Man Seated at a Keyboard Instrument 1774

François André Vincent made this drawing of a man seated at a keyboard instrument with pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash over graphite. The sepia ink gives the whole scene a warm but reserved affect. And the hatching and cross-hatching of lines, which is visible throughout, gives a good sense of the labor involved. Vincent uses the wash to describe the sheen of surfaces – the man’s jacket, his buckled shoes, and the pages of music, slightly rumpled, at which he is gazing. It makes you wonder, what kind of work is this man doing? Is he composing, or just practicing? Is he employed as a musician, or is this just one of the accomplishments of a man of leisure? The drawing doesn’t give us any clear answers, but it does invite us to consider the possibilities. The drawing is itself a product of skilled labor. Vincent was trained as a painter, and here he’s using his mastery of line and tone to create a vivid impression of a man at work – or is it play? This ambiguity is the key to its enduring interest.