# The Flute Player

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2/the-flute-player-rb143eb08de6863>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [CECCO DEL CARAVAGGIO](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2>)
- Date: 1601-1650
- Technique: Oil on canvas, 103 x 138 cm

## Commentary

In a room containing shelves and a table, a young man is about to start playing the recorder. Placed on the shelves are bowls, plates and jugs as well as bread and cheese. A small cheese \(or head of garlic\) hangs precariously from a string tied around a nail on the front of the shelf. On a table, diagonally receding to both left and right, is a glass vase full of water. Other containers on the table are surrounded by single pieces of fruit, a teething ring and a violin and bow. The Young Man Holding a Recorder was at one stage attributed to Louis Finson, but is now almost universally accepted as the work of Cecco del Caravaggio. However, doubts are still being voiced about a possible collaboration with a specialist in still-life painting. The subject of an instrumentalist derives from Caravaggio&#39;s Lute Player \(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York\), and in this case the artist must have been a friend, student or model of Caravaggio&#39;s. The mysterious figure of &#39;Francesco, called Cecco del Caravaggio&#39; mentioned by Giulio Mancini, has recently acquired a slightly more precise identity. The examination of known works by this artist led to the hypothesis that he was from France, Flanders or Spain. &lt;P&gt; &lt;TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR=&#34;\#99CCCC&#34;&gt; &lt;TR VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;IMG SRC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 15 minutes\):&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A HREF=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/bach/bach\_bwv\_1032.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;B&gt;Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in A Major for flute and cembalo obligato, BWV 1032&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;

## Related artworks

- [Christ Falls on the Road to Calvary](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2/christ-falls-on-the-road-to-calvary-r2e1913f77b1b81>)
- [Guardian Angel with Sts Ursula and Thomas](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2/guardian-angel-with-sts-ursula-and-thomas-r17727c6144b9e2>)
- [Martyrdom of St Sebastian](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2/martyrdom-of-st-sebastian-rcf376c724dcb61>)
- [Woman with a Dove](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/cecco-del-caravaggio-r0bae35f3b135c2/woman-with-a-dove-r71aea4f3916310>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)