Czechoslovakian Stamps of Musicians in Art

This article features a set of Czechoslovakian stamps of musicians in art. Stamps that feature works of art such as paintings are relatively common, though its not what I collect. If you want to know more about this topical area of collecting stamps, you might check out this website. Of course, my musical collection of stamps includes a few that depict a famous painting or other work of art that has a music topic. What is interesting about this 1982 Czechoslovakian stamp set, however, is that it includes five engravings that have musical topics. Let’s explore those stamps and works of art.

An engraving is a work of art made from the practice of incising or cutting an image onto a hard, flat surface and then using that cut image (an intaglio) that is used to print an image on paper. As a result, there are often many copies of an engraving, some of those below exist in many institutions across the world. A really useful and easy to understand explanation of this process is available on the website for The Metropolitan Museum of Art (click on the link).

Engraving

“Euterpe” from The Muses by Crispin de Passe

The first stamp in the series features an image known as “Euterpe” from The Muses. It is a series of engravings by Crispijn de Passe the Elder (Netherlandish, Arnemuiden 1564–1637 Utrecht). Passe was a draughtsman, engraver, and publisher who began his career in Antwerp, then by 1589 was in Cologne, and in 1611 moved to Utrecht. The image is of a woman in sixteenth century attire seated and playing a very long and skinny transverse flute. Further, above her shoulder is her name, “Euterpe.”

The flute-playing “Euterpe” is one of a set of nine circular plates that make up Passe’s larger work, The Muses. The series is based on the classical number of nine goddesses who are the embodiment of the arts and also the inspiration of the creative process. Each of Crispijn de Passe’s muses features a sixteenth-century woman sitting with their attributes. “Euterpe” was the muse of music and usually carries or plays a flute, as in this image.

“The Sanguine Man” by Jacob de Gheyn

Jacob de Gheyn was a Dutch painter and engraver who was born in Antwerp in 1565. From there he went to Haarlem to study with Hendrik Goltzius, then to Leiden, and by 1605 was in The Hague working for Dutch royalty. He died in 1629.

The image on the stamp is of the “Sanguine Man” from a cycle known as the Four Temperaments. The work was made in 1596/97 while de Gheyn was in Leiden. The entire cycle is based on the human temperaments as described by the Greek physician Hippocrates.

The sanguine temperament is associated with the earth and de Gheyn chosen to associate it with music. Not only is the player holding and playing a lute, but in front of him on the ground is a flute. Also, to his left there also appears to be some kind of a fiddle. Other works in the series include the “choleric” type (fire), a “pensive” type (air), and the “phlegmatic” type (water).

Moses and the Israelites Crossing the Red Sea by Adriaen Collaert

The Flemish artist Adriaen Collaert was born sometime between 1555 and 1565 in Antwerp. He was a designer and engraver who worked for Philip Galle, marrying his daughter Justa Galle. Afterwards, he worked for artists Gerard de Jode, Eduard Hoeswinckel, and Hans van Luyck. Then, Collaert visited Italy to study art therefor several years. After he returned, he set up his own workshop and was known as an expert engraver.

The engraving on the stamp shows a woman playing a wind instrument with an open book of music in her lap. Most places misidentify the instrument as some kind of a flute. In fact, it is a cornett, or sometimes called a cornetto. This was a melodic instrument popular in the Renaissance that had a cupped mouthpiece (like a trumpet) but a body with fingerholes like a flute or recorder. To better explain check this out:

For this stamp, the image is actually a detail from a larger work. The source material is the engraving Moses and the Israelites Crossing the Red Sea that is executed by Collaert, but after a design of Jan van der Straet. It is an interesting image that foregrounds and centers a variety of musicians who are playing, presumably celebrating, the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea and the escape from the Egyptians after the crossing. Small and to the left of the work is a figure on a hillock that musts be Moses. In the background the Sea has already closed back up catching the Egyptians.

The musicians across the front play a wide variety of instruments ranging from military trumpets and drums, to triangles and cymbals, to the quieter instruments of harp, and in the center, our female figure playing the cornett.

The Strolling Musicians by Rembrandt van Rijn

Undoubtedly, the most famous artist whose work is in this group is Rembrandt van Rijn. Typically known just as Rembrandt, he was born in 1606 in Leiden to rather well off family. After attending Latin school he went to the University of Leiden. He became an apprentice to the painter Jacob van Swanenburg for three years and then spent another six months with the painter Pieter Lastman. In around 1624 or 25, Rembrandt established his own studio and quickly built a reputation as a creative and accomplished artist.

The Strolling Musician is from around 1635. Strictly speaking, the work is an etching, not an engraving so it is a little outside the theme of the group. Visually, that makes it quite different, not nearly as sharp as the other images in the stamp set. Notably, there are two musicians here, a bagpiper in the middle, seen blowing into the instrument and playing it. Next to him, some sources say is a hurdy-gurdy player. I have a hard time identifying an instrument, but it may be hidden from view under a cloth or a coat. Certainly, it looks like the man is holding something that would be about the size and shape of the instrument.

Until this point in the series, all of the instruments have been of a rather high stature. Flutes and lutes and even the cornett were instruments of trained musicians, or of educated amateurs, which would have been in use in European courts in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, the bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy were low class instruments. The bagpipes were often associated with peasants and shepherds, while the hurdy-gurdy was an instrument of beggars. Even the title, The Strolling Musicians suggests that these are itinerant poor musicians.

“The Hurdy-Gurdy Player” from The Beggars by Jacques Callot

Finally, in the last stamp of the set we see clearly a hurdy-gurdy in the hands of a player. The work is by the early seventeenth century printmaker and draftsman Jacques Callot. This French artist was born in Nancy, the capital of the region of Lorraine. He was born into a noble family and was well-educated and apprenticed to a goldsmith at the age of fifteen. However, he had other interests and soon went to Rome where he learned the art of engraving. In 1621, he returned to Nancy where he established his studio and spent the rest of his life.

The image on the stamp comes from another etching. It is also part of a larger series, The Beggars featuring individuals who were at the bottom rung of society. Callot was turning his attention and gaze to those often forgotten by others. In this image we see a man holding a hurdy-gurdy, presumably which he plays for coins and tips to earn a living. Dressed respectably, it is obvious he is down on his luck, his cloak is fraying all around the edges. His expression is one of tired resignation. However, he stands in a strong pose facing the viewer and Callot represents the musician as a figure of dignity. It is a wonderful image to round out the set.

Make sure to check out some other hurdy-gurdy stamps on this page.