The lute played a remarkable role in the literature and the visual arts of the 17th-century Dutch Republic. The instrument is mentioned again and again in literary texts, particularly in poems, and we see it frequently represented in paintings. The lute in the arts often had a metaphorical function; it was a symbol for something else. Behind the depicted or described world there is a moral message, which is sometimes easy and sometimes not so easy to interpret.

The lute in literature

In the literature of the Golden Age, the lute turns up regularly in the poetry of the major authors such as Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Constantijn Huygens and Jacob Cats, but also in poetry by lesser-known writers. Only rarely does the lute itself form the subject. This makes it all the more interesting that Hooft wrote a whole poem expressly devoted to Huygens’ lute playing. Op de ledighe uuren van den heere Constantin Huighens [On the idle hours of Mr Constantijn Huygens] is a reaction to the first edition of Huygens’ Otia (1625). Hooft gives a poetic description of the strings on a lute in a series of witty comparisons, and he congratulates them on the good luck of being played upon by Huygens:

Oorenstrikken, zieljachts gaeren, Snares for ears, yarn for catching souls,

Hartenetten, zoete snaeren, Heart-catching nets, sweet strings,

Banden die mijn zinneroer Ropes that tie the rudder of my senses

Vaster boeyt, dan eenigh snoer Tighter than any other kind of string

Van bekooringh, de gemoeden Of enchantment, stirring feelings

Die zich voor geen’ wellust hoeden; That avoid no ecstasy,

Kronkelkoorden rank en slujk, Tender, slender, curly strings

Die, van levendigen bujk, Whose nature and origins lie

Uw’ geslacht en afkomst rekent, In sheep's bellies when alive

Ende maekt den dooden sprekendt; But now make the dead wood sing;

Lange lijven wervelvast Long stringy bodies, tied to pegs,

Staend’ aen hals en bujk gepast, And lengthwise linking neck and belly,

Yder nae zijn’ eisch gewrongen; Stretched each to the right pitch;

Tongen, buitenmondsche tongen Tongues outside the mouth

Van de gallem-rijke Lujt; Of the sonorous lute,