The Choristers

c. 1740/1745

Alessandro Magnasco

Associated Names
Alessandro Magnasco

Artist, Italian, 1667 - 1749

This is a painting of a group engaged in a music session, all looking towards a large open music book in a grand, architectural setting. Behind the group are tall, ornate columns and an arched background that opens up to show a cloudy blue sky. Most of the people have open mouths as if they are singing, while one man in the back seems to be conducting, holding a up roll of paper. Some of the people in the group are seated in cushioned wooden chairs, and a yellowish cloth is draped over the surface that the large book rests on. There is a string instrument similar to a cello near the bottom left corner. The colors used are rich, earthy browns, yellows, and reds, with elements of blue and white clothing. All of the people have pale skin, and two have long white mustaches.

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery M30


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Emily Floyd Gardiner

  • Dimensions

    overall: 68 x 54.5 cm (26 3/4 x 21 7/16 in.)
    framed: 91.4 x 78.1 cm (36 x 30 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1972.17.1


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

John Rolfe, who brought it to America from England before 1825;[1] by descent in the Rolfe family to Emily Floyd Gardiner [Mrs. Arthur Z. Gardiner], McLean, Virginia; gift 1972 to NGA.
[1] According to a memorandum from H. Lester Cooke to Charles Parkhurst 3 April 1972, NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2003

  • Il Gran Teatro del Mondo: L'Anima e il Volto del Settecento, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 2003-2004, no. II.35, repro.

Bibliography

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 208, repro.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. Washington, 1979: 1:295-296; 2:pl. 209.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 241, repro.

1996

  • De Grazia, Diane, and Eric Garberson, with Edgar Peters Bowron, Peter M. Lukehart, and Mitchell Merling. Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 184-188, color repro. 185.

Wikidata ID

Q20177922

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