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Gabriel Metsu, 'A Woman seated at a Table and a Man tuning a Violin', about 1658

About the work

Metsu has highlighted the woman seated at the table – light from the high window falls on her bright red bodice – to confirm her as the centre of our attention.

Her companion or teacher tunes his violin in the background, catching our eye with an inscrutable stare. It isn’t clear whether the viola da gamba, the instrument which lies on the table, belongs to her, or whether a third musician is about to join them.

The role of the violinist is at the heart of how this painting would have been interpreted 400 years ago. The image of a man tuning his instrument in preparation for a duet was often understood as having sexual overtones, or at least hinting at romantic interest.

Key facts

Full title
A Woman seated at a Table and a Man tuning a Violin
Artist
Gabriel Metsu
Artist dates
1629 - 1667
Date made
about 1658
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
43 × 37.5 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1871
Inventory number
NG838
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

More works by Gabriel Metsu

A Man and a Woman seated by a Virginal
A Man and a Woman seated by a Virginal
Gabriel Metsu
A young couple seem about to strike up a duet. The woman, seated at the keyboard of a virginal, hands her partner a musical score, presumably the part for the violin on the table next to him. Scenes of music making among young people were common in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, and they wou...
Room 16
A Young Woman seated drawing
A Young Woman seated drawing
Gabriel Metsu
This woman is engrossed in sketching a stone bust; hanging over the edge of the table is an engraving. Copying sculpture and images such as this was part of an artist’s training. In the background we can see an easel, as well as books, a globe and a classical arch and column, which evoke a wider...
Room 17
An Old Woman with a Book
An Old Woman with a Book
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One of Gabriel Metsu’s great strengths as an artist was his ability to absorb ideas and influences from other artists. Here he has borrowed a device from Gerrit Dou, who had probably trained him in Leiden a few years earlier.Dou had found success with a series of ‘niche paintings’ – scenes, somet...
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The Interior of a Smithy
The Interior of a Smithy
Gabriel Metsu
From the world of outdoors, a horseman – dashing, smart and confident – has stepped into the gloomy interior of a blacksmith’s shop. He strikes a superior pose and his status is underlined by his expensive scarlet coat, its gold braid and the hilt of his sword glittering in the dim light. While t...
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Two Men with a Sleeping Woman
Two Men with a Sleeping Woman
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The objects on the table – an innkeeper’s slate, playing cards, a pipe, a silver cup, a tankard and a backgammon box – imply that this is a tavern. The sleeping woman might be the innkeeper’s wife, a barmaid or, possibly, a prostitute, and the painting is drawing attention to her vices. Cards and...
Room 17