Soldier Playing the Theorbo

The theorbo — a large double-necked lute popular in the seventeenth century — appears in Dutch and Flemish genre paintings as a symbol of cultivated leisure. Meissonier's 'Soldier Playing the Theorbo' of 1865 places this anachronistic instrument in the hands of a figure from the era he most favored for historical genre scenes, creating a studied evocation of seventeenth-century cultured military life. The Metropolitan Museum's collection includes this panel as an example of Meissonier's ability to combine musical subject matter with military setting — a combination that had pleased audiences and collectors since the Salon successes of his earlier career. Music-making soldiers appear in Dutch genre painting from Rembrandt to Ter Borch, and Meissonier's knowing engagement with that tradition gave his work an art-historical depth appreciated by knowledgeable French and English buyers. The theorbo's long neck and multiple strings presented a technical challenge Meissonier relished: rendering complex woodwork and gut strings called for the same obsessive precision he applied to uniform buttons and sword hilts.

The theorbo's intricate construction — peg boxes, frets, and gut strings — is rendered with documentary thoroughness on a small panel support that magnifies the challenge. Warm amber tones dominate, consistent with an interior lit by indirect window light. Flesh tones in the soldier's hands and face are built up through fine glazes over a cool underpainting.