Artwork
The Blind Hurdy Gurdy Player
The Blind Hurdy Gurdy Player is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Jacques Bellange. It dates from 1605 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The Blind Hurdy Gurdy Player is a print created by Jacques Bellange, a court painter to the Dukes of Lorraine, using etching and engraving techniques on laid paper.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a hunched, blind musician playing a hurdy-gurdy, an instrument with strings. The figure's face is tilted upwards, and their posture conveys tension. The image may be an allegorical representation, given Bellange's focus on allegorical subjects.
Technique & Style
Bellange employed sharp lines to convey texture and posture, using hatching to create a simple background that emphasizes the musician. The work exemplifies Northern Mannerism, characterized by dramatic and intense visual style.
History & Provenance
Created in 1605, The Blind Hurdy Gurdy Player is one of a small number of prints produced by Bellange in the final years of his life while working in Nancy.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacques Bellange (c. 1575–1616) was an artist and printmaker from the Duchy of Lorraine (then independent but now part of France) whose etchings and some drawings are his only securely identified works today. They are…
