In my mind Sir Peter Lely has always been one of those seventeenth century portrait artists who painted society sitters by the shedload, all pretty much interchangeable, and without any real sense of insight or distinctiveness.
That is, until we went to the recent show of his work at the Courtauld
in London. These were voluptuous works, bursting with exuberant sensuality.
Quite a shock.
And among them was this extraordinary group portrait, The
Concert. At its heart is the man playing the violone – a precursor of the
double bass. This is expertly depicted, as though the artist is himself a
performer on the instrument. Is this a self-portrait?
Then there’s the flautist, depicted in a more generalised way,
and the various onlookers. But who are they? And how do they relate to the
musicians? It’s a mystery.
If you’d like to see it now, this magical painting from the
Courtauld’s own collection, it is on loan to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
at the University of Birmingham. Worth the trip.
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