Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

a gouache finely painted on vellum, with white highlighting, with a contemporary inscription on verso ("Peint. par L:A[:] Abel.1770.") written in brown ink



19.5 x 24cms, probably painted at Ludwigslust, 1770, framed and glazed (overall c.40 x 45cms), laid down on card (partly lifted, slightly affecting the inscription on verso), some cockling of the vellum, some minor surface loss, mainly affecting the background rather than the musicians

F. W. Marpurg, Historisch-kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik, 5 volumes (see vol. 3, part 4, 339-340) (Berlin, 1757) 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is an attractive and detailed group-portrait of the famous musicians and singers at the court of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in north-east Germany in 1770.  Eighteenth-century iconographical sources showing musical ensembles are of the greatest rarity at auction; the Ducal Chapel at Ludwigslust, where this was probably painted, was one of the finest in Germany.

Leopold August Abel (1718-1794), brother of the famous composer and gamba-player Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), was a violinist and miniaturist, who in 1770, became first violinist of the Hofkapelle.   In the same year Carl Westenholz was appointed Kapellmeister, having recently married the prima donna soprano there, Barbara Lucietta Affabili.  These new appointments possibly occasioned the present group portrait, executed by Leopold Abel himself (who appears as the leftmost violinist).  Each figure is a distinct and carefully painted individual portrait, with the painting showing up to 6 male and 3 female singers, with up to 4 violinists, a cellist and a bass-player, 2 flautists 2 oboists, a bassoonist, 2 horn-players and a harpsichordist (playing a wing-shaped spinet), presumably the Kapellmeister Westenholz.   The lady in the centre is probably Luise Friederike, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1722-1791), a keen musician and collector herself, here wearing the badge and the sash of the Russian Order of St Catherine.  To the far left are found the three court trumpeters and timpanist, in their distinctive blue Ludwigslust livery. This ensemble accords fairly closely with Marpurg's description of the Hofkapelle in 1757.  Many other outstanding singers and instrumentalists were members of the chapel, one of the finest in Germany, for which composers such as Westenholz, J.F. Reichardt, J.G. Naumann, F.L. Benda and F.A. Rossetti composed oratorios.  For another, more sophisticated, representation of this ensemble in 1770, by Georg David Matthieu, see MGG (1965), 12, 409-410.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dr Samantha Owens and Teri Noel Towe in our cataloguing of this lot.