# Painter in His Studio, Painting a Musical Company [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MOLENAER, Jan Miense]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 86 x 127 cm ## Commentary Molenaer seems to comment on his own pictorial practice, as he frequently represented musical companies. The comic character of that genre and of this picture is signal led by the dwarf and the monkey, stock figures of comedy. Many self-portraits and paintings of studios featured musical instruments, as allusions to the inspiring qualities of music. Molenaer had a penchant for painting dwarfs, that in this picture plays a conspicuous role. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 21 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/mozart/mozart\_k\_522.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Musical Joke \(Village Musicians\) K 522</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [A Quack and His Assistant]() - [Allegory of Vanity \(detail\)]() - [Amorous Couple in an Inn]() - [Battle between Carnival and Lent]() - [Drinking Peasants]() - [Interior with a Violinist]() - [Interior with Children Drinking and Mischief-Making]() - [Peasant Wedding]() - [Peasants in an Inn Playing "La Main Chaude"]() - [Peasants in an Inn Playing "La Main Chaude"]() - [Peasants in the Tavern]() - [Self-Portrait with Family Members]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()