Resumen de Hendrick ter Brugghen's 'Bagpipe player' acquired by the National Gallery of Art, Washington
Hendrick ter Brugghen's painting Bagpipe Player (1624) has been acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In this remarkable picture, a bagpipe player, seen in strict profile, squeezes the instrument's leather bag between his forearms as he blows through the pipe and fingers a tune. While muted in tonality, the work is bold and forceful in its scale and painting techniques, the artist's sure, broad brushstrokes reflecting in their energy the bagpipe player's passion for his music. The writer examines what is known of the provenance of the work and examines the specific character of the bagpipe player as a subject, noting that Ter Brugghen's work should be seen as part of a broad cultural interest in the early 17th century in the pastoral's evocation of the idyllic pleasures of country existence, particularly as experienced through music.
