c. 1610—Loreto, Italy: Artist Cristoforo Roncalli, known as “Pomarancio,” makes a set of preparatory red chalk drawings for a fresco to be painted on the cupola of the Basilica di Loreto (fresco now largely lost). Among the drawings is an angel-trombonist (see below image; public domain).

There are several historical examples of multiple versions of the same trombone image. I’ve already mentioned some of these in earlier blog posts. See, for example, The Evolution of a Trombone Painting, about a painting by Baldassare Franceschini, or Canvas, Paper, Silver, and Glass: St. Cecilia Trombone Image in Many Forms, about an image originally by Pieter de Witte. Also, along similar lines, Young Trombonists in Four Montserrat Paintings looks at two different pairs of similar trombone paintings.

My latest find begins with a fresco painted by Guido Reni in 1609 in San Gregorio Magno, Rome. Below is a color detail of the left side of the painting, as well as a black and white of the full painting (notice that there is another angel-trombonist on the far right) (see below 2 images; public domain).

Another 17th-century image, supposedly by an anonymous artist from Southern Netherlands, is almost certainly either a preparatory sketch for or a copy of Guido Reni’s fresco (see below image; public domain) (Paris, Louvre; Wangermée vol. 1 287).

Finally, in the early 18th century, French artist Etienne Parrocel made a chalk drawing of three of the angel-musicians (see below image; public domain; Avignon Musée Calvet Inv. 996.7.31). The angel-musicians are obviously taken from Reni’s fresco; however, going from left to right in the original full image, only the first, sixth, and eighth instrumentalists are included by Parrocel. The trombonist’s left-hand grip may have been modified from the original underhand position.

For many more drawings and paintings of trombone-playing angels, see Angel Trombonists Throughout History: 50 Images.

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c. 1545—Italy: Giorgio Vasari paints a fresco of a quintet of wind musicians, 4 cornetts and a trombone, playing from a window or balcony. The player’s grip of the trombone is somewhat unorthodox and the player is also holding the instrument left-handed. The bell is partially obscured by the player’s head (see below image; public domain) (source: wikimedia commons; Stewart Gardner Museum).

1535—Florence, Italy: According to Giorgio Vasari, Florentine artist and historian, at the ceremony for the installation of the garrison of a fortress in Florence, “The very earth seemed pleased with the Gloria that I heard intoned by the Most Reverend Bishop, who was answered by a multitude of trombones, cornetti, and voices, so that one inclined one’s head owing to the sweetness as when one grows sleepy around the fire. At the conclusion of the oration, the Veni, Sancte Spiritus was begun by harmonies of trombones…” (Cummings 148-49).

1566—Giorgio Vasari’s image of a muse holding an instrument features what Edmund Bowles labels an alto trombone. If it is indeed a trombone, it is a somewhat awkwardly-rendered depiction. The image is associated with a performance of The Genealogy of the Gods for the wedding festivities of Prince Francesco de’ Medici and Johanna of Austria (see below image from festival book; public domain) (Bowles, Musical Ensembles 55).

1838—L’Enragé Musicien, a lithograph by Bourdin after an image by Robert William Buss, depicts a trombone player practicing in the middle of the night (the clock shows 2:30), with neighbors protesting and a scowling portrait of Handel looking on. The trombonist plays on an instrument with a slide extension handle (see below image; public domain) (Goodfriend, Prints and Drawings of Musical Interest).

1689—Seville, Spain: The church of the Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes, with walls and ceiling painted by Juan Valdés and his son Lucas Valdés, is completed. Among the numerous instrument-playing cherubs depicted on the ceiling is a cherub playing the trombone (see detail and full image below; public domain).

1810-40—Strasbourg, France: An image by artist Boersch Thiébaut (1782-1861) that is part of set of figurines executed between 1810 and 1850 features musicians of the 14th Regiment, including 2 rear-facing trombones (see below image; public domain) (Paris, musée de l’Armée).

c. 1800—Germany: A print of military musicians entitled  Turkische Musick der K. Baierischen Grendier Garde, now held in the German National Museum, includes a rear-facing trombone (see below detail; public domain).

c. 1800—Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Philipp Jakob Döring publishes a sheet of cut-outs of military musicians that includes a rear-facing trombone (see below detail; public domain) (German National Museum).

1800s—France: A print entitled Macédoines—Jongleurs—Tours de force et d’adresse features a row of musicians, including a dragon-bell trombone (see below detail; public domain) (Paris, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée).

1856-1900—The Netherlands: The publisher Glenisson and Sons publishes a print of military musicians that includes 2 rear-facing trombones (see below detail; public domain) (Catchpenny Prints of Royal Dutch Library).

1591—Dresden, Germany: A group of elaborately-costumed musicians, documented by artist Daniel Bretschneider, includes a trombonist. The group is part of a larger procession celebrating the baptism of the daughter of Elector Christian I, Dorothea (see below image—click picture for larger version; public domain) (Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek).

At 6’4″, I am often asked if you need to be tall to be a trombonist. The answer is of course not (many of my favorite trombonists are not particularly tall), but it doesn’t hurt.

c. 1840—A lithograph by respected German artist Heinrich Maria von Hess (1798-1863) portrays a short trombonist (see below image; public domain) (German National Museum, Nuremberg).

1833-1900—Turnhout, Belgium: A catchpenny print entitled Harmonie, probably published by Glenisson and Van Genechten, features musicians playing various instruments, including a buccin (trombone with dragon-head bell) and a standard trombone (see below detail; public domain) (Catchpenny Prints of the Dutch Royal Library).