Geertgen Tot Sint Jans - Music

Music

In his Glorification of Mary, the figures of Maria with her baby are surrounded by three circles of halo. Within the halo are all sorts of musical instruments. This painting shows some of the oldest pictures of musical instruments known in the Netherlands. The baby Jesus is playing with a pair of bells, and seems to be playing music with an angel in the outermost halo, holding an identical set of bells:

  • Detail of bell-playing angel in lower left.

  • Maria seems to be humming along, as the baby Jesus actively plays music (click 3x for detail view).

  • Image of a medieval Bassoon on the lower right.

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