This picture is one of Ochtervelt’s earliest surviving genre works and as is so often the case with young painters it betrays a variety of influences with strong reference to local artists. The sharp contrast between light and shade owes something to Utrecht Caravaggism of which there was an offshoot in Rotterdam in the person of Crijn Hendricksz. Volmarijn.  The lute player on the right is especially Caravaggesque even down to his costume.

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