The Concert (Vermeer)
Encyclopedia
The Concert is a painting by Dutch
painter Johannes Vermeer
. The 69 centimeter high by 63 centimeter wide picture depicts a man and two women playing music. It belongs to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
in Boston
, but was stolen
in March 1990 and remains missing to this day. It is thought to be the most valuable unrecovered stolen painting, with a value estimated at over $200,000,000.
, a man playing a lute
, and a woman who is singing. The harpsichord is decorated with an Arcadia
n landscape motif. The theme of music is taken even farther by Vermeer with the placement of stringed instruments on and under the table in the picture's left foreground.
On the wall in the picture's background are two paintings. To the right appears the often cited by Vermeer The Procuress
by Dirck van Baburen
, to the left a pastoral
landscape. Together with music, which in Dutch painting at the time of Vermeer often was associated with love
and seduction, the picture of Baburen plays a sexual component.
in an auction in Paris and subsequently displayed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
, beginning in 1903. On the night of March 18, 1990 thieves disguised as policemen stole 16 paintings out of the museum, including The Concert. To this day the painting has not resurfaced.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painter Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
. The 69 centimeter high by 63 centimeter wide picture depicts a man and two women playing music. It belongs to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, but was stolen
Art theft
Art theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom . Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.. One must realize that only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered. Estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of...
in March 1990 and remains missing to this day. It is thought to be the most valuable unrecovered stolen painting, with a value estimated at over $200,000,000.
Description
The picture shows three musicians: a young woman siting at a harpsichordHarpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, a man playing a lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, and a woman who is singing. The harpsichord is decorated with an Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
n landscape motif. The theme of music is taken even farther by Vermeer with the placement of stringed instruments on and under the table in the picture's left foreground.
On the wall in the picture's background are two paintings. To the right appears the often cited by Vermeer The Procuress
The Procuress (Dirck van Baburen)
The Procuress is the name given to a painting by the Dutch "Golden Age" painter Dirck van Baburen, of which several copies exist. The painting is in the Caravaggiesque style of the Utrecht school....
by Dirck van Baburen
Dirck van Baburen
Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen was a Dutch painter associated with the Utrecht Caravaggisti.-Biography:Dirck van Baburen was probably born in Wijk bij Duurstede, but his family moved to Utrecht when he was still young. He was also known as Teodoer van Baburen and Theodor Baburen...
, to the left a pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
landscape. Together with music, which in Dutch painting at the time of Vermeer often was associated with love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and seduction, the picture of Baburen plays a sexual component.
Provenance
The whereabouts of the painting The Concert were for a long time unclear, appearing in 1780. In 1892, it was acquired by Isabella Stewart GardnerIsabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner – founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts....
in an auction in Paris and subsequently displayed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
, beginning in 1903. On the night of March 18, 1990 thieves disguised as policemen stole 16 paintings out of the museum, including The Concert. To this day the painting has not resurfaced.
The Concert in popular culture
- Stolen, a documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the theftTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
of The Concert was produced in 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
by Persistence of Vision Films. - In an episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, American History X-cellentAmerican History X-cellent"American History X-cellent" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season and 458th overall. In this episode, Burns is arrested for possessing stolen art and Smithers is chosen to run the nuclear plant—only to turn into a misanthropic slave driver when his co-workers begin taking...
(original air date: April 11, 2010), Mr. BurnsMontgomery BurnsCharles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
is jailed after he is discovered to have The Concert among his collection. - In an episode of The Venture Brothers Victor. Echo. November. The Concert along with Storm on the sea of Galilee and several other noted works are displayed among Phantom Limb's collection of stolen art.
- In an episode of Gallery FakeGallery Fakeis a Japanese manga by Fujihiko Hosono. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award.-Story:On a wharf on Tokyo Bay is a small gallery named Gallery Fake. The owner of the gallery, , was once a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York...
"Duet". Fujita is talked into representing a buyer in a black market auction of "The Concert". - In an episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert claims to be in possession of the work.
- In The 39 Clues: The Medusa Plot The Painting is found by Amy and Dan Cahill in Italy.
