A cheerful lutenist, extravagantly dressed and singing a song - a serenade - is accompanying himself on the lute, a stringed instrument that was especially popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The painting appears to capture a moment in time, as if the lutenist were caught in the middle of a song. The young man glances upward and seems entirely engrossed in his music. Or perhaps he is looking up to the object of his serenade?
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