This horizontal painting shows a group of eight light-skinned musicians and onlookers gathered closely around a rectangular, carpet-covered table. The front edge of the table runs parallel to the bottom edge of the painting, and seems close to us. Shown from about the waist up, the men and women’s vivid lapis-blue, coral-red, buttercup-yellow, lilac-purple, and moss-green garments fall in crisp folds. Bright reflections on the fabric suggest a satin-like material. Two women wear feathers in their hair and one man’s hat is plumed. One man, wearing crimson red and black, sits with his back to us to our left on the near side of the table. He holds the neck of a bass viol, about the size of a cello, with his left hand, and points to pages of an open music book with the bow in his right hand. The other people cluster on the far side of the table. A man to the left plays a violin; a woman at the center plays a guitar-sized bandora, and a woman to our right plays a lute. The musicians, along with a man who leans over the table from between the two women, look down at the music books. A young man behind the woman at the center holds up a glass of pale liquid with his right hand as he touches his left forefinger to his smiling lips. A man and woman stand close together in the background to our right, in the top right corner of the canvas.

Gerrit van Honthorst, The Concert, 1623, oil on canvas, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Florian Carr Fund, 2013.38.1

Sketchbook Club Gerrit van Honthort's The Concert

Sketchbook Club

Wednesday, February 5, 2025
7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Fun for Kids
Virtual
Registration Required

Let love guide your creativity as we sketch inspired by Gerrit van Honthorst's The Concert.

This is one club where you don’t need a membership to join! National Gallery of Art teaching artists lead free, 30-minute sketches inspired by works of art from the National Gallery’s collection. Add new drawings to your sketchbook or just doodle along with us as we explore a different prompt each session.

All you need are a pencil and paper. We encourage you to bring colored pencils, crayons, markers, or paints as well, but these are optional. Sketchbook Club is recommended for families with children of all ages.

Registration is required.