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Gathering in a Tavern (The Guileless Musician)

ca. 1625
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A trio of ne’er-do-wells have lured a guileless youth with the temptations of music and wine, only to rob him. The theme is treated not as street theater, let alone with the buffoonery of the masked actors of the commedia dell’arte, but with the insight of a great poet or writer, such as Cervantes. Glance, gesture, and a sense of human gullibility inform this magical picture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gathering in a Tavern (The Guileless Musician)
  • Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1625
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 37 13/16 × 52 3/8 in. (96 × 133 cm)
    Frame: 49 5/8 × 62 3/8 in. (126 × 158.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Peintures
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings