Viola da gamba in festoon shape
Viols of at least three different shapes are employed simultaneously in this consort! The three viols in the foreground – a treble, a bass and perhaps a large tenor? – are in the festoon shape with flame holes and a rosette. The viol visible on the right has the classical form. The great bass viol or violone in G has sloping shoulders but f-holes like the violin-family. This North-German painting dates from around 1635, in the middle of the Thirty-Years’ War.
Viola da gamba Consort in Braunschweig, ca. 1635
Michiel van Musscher (1645-1705): Viola da gamba in festoon form
Bass viola da gamba perhaps by John Rose II, London. ca. 1600
(This viol is regrettably not in our collection!)
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| Treble viola da gamba by Anonymous German 1 (ca. 1730) |
Treble viola da gamba by Anonymous German I1 (ca. 1730) |