1644—Florence, Italy: Il Volterrano (also known variously as Baldassare Franceschini and Franceschini Baldassare detto Volterrano) is commissioned to paint a lunette fresco in Florence’s Santissima Annunziata. The image features angels playing violin, trombone, and lute (see above image; public domain) (Strozzi 332; Falletti 76).

Since then, I tracked down a color image and changed out the black & white one in both the post and the timeline page. I also found two other images depicting angel-musicians from the same artist and same area of the church (the Grazzi Chapel of Santissima Annunziata). It’s interesting to see which other instruments (and combinations of instruments) were depicted by the artist in his work in the Florentine church, and it provides at least some idea of what was being played at the time and how instruments were perceived by people. I would also point out, once again, what a prolific half-century 1601-1650 was for trombone iconography! The source for the images is Falletti, 55-78 (see Trombone History Bibliography for full citation). Here they are, below–click on image to enlarge:

1611—Pieter de Witte (also known as Peter Candid) includes an angel playing trombone in his drawing, Euterpe (see bottom-left of below image) (Volk-Knüttel 102).

I am not going to try to come to any real conclusions with this post, but I would suggest the early rear-facing trombone as one possibility. There are at least two iconographical examples of rear-facing trombones from the 17th century or earlier (see here), as well as many others from the 19th century (see here). In the case of the first three examples below with no apparent bells, the bell on a rear-facing instrument could easily be obscured by the player’s head and/or other parts of the image, such as cap, halo, and wings. In the final example, from the 19th century, the bell is very likely obscured by the player’s helmet; there are multiple other examples of rear-facing trombones in iconography of this precise period and region.

c. 1474—Asciano, Italy: Matteo di Giovanni’s The Assumption of the Virgin, the center panel of an altarpiece in S. Agostino, includes what may be an angel-trombonist along with several other angel-musicians. The instrument has what appears to be a slide but no visible bell (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Belán 111).

1503-1529—Spain: Joan Gascó’s painting, God the Father and the nine angelic choirs, includes what appears to be a trombone-playing angel, grouped with 2 other wind-playing angels, although no bell is apparent on the trombone (see below detail and full image below that; public domain) (Ballester).

1598-1606—Valencia, Spain: Bartolomé Matarana paints a fresco of angel musicians in the the church of Real Colegio–Seminario de Corpus Christi that includes what are probably 2 trombones. Only the slide portions are obvious, although possible bell flares can be seen upon close inspection (see details and full image below) (Olson, Angel Musicians).

c. 1850—Brussels, Belgium: Musicien et trompette de cuirassiers, a lithograph by Henri Hendrickx, portrays a Belgian infantry musician playing on what may be a rear-facing trombone, the bell obscured by the player’s helmet (see below image; public domain) (Bibliotheque royale Albert I; Wangermée vol. 2, 263). See other Belgian rear-facing trombones from the same time period at this post: Belgian Military Trombonists.

Update: See this subsequent post for two additional versions of the below image, both probably preparatory sketches.

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c. 1585—Munich, Germany: Pieter de Witte, court painter in Munich, paints David Singing God’s Praise, which features trombone among a mixed consort of angel-musicians. The upper half of the painting, show below, is meant to depict Saint Cecilia and angels. The lower half, not shown, depicts angels performing with David (Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum, photo A. Dingjan; Pieter Fischer 22; Bergquist xvii) (public domain image).

c. 1590—Munich, Germany: Johann Sadeler (Jan Sadeleer), court engraver in Munich, makes an engraving after Pieter de Witte’s painting that accompanies a setting of Psalm 150, Laudent Deum Cithara, by Orlando Lassus (see below image; public domain) (Mirimonde 67; Bergquist xvii).

A silver relief by Christoph Lencker is also modeled after the original Pieter de Witte painting (see below image; public domain) (Pieter Fischer 23).

And finally, a painted glass window in St. Helen’s church, Denton, England follows the same image. It is dated 1700 and signed by Giles of York (see below detail; public domain) (photo by Gordon Plumb):

First, a sketch of the angel-trombonist, part of a set of studies now held at the Louvre, barely even hints at the trombone. The details focus on the angel, seated with crossed legs, not the musical instrument. There seems to be a feel for the angle of the instrument, and that is about it. The one interesting trombone-related detail is perhaps the left hand position, to which the artist seems to have given some attention (see image below; public domain) (Cooney, Drawings by Il Volterrano).

Another sketch, housed with the same set of studies at the Louvre, now shows the trombonist among several other instrumentalist. Most of the Il Volterrano’s attention seems to be focused primarily on the violinist on the left and the general placement of the characters. The angel-trombonist has been placed prominently in the center of the picture. Again, the actual trombone is only hinted at (see image below; public domain) (Cooney, Drawings by Il Volterrano).

The artist’s subsequent red chalk drawing, held in Rome’s Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, reveals significantly more detail, including a clear view of the trombone. Noteworthy details include the instrument’s fairly long slide, the player’s left hand grip, and the extra loop of tubing on the bell section of the instrument. Gone is the small figure on the lower right of the earlier sketch, replaced by a clear depiction of a lute player (see below image; public domain) (Strozzi 332).

Finally, the finished product, a lunette fresco in Florence’s Santissima Annunziata. It’s interesting to see the painting in its architectural context; in this sense, it seems to bear some similarities with the quadratura paintings discussed in an earlier post. The angel-trombonist, the one musician who meets our direct gaze, is still the focal point in the fresco. Note the left hand grip that is retained from earlier sketches, as well as the fairly long slide and the extra loop of tubing. The lute neck is shortened and the angel without an instrument (just to the left of the trombonist), who appears to be a possible vocalist in earlier sketches, now appears to be just an onlooker in the final painting (see below image; public domain–click on image for larger version) (Falletti 76; ). It is fascinating to catch a glimpse of an artist’s deliberate preparations for such a beautiful image.

A few of the most intriguing pictures in the Trombone Timeline are from artists known as quadratura painters, and their trombone images do appear to demonstrate elements of that technique. It is noteworthy that the paintings originate from the first half of the 17th century, a period of time particularly replete with trombone images.

Colonna and Mitelli, Four Balcony Musicians

The first is the set of Colonna and Mitelli paintings on the walls and ceiling of the salone of the Palazzo Ducale in Sassuolo, Italy, dating from 1646-47. One of the images depicts a group of four musicians playing from a “fake” balcony (see above), while another shows a group of three musicians performing from a separate false balcony (see below) (Southorn, front jacket; Sala della Guardia, Palazzo Ducale, Sassuolo). Note some of the nice details of the illusion, such as the trombone slide and sheet music extending into the space beyond the balcony, as well as the lute player hanging his leg over the railing.

Colonna and Mitelli, Three Balcony Musicians

A ceiling fresco from the same room of the palace is meant to provide the illusion of a cluster of angels (including, of course, an angel-trombonist) as viewed through an opening in the ceiling (see below) (Pirondini 251).

The other prominent quadratura painter represented in the Trombone Timeline is Lionello Spada (Feinblatt 42). His ceiling fresco, dating from 1615, is located in the cupola of Reggio Emilia’s Chiesa della Ghiara, only a few miles from the ducal palace of Sassuolo discussed above. It depicts numerous angel-musicians, including angels playing trombone, harp, recorder, triangle, tambourine, cornetto, lute, and violin (see below) (Artioli, plate 8). Like the ducal palace ceiling, Spada’s fresco is meant to provide the illusion of architecture opening to a view of angels in the sky above. The cupola also shows false architectural elements, such as ribs of the dome and the decorative bronze cartouches around each angel-musician, interacting with real architectural elements and false sculptural elements (Feinblatt 42).

Finally, closer views of the trombone player (below) and recorder (bottom image, below) reveal some of the fresco’s beautiful artistic details (Artioli, plates 11 and 12).

Lionello Spada, Angel with Trombone, Chiese della Ghiara

Lionello Spada, Angel with Recorder, Chiesa della Ghiara

]]> http://www.kimballtrombone.com/2010/trombone-and-the-art-of-illusion/feed/ 2 http://www.kimballtrombone.com/2010/how-early-should-you-start-playing-trombone-a-young-17th-century-trombonist/ http://www.kimballtrombone.com/2010/how-early-should-you-start-playing-trombone-a-young-17th-century-trombonist/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 05:07:37 +0000 wkimball http://www.kimballtrombone.com/?p=6127 Just added another trombone image to the 17th century timeline (first half). He doesn’t look much older than my one-year-old son!

c. 1629—Venice, Italy: Veronese artist Fra Semplice da Verona includes a depiction of a cherub playing trombone in Infant Jesus and Musical Angels, an image framing a pre-existing Madonna in the Convento del Redentore. Other instruments being played include cornetto, viol, violin, and lute (see detail, top, and full image, below; public domain) (Portogruaro, plate 37).

1616—Bologna, Italy: Ludovico Carracci’s Paradise, an altarpiece painting located in the Church of San Paolo Maggiore, features an angel-trombonist situated prominently among a group of angel-musicians (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Komma 109; Emiliana 167).

c. 1642—Florence, Italy: Il Volterrano (also known variously as Baldassare Franceschini and Franceschini Baldassare detto Volterrano) makes a red-chalk preparatory sketch for a lunette fresco in the Grazzi chapel of Santissima Annunziata. It features angels playing violin, trombone, and lute (see above image; public domain) (Strozzi 332).