Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer’s The Concert (c. 1664) was stolen during the great art theft of 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This painting has an estimated value of over $200,000,000 making it the most valuable piece of art that was stolen during the robbery. The Concert remains missing to this day.
The painting shows three musicians: a young woman playing a harpsichord, a man who is playing a lute, and a woman who is singing. During the 17th century, musical gatherings such as the one represented in The Concert were not only a form of entertainment, but they were also accepted ways to promote social contact—specifically with the opposite sex.
Ready to play art trivia? Join the Contemporaries on October 13th at Draft on Glenwood Avenue (see details below).
