Harpsichord, late 17th century. This harpsichord has three sets of unison strings, one of which is plucked at a point very close to the nut, producing a brighter timbre than the others. The mermaid holding one of the supporting columns is a device of the Colonna family. The painting inside the lid is a landscape that includes a hunter and his dog. On the lid above the keywell is a scene depicting Tobias and the angel Raphael. The conventionalised foliage and the aerial perspective are associated with the work of Gaspard Dughet, brother-in-law of Nicolas Poussin, who painted chiefly in Rome.

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Size: 3192px × 3825px
Photo credit: © Heritage Art/Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 17th, art, arts, beast, century, clavecin, color, colour, country, creature, dughet, gaspard, harpsichord, heritage, instrument, italian, italy, location, materials, mermaid, mermaids, met, metropolitan, museum, music, musical, mythical, mythology, paint, poussin, seventeenth, wood