c. 1650
Cornelis Schut, I (Flemish, 1597-1655) after Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
Flanders
When creating this ensemble of heavenly musicians, Cornelis Schut I was inspired by the tapestry series depicted in Peter Paul Rubens’s painting The Adoration of the Eucharist (1937.1012). On the left, an angel crowned with a floral wreath plays a lute. A trio of angels accompanies him with a trumpet, horn, and shawm (similar to an oboe). On the right, three angels play a bass violin (a precursor to the cello), a lute, and a violin. Groups of cherubs sing along, sometimes with the aid of songbooks.
Etching from two plates in black on ivory laid paper