Who painted Guitar Player?

Guitar Player was painted by Unknown in 1650.

Where can I see Guitar Player?

Guitar Player is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

Artwork

Guitar Player

Guitar Player is a photography by Unknown. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Overview

Guitar Player, attributed to the artist identified as 30806_person and dated to around 1650, is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography. The work is a monochrome image that captures a domestic scene centered on a seated man strumming a guitar, surrounded by a small group of figures.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure is a smiling man perched on a stool, his hands and face illuminated as he plays. Adjacent to him, a dog rests calmly, while a woman in a long dress watches him attentively. In the depth of the picture, two additional figures appear blurred—one holding a glass, the other turned away—suggesting a casual gathering or informal performance.

Technique & Style

The image employs a pronounced contrast of light and dark, a chiaroscuro effect that isolates the principal characters from a shadowy backdrop. Bright illumination highlights the guitarist’s facial features and hands, while the surrounding environment recedes into dimness, creating a three‑dimensional sense of space within the flat medium.

History & Provenance

Created circa 1650, the work has been catalogued under the name Guitar Player and is presently housed in the Museum of Ethnography. Its attribution to 30806_person reflects the limited archival information available for the artist, and the piece has remained within institutional collections rather than private hands.

Context

The depiction of a musical performance aligns with 17th‑century interests in genre scenes that celebrate everyday leisure activities. The inclusion of domestic objects—a stool, a dog, a glass—situates the image within a familiar interior, reflecting contemporary social customs surrounding music-making and communal enjoyment.