Godfried Schalcken Made, near Breda 1643 - 1706 The Hague

Godfried Schalcken was known equally for his elegant portraits as for his virtuoso genre paintings.  The Music Lesson combines elements of both.  The depiction of a woman in half-length seated before an open window is surely related to the setting and posture of many of his portraits.  The subject itself and the dramatic lighting are characteristic of his genre pictures.  One can find parallels in a group of paintings from the 1670s and 80s including Everyone His Fancy in the Rijksmuseum (Beherman 167) An Old Woman Feeding a Parrot (B. 169) and Three Childtrem Singlng (B. 173)