Musicians
painter
Giorgio Vasari
(Arezzo, 1511 - 1574, Florence)
Dateabout 1545
Place MadeItaly, Europe
MediumFresco
Dimensions105.5 x 167 cm (41 9/16 x 65 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP22e1
eMuseum ID720742
EmbARK ObjectID10754
TMS Source ID24
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThese musicians appear to be serenading a gathering in a grand salon from an upper balcony. Their instruments and sheets of music protrude over the ledge and cast shadows on the feigned architecture.
The fresco has recently been identified as the work of Giorgio Vasari. While most of his frescoes were produced for religious or civic institutions, he occasionally provided decorations for private interiors (for example, he painted frescoes for the palace of Bindo Altoviti). It is possible that this fresco was made in Naples in 1545 for Tommaso Cambi, a merchant and collector originally from Florence, who was also a close friend of Vasari. The handling of the figures resembles Vasari’s other frescoes done in Naples (for example, the refectory of Monteoliveto), while similar musicians can be found in his Marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus of 1549 (Museo Statale di Arte Medievale e Moderna, Arezzo).
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 89.
The fresco has recently been identified as the work of Giorgio Vasari. While most of his frescoes were produced for religious or civic institutions, he occasionally provided decorations for private interiors (for example, he painted frescoes for the palace of Bindo Altoviti). It is possible that this fresco was made in Naples in 1545 for Tommaso Cambi, a merchant and collector originally from Florence, who was also a close friend of Vasari. The handling of the figures resembles Vasari’s other frescoes done in Naples (for example, the refectory of Monteoliveto), while similar musicians can be found in his Marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus of 1549 (Museo Statale di Arte Medievale e Moderna, Arezzo).
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 89.
BibliographyNotesPhilip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 80-81. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 193. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 172-73. (as Neapolitan?, 1610-1650)
Pierluigi Leone de Castris. Pittura del Cinquecento a Napoli: 1540-1573 Fasto e devozione (Naples, 1996), pp. 108, 127, 133. (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000). (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 89. (as Giorgio Vasari, about 1545)Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 80-81. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 193. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 172-73. (as Neapolitan?, 1610-1650)
Pierluigi Leone de Castris. Pittura del Cinquecento a Napoli: 1540-1573 Fasto e devozione (Naples, 1996), pp. 108, 127, 133. (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000). (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 89. (as Giorgio Vasari, about 1545)
Alex Eliopoulos, John "Jack" Gardner, Jr., A Collection in His Own Right," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 14 December 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/john-jack-gardner-jr-collector-his-own-right
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 193. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 172-73. (as Neapolitan?, 1610-1650)
Pierluigi Leone de Castris. Pittura del Cinquecento a Napoli: 1540-1573 Fasto e devozione (Naples, 1996), pp. 108, 127, 133. (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000). (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 89. (as Giorgio Vasari, about 1545)Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 80-81. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 193. (as Felice Brusacorci)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 172-73. (as Neapolitan?, 1610-1650)
Pierluigi Leone de Castris. Pittura del Cinquecento a Napoli: 1540-1573 Fasto e devozione (Naples, 1996), pp. 108, 127, 133. (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000). (as Giorgio Vasari, 1544-1545)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 89. (as Giorgio Vasari, about 1545)
Alex Eliopoulos, John "Jack" Gardner, Jr., A Collection in His Own Right," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 14 December 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/john-jack-gardner-jr-collector-his-own-right
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband, John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837–1898), from the antique dearler Vincenzo Barone, Naples, on 26 October 1897 for 200 lire.
Object/Provenance
