The Serenade

Judith Leyster was de enige vrouwelijke meesterschilder van de 17de eeuw. Ze kreeg deze titel in 1633 nadat zij was toegelaten tot het Haarlemse Sint-Lucasgilde. Als gevolg van deze hoge status mocht Leyster een eigen atelier openen in Haarlem en leerlingen aannemen. Haar talent komt bij deze luitspeler tot uiting in de licht-donkereffecten en het kleurgebruik. Het heldere rood van de broek contrasteert mooi met de groenige achtergrond. 1:12 min. - IIona van Tuinen over het schilderij van Judith Leyster De serenade. Een jongen spelend op een luit. Op het hoofd een baret met pluimen. ? Probate inventory, Jan Miense Molenaer, Haarlem, 10 October 1668, in the vestibule (‘Een luijtslager van sijn huijsvrou’);{NHA, notary W. van Kittensteyn; A. Bredius, Künstler-Inventare , I, The Hague 1915, p. 3, no. 12; GPI, N-5314.}…; collection Pieter van Winter (1745-1807), Amsterdam, as Frans Hals;{Six Archives, Amsterdam, V-F-II V 2, Tauxatie van het kabinet schilderyen nagelaten door wylen den weledlen heer P. van Winter Nsz. , 31 January 1815; see R. Priem, ‘The “Most Excellent Collection” of Lucretia Johanna van Winter: The Years 1809-22, with a Catalogue of the Works Purchased’, Simiolus 25 (1997), pp. 103-235, esp. p. 219, no. 67.} his daughter, Lucretia Johanna van Winter (1785-1845), Amsterdam;{Six Archives, Amsterdam, VIII-F-3 I D, Verdeeling schilderyen tusschen Lucr.a Joh.a v.Winter en haar zuster A L A. van Winter 20 Dec. 1815 getr. met Willem van Loon , fl. 85; see R. Priem, ‘The “Most Excellent Collection” of Lucretia Johanna van Winter: The Years 1809-22, with a Catalogue of the Works Purchased’, Simiolus 25 (1997), pp. 103-235, esp. p. 224, no. 89.} her husband, Jonkheer Hendrik Six (1790-1847), Lord of Hillegom, Amsterdam, as Frans Hals; his sons, Jonkheer Jan Pieter Six (1824-1899), Lord of Hillegom, and Jonkheer Pieter Hendrik Six (1827-1905), Lord of Vromade; from whose heirs, with 38 other paintings, fl. 751,400, to the museum, with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, 1908 Ziet u een fout? Of heeft u extra informatie over dit object? Laat het ons weten! Support The panel was thinned to max. 0.2 cm and then transferred onto a plywood board in 1951. Wooden strips at the top (approx. 2.8 cm) and on the left and right (approx. 1 cm) had already been added at an earlier date. A photograph of the reverse before thinning shows that all sides were bevelled. Preparatory layers The single, cool white ground extends up to the edges of the support. It consists of lead white with minute amounts of fine black pigment particles and iron oxides. Underdrawing No underdrawing could be detected with the naked eye or infrared photography. Paint layers The paint extends up to the edges of the support. An initial lay-in was made with impasted brushstrokes in black, dark brown, tan and light grey opaque paints. This undermodelling has remained partly visible as a ‘halo’ in the background around the head, as well as in the shadows in the right part of the face and in the lap, for example. The figure was left in reserve in the light grey paint and was built up wet in wet with unblended, opaque paints with a great deal of impasto and short, clear brushstrokes. The contours were adjusted with the final grey-green layer of the background. The green in the striped doublet is a mixture of smalt and yellow. The collar, cuffs and white highlights were added in the final stage. Changes are apparent in the body of the lute on either side of the hand, possibly indicating that the latter was originally placed more to the left with an extended thumb. The middle, ring and little fingers of the other hand were probably also first planned slightly more to the left. Gwen Tauber, 2022 E. Hendriks and K. Groen, ‘Judith Leyster: A Technical Examination of her Work’, in J.A. Welu and P. Biesboer (eds.), Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and her World , exh. cat. Haarlem (Frans Halsmuseum)/Worcester (Worcester Art Museum) 1993, pp. 93-114, esp. pp. 94-95, 97