2-745-719 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Strolling Musicians, c. 1635. Although 17th-century Holland produced neither noteworthy composers nor renowned performers, rarely has another culture produced so many visual images of music as the Dutch. In this depiction of a pair of itinerant musicians wearily shuffling from door to door, Rembrandt reveals his compassionate understanding of human frailties. The hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes, as depicted here, were frequently associated with itinerant beggars and blind street singers in paintings and prints of the period.