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Francesco d'Ubertino, called Il Bacchiacca (Italian, 1494-1557), Portrait of a Young Lute Player, 1520-1525. Oil on poplar wood. New Orleans Museum of Art, The Samuel H. Kress Collection.
Sitting on a ledge, a lute player contemplates the passing of time, as indicated by the hourglass and delicate flowers beside him. The motto under the hourglass reads: CITO PEDE LABITUR ETAS, or “Time flies on swift feet.” The motto comments on the details of the landscape where tales of the dangers of passionate love are illustrated. At middle left is Delilah cutting her lover Samson’s hair (and source of his strength). At right, Daphne’s arms and head sprout branches and leaves as she transforms into a tree, while Apollo grabs her in vain. These stories of love pursued without regard for reason culminate in the small scene at the upper left where the horse-drawn chariot surmounted by the cupid celebrates the triumph of love over reason, time and earthly possession. Often opting for unusual colors, Bacciacca’s use of coral pink is striking, especially in concert with the teal blues of the lute player’s sleeves and the landscape. The coloring, the spiky tree leaves, the otherworldly landscape, and even the strange asymmetries or the musician’s face achieve a mystical tone.
