The Musicians

painting by Caravaggio

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July 1, 2026

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The Musicians is a painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio, created around 1595-1596. It depicts four young boys preparing to play music, likely in the home of Caravaggio's patron, Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, who was a lover of music and supported the shift from polyphony to monody in music. The painting is noted for its moody and experimental character, reflecting the cardinal's musical tastes.1

Caravaggio is renowned for his intense and unsettling realism in religious works, and The Musicians is one of his notable pieces from his early career. The painting captures a moment of rehearsal, with the boys tuning instruments and looking at their scores, implicitly awaiting an audience or conductor.231

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Caravaggio
The patronage of Cardinal del Monte of Caravaggio
Caravaggio’s The Musicians of 1595–96, an unusual depiction of musicians rehearsing, which once hung in del Monte’s music room in the Palazzo Madama, encapsulates the moody experimental character of the cardinal’s musical patronage. Four boys tune their instruments or leaf through their scores to prepare for…
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Caravaggio’s The Musicians of 1595–96, an unusual depiction of musicians rehearsing, which once hung in del Monte’s music room in the Palazzo Madama, encapsulates the moody experimental character of the cardinal’s musical patronage. Four boys tune their instruments or leaf through their scores to prepare for…
Read More