Jan Massys, A cheerful gathering with music

by Atelier Liesjes

Six figures are gathered round a table covered with an oriental carpet, on which lie grapes, a pear and a pewter dish. On the left, a young woman in a silvery-white robe is playing a lute, her head turned kindly towards the viewer. Next to her, a bearded man in a black beret is raising a flute to his lips, whilst behind him a woman with her hand raised is singing along loudly. In the centre sits a woman in a carmine-red robe, with flowers in her hair, holding a second flute and looking directly at the viewer. On the right, a man raises a wine glass to a woman in an orange-red dress, who is placing her hand on her chest. Behind them, an elderly woman wearing a white hood looks over the heads of the others.
Massijs depicts the group in an almost theatrical arrangement: the faces are smooth and pale, the clothing is rich and colourful, and their gazes cross from left to right. The scene belongs to the genre of the merry company, in which music, wine and socialising come together and in which morality is always present in the background. The colour palette is warm and festive: carmine red, ochre yellow, silver-grey and a deep green carpet with red motifs. The style is that of Antwerp Mannerism, with elongated hands, delicate rendering of fabrics and a bright, almost enamel-like use of colour.
Jan Massijs (Antwerp c. 1509 – Antwerp 1575) was the son of Quinten Massijs and worked as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. Following his exile on grounds of religious conviction, he travelled through Italy and France before returning to Antwerp in 1558. His genre pieces depicting musicians and lovers are among the earliest examples of this theme in Flemish painting. A lively, colourful work that lends an immediate sense of warmth to a classical interior.