The hole truth and nothing but the truth: the resolution of a problem in flute iconography

Abstract

THE portrait of a group of French musicians shown in illus.1 has been the subject of debate on many fronts since 1907, when it was purchased by the National Gallery from the Comtesse de Coullanges. Since the 1950os it has been attributed to the French painter Robert Tournieres. Before that it was ascribed first to Hyacinthe Rigaud, then to Frangois de Troy.' A black and white photograph of this painting taken in the early 1940s has circulated widely in recent decades. In North America an identical colour photo has for years served as a large promotional poster for a well-known summer early music academy, the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College. It also appears in numerous textbooks and histories of music, as well as in books on musical instruments. A recent cleaning and restoration of the original portrait has uncovered a signature, revealing the true author of the portrait to be Andre Bouys (1656-1740), a student of de Troy, who is known for a portrait of the French viola da gamba player Marin Marais. In addition, the painting also has until now presented an organological mystery with regard to the construction of the ivory flute in the painting's foreground; it is now possible to set aside at least some of the speculation concerning these aspects of the painting. All the musical instruments are painted with great care and accuracy. The man on the left holds a seven-string viola da gamba. Three of the others are holding flutes whose style is typical of French instruments of the early 18th century. The flutes have long, ornate caps and turnings, and bear no visible maker's mark. The seated man in the front must be