Cavaliers and ladies making music

Anthonie Palamedesz. is best known for his genre scenes depicting taverns, card players and music makers. Here, elegantly dressed women and cavaliers gather in a richly decorated interior. Maps were popular decorations in the seventeenth century, and the one depicted here may be an impression of the Leo Belgicus or the slightly later Leo Hollandicus. These maps depicted the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries in the shape of a rearing lion, an allegory for the courage and perseverance of the Dutch resisting Spanish rule—perhaps the reason behind this merry company's boisterous celebrations.