Portrait of Girolamo Frescobaldi 1585-1643

Man with cap (domestic attire), a moustache and a small beard, seated on a chair holding a booklet in his left hand, pointing with the index of his right hand to the picture hanging on the background wall. In front of him a keyboard instrument with a sheet of music paper resting atop. An ink pot with a feathered pen and other books on the left side; reading glasses resting in front of the keyboard; an open curtain reveals the drawing/painting on the wall. A coat of arms with a lion holding a flower at the bottom, surmounted by a helm (Coleine family?). Other known portraits of the composer are by Claude Mellan, in its preparatory drawing (Paris, Bibliotheque de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, inv. Mas.1077) and in the printed version (London, British Museum, inv. 1866,1110.1126);another portrait in print is by Christian Sas after a design by Jean Saillant, from ca. 1628. See Silbinger 3rd draft of The Mystery of the Frescobaldi Portraits, p. 12 and the slides.