Viola da gamba-speler, en face 1645 - 1650

Pier Francesco Mola rendered this drawing of a viola da gamba player, en face, with chalk. The instrument the man is playing is a potent symbol, not merely of music but of harmony itself. In Renaissance and Baroque thought, music was understood as a microcosm of universal order, the viola da gamba, with its resonant tones, embodies this perfectly. Think of Apollo, the god of music and light, often depicted with a similar stringed instrument, representing the harmony of the cosmos. This connection between music and cosmic order has roots stretching back to antiquity. Pythagoras, for instance, saw musical intervals as reflections of the mathematical proportions governing the universe. The act of playing, therefore, becomes an invocation, a calling forth of this inherent harmony. In a way, it speaks to the psychoanalytic concept of the collective unconscious; the viewer is viscerally impacted by a deep, subconscious connection to the universal ideal it symbolizes. The viola da gamba, then, is more than an instrument; it is a vessel of cultural memory. It is a continuous thread, resonating through different ages, each time gaining new timbres and tones while retaining its fundamental essence.