"The Music Lesson (Der Musikunterricht)" was executed after the original composition by Gerrit Dou, the master of the Dutch Gilded Age known for his interior genre scenes. In the painting, a young woman sits before a clavichord, gazing directly at the viewer as her instructor guides her through the day's lesson. All around her are the refined objects of a proud Dutch house: a velvet cushion, a ewer and basin, a viol da gamba (the large stringed instrument), and a finely carved stone fireplace with a statue of a man lying face upward on its mantle. To the right, a brocade curtain seems to pull away as though revealing these figures on a stage for our delight. Though she is accompanied by her instructor, her gaze toward us and the sensual connotations of music may imply that she is expecting a lover who will join her, perhaps on the viol de gamba. On the other hand, the carved mantle, which resembles funerary statues, suggests her husband or lover has passed away and her music is played in his absence. The original painting is in the collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. 12 x 10 inches, canvas 16 x 14.5 inches, frame Housed in an Arts and Crafts style gold-finish wood and composition frame. In good restored condition; recently relined; circular craquelure pattern from center of canvas; some losses to gold finish of frame.