A dramatically lit group of objects demonstrates the artist’s mastery of illusion. Note the dust on the lute to the right, and the sumptuous folds of the curtain above. The painting is an example of a Vanitas, a still life which reminds us of the transience of worldly possessions and accomplishments. The violin with its broken string and the other instruments are silent, their last notes long since played; the books are unread. Baschenis was himself a musician in a town renowned for its instrument makers. He is now regarded as the greatest Italian still-life painter of the seventeenth century.