Artworks

Musicians

-Year 1595

-Oil on Canvas

-Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yor

-Dimensions 92 cm × 118.5 cm (36 in × 47 in) 

The painting consists of four males in quasi-Classical costumes. Three are playing some type of musical instrument or singing and the fourth is dressed as Cupid. The central figure is playing the lute and has been identified as Caravaggio's friend, Mario Minniti. The man facing the viewer is believed to has been a self-portrait of the artist. This painting is considered to be Caravaggio's most ambitious and complex composition. Critics claim that Caravaggio had difficulty painting the four figures separately, leaving on an overall clumsy effect. The painting is said to be in poor condition. And has been damaged by past restorations. Regardless of its condition, it remains one of Caravaggio's most popular pieces.