Art Institute of Chicago

Angels Making Music

Cornelis Schut, I (Flemish, 1597-1655)

Date

c. 1650

Medium

Etching from two plates in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Flanders

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

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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