Angels Making Music

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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.

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