Medieval Trio

Very little is known about this magnificent trio of musicians, portrayed by the Ferrarese painter Lorenzo Costa towards the end of the fifteenth century. The painting was most likely commissioned to decorate the music room of a noble palace or to illustrate a cycle of allegories concerning the Arts.

At the center of the scene is a young lute player who sings a polyphonic song along with two accompanying figures. The lips of the three singers are open in different ways, an evident sign that they are singing different notes. Additionally, the woman and the man on the left keep a hand on the table to beat the rhythm, which adds a touch of realism comparable to that of the contemporary Flemish painters, both in thematic choice and execution.

In the book "Lives of the Painters and Sculptors of Ferrara" by the eighteenth-century scholar Girolamo Baruffaldi, the commentator Giuseppe Boschini suggests that the character with the lute is Lorenzo Costa himself, who, in addition to painting, was also apparently dedicated to music.

In 1910, the painting became part of the collections of the National Gallery in London, where it is still displayed today.