The cover. The singing lute player.

摘要

RICH RUSSET VELVET, ACCENTED BY A BOUFFANT SATIN sleeve: the troubadour's cape, not his partially concealed lute, steals the show in The Singing Lute Player (cover). Executed in a sumptuous shade, his wrap complements the pert cap and brunette tresses. No wandering minstrel could wear such a luxurious ensemble-a silky shirt whose pinkish stripes play off the cloak's mink-like tones, and a jaunty plume-thus stimulating curiosity about the musician's patronage and his tunes' message. Hendrick Ter Brugghen (1588-1629) has created a bit of a puzzle in this autograph replica of Singing Lute Player in Lost Profile (the prime copy resides at the Musee National des Beaux-Arts d'Algers, in Algeria). The painting on the cover-which is also referred to as Singing Lute Player in Lost Profile-has been linked to one of the few authenticated drawings by Ter Brugghen. Another version of the topic, Singing Lute Player, in the National Gallery (London), and its own 2 autograph replicas feature the same lutenist, depicted in frontal view. Questions of provenance aside, this quandary remains: when the lute's mysterious notes waft away, what theme do they convey, and to whose listening ears?