Pick That Thing Up and Play! 9 Trombone Paintings from 17th-Century Flanders

Kessel-1-detail

I recently added the top painting shown below, Hendrick de Clerck’s Minerva and the Muses, to the 17th century timeline (1st half). The timeline now features nine Belgian (or Flemish, if you prefer) paintings within the short span of approximately 30 years (c. 1610-c. 1640) that include trombone. They are similar in several respects. Several [...]

The Faintest Hint of a Trombone

Salamanca

The faintest hint of a trombone (not a phrase you often hear) can be seen in the below painting I just added to the 17th century timeline (2nd half). A barely-visible angel playing trombone is found in the middle of the below detail, just below center. Possibly by Antonio Palomino, the wall painting is located [...]

Missing Something? Bell-less Trombones in Art

matarana detail 1

The slide is one of the most identifiable visual characteristics of the trombone in artwork. However, when a slide turns up without a bell, it can be problematic. Could it still be a trombone? Are we trying too hard to make it a trombone? Was it just artist error? Artistic license? A mistake in a [...]

Trombone Iconography: Young Trombonists in Four Montserrat Paintings

Chihuantito detail

In my search for images for the Trombone History Timeline I’ve come across some pretty interesting little trends and groupings—trombones in altarpieces, trombones on organ cases, angel-trombonists, trombones in Antwerp, early rear-facing trombones, early female trombonists, etc. Another noteworthy little grouping is a set of four trombone images referencing Spain’s Montserrat. The first two paintings are [...]

Trombone History: Six Early 17th Century Images from Antwerp

Van Balen senses detail

The first 2 images below are paintings I just added to the Early 17th Century Timeline. One thing that has become apparent is that there is a grouping of several similar paintings from this era by a small handful of artists based in Antwerp (see also the images below the first 2 paintings in this [...]

Trombone History: Two 17th Century Images

Vranckx

Below are two new 17th century images, one a painting and the other a print. The painting, shown here only in a detail of one portion of the work, has been attributed to Sebastian Vranckx and Jan Brueghel the Younger (in collaboration) and is titled The Royal Palace at Brussels. It has been dated between [...]

Notes from the Netherlands and St. Louis

dulcian

I received a very kind note from Hans Mons of the Netherlands, whose website on the dulcian, a predecessor of the bassoon, is extremely informative (see, especially, the section on iconography). I also received a nice note from Jonathan Reycraft, trombonist in the Saint Louis Symphony. He points out an excellent timeline of the US Naval [...]