interesting guitar image

Subject: interesting guitar image
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 01:37 PM

Yesterday I was reading a book about Dutch painting, and it had a small reproduction of a painting you can see on this page

http://www.phxart.org/collection/euro_collection.asp

It is called 'Interior with Girl Playing Guitar' by Pieter Janssens Elinga. It is dated 1655-1665.

I like the way she has kicked her shoes off and has left items lying on the floor. She'll pick them up later, but right now music is more important.   

The next time somebody tells me that guitar is too new-fangled for early music, I will be prepared.

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Emma B
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 01:45 PM

Here's another for you leenia

Vermeer's 'The Guitar Player' 1672

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 01:50 PM

she's dressed a bit too showbiz for a folk club gig. no doc martens or nose stud....

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Jack Campin
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 01:53 PM

You're looking at her from the back, all you can see is the peghead, and it must be too small to be a guitar or else the body would be visible. Nobody put titles on paintings at that time; the gallery's title is only their guess.

It's a ukelele., a charango or possibly a very-short-necked five-string banjo.

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 02:20 PM

I'd agree with Jack; it's impossible to see what the girl in the Elinga painting is playing (certainly the resolution of the image on the site doesn't blow up well).

The Vermeer that EmmaB links is a well-known painting of a Baroque Guitar (indeed it was used on the cover of James Tyler's The Early Guitar - A History and Handbook).

Mick

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Emma B
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 02:39 PM

not seen anyone dressed like this in a folk club either :)

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 04:42 PM

I am definitely not impressed by that early guitar.

Either Vermeer was totally oblivious to such luthieristic niceties as fret spacing and bridge placement, or the guitar was constructed by somebody who was tone-deaf( or maybe "pitch-deaf").

The girl playing it has a really sloppy technique as well, even by the standards of your average flatpicker ...

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jan 08 - 10:25 PM

They didn't put frets every half tone. Lotsa times it was like in thirds or flat thirds

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: open mike
Date: 15 Jan 08 - 12:40 AM

i like how the rosette is detailed, though.
what chord is that that the player is playing?

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 15 Jan 08 - 04:06 AM

Looks to me that had it been a 'modern' (as opposed to baroque)

guitar, the shape seems mighty like Cmaj.

Mr MacLeod - assuming that your comments aren't a wind-up,

Google 'Baroque Guitar' and see where it takes you.

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Ernest
Date: 15 Jan 08 - 07:14 AM

Emma, the guitar player on your second link might be dressed up for morris....?

Best
Ernest

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: GUEST,Obie
Date: 15 Jan 08 - 04:39 PM

I thought that most early guitars were four stringers but that baby is a six. I wonder if it was tuned EADGBE? If so it looks more like an "E" to me.

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 16 Jan 08 - 04:34 AM

I asked a friend who also builds Baroque guitars to have a shufti at

the original piccy.

There are four courses of two strings apiece.

Which puts the mockers on the chord being Cmaj :-)

Subject: RE: interesting guitar image
From: GUEST,Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Jan 08 - 03:03 PM

You might enjoy this old thread:

Paintings of folk musicians and dancers