Music & Art: The Symbolism of Music in Dutch Genre Painting

Fri Jan 16 2026 at 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm UTC+00:00

Foundling Museum | London

The Foundling Museum
Publisher/HostThe Foundling Museum
Music & Art: The Symbolism of Music in Dutch Genre Painting
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Lecture series exploring the intersection between music and the visual arts held as part of the Foundling Museum's exhibition programming.
About this Event

As centuries passed, a language of symbols developed so that artists could tell stories with deeperand more intricate emphasis, instantly understandable for an audience which did not always share the same spoken language and which was often illiterate.

Dutch genre paintings are full of symbols giving extra layers of meaning to the image on show. In this talk, Dutch art historian Mariska will look at the hidden meaning of music and musical instruments in Dutch genre paintings from the 17th century.

Lecturer: Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff


This lecture will serve as an introduction to the topic, and no prior knowledge is necessary to join us!

This lecture is part of the public programming for our new exhibition, A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music.


This lecture will last an hour. Tickets are available to watch the lecture either ONLINE or IN-PERSON at the Foundling Museum; in-person tickets include Museum entry. The online recording will be available to watch for 1 month.

Other lectures in this series:

  • 24/10/25 Music and German Expressionists, with Ailsa McTernan
  • 05/12/25 Sounding Presence: John Blanke and the Power of Music, with Michael Ohajuru
  • 27/02/25 Klimt and Beethoven: Artistic Rebellion in Fin de Siècle Vienna
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, United Kingdom

Tickets

GBP 6.00 to GBP 19.94

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