A group of young musicians gathers closely together, instruments in hand, caught mid-preparation rather than mid-performance. One of them is Caravaggio himself.
What you're looking at
Caravaggio painted The Musicians in 1597, commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, his first major patron, who hosted private musical entertainments at his Roman palace. Caravaggio included a self-portrait among the group, painting himself as the lute player at left, folding his own likeness directly into a scene meant to decorate his patron's private gatherings.
A young painter finding his footing under a powerful patron
Del Monte's patronage was crucial to Caravaggio's early career, giving him access to important Roman social and artistic circles at a point when he was still an emerging talent. Paintings like this one, intimate scenes of young musicians rather than grand religious or mythological subjects, suited the more private, personal taste of a wealthy patron looking to decorate his own rooms rather than a public church commission. The soft, close grouping of figures and the careful attention to instruments and youthful faces reflects Caravaggio's early style, before he moved toward the dramatic, high-contrast lighting that later made him famous.
Including his own face among the musicians was also a quiet way for Caravaggio to assert his presence within his patron's circle, appearing not just as the hired painter but as a participant in the very scene of leisure and music he was commissioned to depict.
One detail to look for
Look at the lute player on the left. That's Caravaggio's own self-portrait, tucked into a commissioned scene rather than presented as a formal, separate self-portrait.
See it at its real size
Our canvas print is labeled against the true size of the original — 92.1 x 118.4 cm — so what you're hanging is honestly scaled to the painting Caravaggio made. Shop the canvas print.