optique") because it was meant to be seen through a special optical box having a convex lens which would enhance the sense of three-dimensionality. Many of these optic prints were architectural views of cities such as St. Petersburg, Venice, or Amsterdam, and often the prints had texts in Latin, French, Italian and German as is the case of the Miller print because they were meant to be exported to different cities in Europe. The prints had long, perspectival views and were brightly colored, and entertainers set up optical boxes in the streets for passersby to look at them. The French word, L'Ouie, meaning Hearing, at the top of the Miller etching is reversed. When viewed through an optical machine, the text would appear in its correct orientation. Besides being an engraver, Probst was also a publisher in Augsburg and he made many such optic prints.[1] This etching was included in The Pipers: An Exhibition of Engravings, Watercolors and Lithographs from the Dayton C. Miller Collection, Library of Congress, March 1977.

About the Artist

Georg Balthasar Probst, engraver, 1732-1801

Georg Balthasar Probst was a German engraver and publisher from Augsburg. Many other members of his family were also printers and publishers at the same Augsburg firm. He was known especially for his optic prints of city views from around the world, but he also engraved portraits.[2]