Lot 178: Bartolomeo Bettera (Bergamo 1639-c. 1688)

Bartolomeo Bettera (Bergamo 1639-c. 1688)
Musical instruments, books, music scores, a globe and a rooster on a table draped with a carpet
oil on canvas
28¾ x 38 in. (73 x 96.5 cm.)

Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg, until 1952, when gifted to the
Saint Louis Art Museum.

Sold to Benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Saint Louis Art Museum

The array of musical instruments and related objects in the present still life is brought to life by the elaborate brocade of the draped curtain, the heavily textured surface of the carpet laid upon the table and the rooster standing proudly at table's edge -- the bird itself a symbol of sound. Bartolomeo Bettera and his workshop produced a number of compositions with these elements including, Still life of musical instruments (Prague, Nárondí Galerie).