Jacques Antoine Vallin Paris circa 1760 - after 1831

Vallin, a precocious and talented painter who trained with Claude Drevet and Antoine-François Callet, is best known for his mythological scenes.  However, he also painted portraits, such as the present pair, and one related composition, a Portrait of a Cellist is now in the Musée Marmottan, Paris.  It is very likely that the present pictures are portraits of professional musicians, as a great deal of attention was paid to representing the instruments, and the way in which they are held, in an accurate fashion.  It has been suggested that the violin player is in fact Pierre Rode, who was a renowned musician and composer, for whom Beethoven wrote a violin sonata.