A Music Party before a Village
- Artist: Joos de Momper the Younger
- Date: 1640-60
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "A Music Party before a Village" painted in the north by Joos de Momper the Younger. The scene depicts a tranquil sunset, where the natural landscape gradually gives way to a man-made one. You can see rugged trees framing the front of the picture, while further back there's an avenue of trees, formal gardens, a church and a manor house.
Among the figures are courting couples and gardeners, which suggests fertility and fruitfulness. In the corner to your right, three women make music - one sings, one plays the flute, and one plays the lute. The fourth member of their party has put down his violin, and you can see him reaching out to a woman, who bends over in response.
The group evokes the eighteenth-century courtship parties made famous by Jean-Antoine Watteau. Interestingly, the landscape appears to have been painted by a follower of Joos de Momper II, while the figures were likely done by a different artist. The picture dates back to the 1640s and 1650s, based on the costumes, and was made using oil on canvas.
See it in person
A Music Party before a Village hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
