Detail of The Musicians by Caravaggio in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2019

The Musicians,1597


Object Details

Artist: Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, Milan or Caravaggio 1571–1610 Porto Ercole)

Date: 1597

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 36 1/4 x 46 5/8 in. (92.1 x 118.4 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1952

Accession Number: 52.81


Although described by contemporaries as "a music piece,” this picture presents an allegory of music in terms of a contemporary performance; Cupid’s presence signals its allegorical intention. The costumes have a vaguely classical look and Caravaggio included his self-portrait in the second boy from the right. Trained in Lombardy, Caravaggio initially made his reputation in Rome with paintings of half-length figures, such as this one, which was painted for his first great patron, Cardinal Francesco del Monte.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435844