Adolphe-Alexandre Lesrel

Tedesco Frères, Paris
Hardy-Allen
Private collection, United States

This painting is on a stable panel with a hairline crack at the extreme left, extending 5" towards the waist of the figure in red. Under UV, inpainting to address the aforementioned crack, in dots above the heads of the lute and violin players, and in the extreme upper left corner fluoresce.
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The present work is one of the most extensive and elaborate of Lesrel's musical genre scenes. Around a large square table no less than seven musicians are depicted mid rehearsal, including two lute players, two violinists, a recorder player, a cellist and a soprano who stands while singing at the back.  The scene is a symphony of colour and texture itself with multiple layers of decorative sophistication, from the pale green tapestries which line the walls to the rich, patterned carpet that leads up to the satin covered table.  The lustrous sheen of the cavaliers' clothing, in red, purple, green and blue velvet as well as embroidered garments of pale blue and gold is also a focus. 

Lesrel specialised in historical genre scenes and was greatly influenced by Dutch Old Masters of the seventeenth century in his dedicated attention to details of dress and decoration.