The painting by the French artist Georges de La Tour depicts a real-life scene in which a blind man earns his living playing the hurdy-gurdy, sometimes also singing if he is skilled at it, and is often accompanied by a dog that follows his pulse. Blind men playing the hurdy-gurdy were common in La Torua’s paintings, although with numerous variations they cannot be considered copies of one another. It is interesting to note that their depictions, with the exception of the one in the Prado, were attributed at some point to Spanish painters. However, the Tesoro de la lengua castellana by Covarrubias, when for those contemporaries, the hurdy-gurdy was a poor Frenchman’s instrument.
Collection: Images
Project: 3. Rural world and urban world in the formation of the European identity., 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe.
Chronology: XVII
Scope: Secondary education, Baccalaureate, University
Resource type: Image
Format: Oil on canvas (86 x 62,5)
Source: Museo del Prado (Madrid)
Language: Spanish
Date: 1620-30
Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)
Identifier: P007613
Copyright: Museo del Prado (Madrid)
Abstract: Cultural and musical history of blind people's performance
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