A Franco-Flemish double-manual harpsichord,
A view from the bentside of the instrument
This photograph gives a good idea of
the splendour of this harpsichord. The
inside and the outside of the case are decorated on a ground of thick gold leaf
with oil paintings on top of the gold, a process known in the eighteenth century as ‘vernis
martin’. The inside of the lid is a
sylvan landscape with groups of figures engaged in rural activities. The
author of this
landscape has yet to be determined, but it exhibits may of the features of
mid-eighteenth-century Parisian artists. The author
of the paintings of the putti engaged in a 'Triumph of love' is not yet
known, but it may also be François
Boucher. The outside of the
case and the inside of the lid have now been cleaned and, once
restored, should look particularly brilliant and beautiful.
The stand is very fine and beautifully carved and gilded. Like the case of the instrument it has been widened on the cheek side to accommodate the compass extension of 1786 so that the curve of the actual bentside of the instrument no longer matches the curve of the stand. This strongly suggests that the stand, in a high roccoco style, is contemporary with the outer-case decorations and paintings of 1750. The height of the stand is greater than normal and raises the instrument into a slightly higher playing position than normal.
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Important
Features of this harpsichord
A brief history of the musical and decorative states of the Franco-Flemish harpsichord
Details of
the original state of the instrument
Details of the eighteenth-century states of this harpsichord
Details of the modern history of this harpsichord
A problem encountered in the ethical restoration of this harpsichord
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