This curation celebrates violinists, from the 17th to the 21st century: from Yehudi Menuhin to a toothless busker, from a woman playing in the Sultan's seraglio in Istanbul to Nicola Benedetti caught in a kaleidoscope of sunlight in Westminster Abbey. Some great names are missing, including Jascha Heifetz, David and Igor Oistrakh and Isaac Stern, as are many well-known contemporary violinists. However, there are composers and violin makers too, from Corelli and Stradivari, the most famous luthier of all, to Joseph Joachim and the 'Scottish Stradivari' Matthew Hardie. To be enjoyed with your favourite violin concerto ...
Ariel Posed above the Sea, Playing the Violin 1975
Marc Chagall (1887–1985)
Lithograph on paper
H 42.5 x W 32.5 cm
Ben Uri Collection
Mischa Elman (1891–1967), Playing the Violin 1911
Solomon Joseph Solomon (1860–1927)
Oil on canvas
H 74.5 x W 62 cm
Ben Uri Collection
Angelica Playing the Violin 1934
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on canvas
H 71.5 x W 65.5 cm
Southampton City Art Gallery
Violin with Orchestra exhibited 1965
James Fitton (1899–1982)
Oil on canvas
H 112 x W 84.3 cm
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
The Violinist 1948
Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)
Oil on canvas
H 49 x W 58.8 cm
The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) Playing the Violin
Norman Perryman (b.1933)
Watercolour on paper
H 64.5 x W 86 cm
Royal Academy of Music
The Violinist 1886
George Adolphus Storey (1834–1919)
Oil on canvas
H 91 x W 71 cm
City of London Corporation
Isolde Menges (1893–1976) 1929
James Penniston Barraclough (1891–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 110.5 x W 81.7 cm
Royal College of Music
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) and Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), in Recital
Dan Rubinstein (b.1940)
Etching & watercolour on paper
H 20.5 x W 29.5 cm
Royal Academy of Music
An Audition at the Royal Academy of Music c.1960
Alan Sorrell (1904–1974)
Watercolour on paper
H 49 x W 66.2 cm
Royal Academy of Music
Old Heffel of Rowton House c.1916
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 55.8 x W 40.7 cm
York Museums Trust
O nuit d'amour c.1922
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 90.2 x W 69.8 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) 1963
David Wynne (1926–2014)
Bronze
H 182 x W 95 x D 55 cm
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Yehudi Menuhin 1982
Myfanwy Pavelic (1916–2007)
Oil on canvas
H 90.8 x W 121.9 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London
Violinist 1660
Frans van Mieris the elder (1635–1681) (after)
Oil on panel
H 28.6 x W 21.6 cm
National Trust for Scotland, Brodie Castle
A Woman seated at a Table and a Man tuning a Violin about 1658
Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667)
Oil on canvas
H 43 x W 37.5 cm
The National Gallery, London
Niel Gow (1727–1807), Violinist and Composer 1787
Henry Raeburn (1756–1823)
Oil on canvas
H 123.2 x W 97.8 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
William Marshall (1748–1833), Violinist and Composer 1817
John Moir (c.1776–1857)
Oil on canvas
H 127 x W 101.6 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) 1831
Daniel Maclise (1806–1870) (attributed to)
Oil on canvas
H 102 x W 85 cm
Royal Academy of Music
A Violinist in the Style of Nicolò Paganini 19th C
unknown artist
Watercolour on paper
H 26 x W 19.5 cm
Royal Academy of Music
Gaetano Pugnani (1731–1798) 1755–1770
Italian (Piedmontese) School
Oil on canvas
H 120.5 x W 89 cm
Royal College of Music
Stradivarius in His Workshop at Cremona 1913
Edgar Bundy (1862–1922)
Oil on canvas
H 100 x W 151 cm
Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum
A Young Girl Playing a Violin 20th C
British School
Oil on canvas
H 50 x W 60 cm
National Trust, The Hardmans' House
A Woman from the Sultan's Seraglio in Istanbul Playing the Violin
unknown artist
Watercolour on paper
H 31.5 x W 21.7 cm
Wellcome Collection
Two Violinists, One Tall and One Short, Playing a Duo
Roger
Watercolour & crayon on paper
Royal Academy of Music
Nicola Benedetti (b.1987) 2021
Calum Stevenson (b.1997)
Oil on canvas
H 180 x W 160 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
2021, oil on canvas by Calum Stevenson (b.1997)
Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) c.1725
Hugh Howard (1675–1737)
Oil on canvas
H 76 x W 62 cm
The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain
Henry Marvell Carr (1894–1970)
Oil on canvas
H 72 x W 89 cm
Royal Academy of Music
Arnold Gerstl (1888–1956)
Oil on hessian
H 110 x W 110 cm
Leicester Museums and Galleries
The Violinist 1893
Emma Irlam Briggs (1867–1951)
Oil on canvas
H 151 x W 113 cm
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
James W. Briggs, Violin Maker in Glasgow
Robert Cree Crawford (1842–1924)
Oil on canvas
H 91.4 x W 71.1 cm
Glasgow Life Museums
Matthew Hardie (1755–1826), Violin Maker c.1822
William Allan (1782–1850)
Oil on panel
H 26.7 x W 22.9 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
The Violinist 1927
Thomas Wood Holgate (1869–1954)
Oil on canvas
H 82 x W 55.5 cm
Royal Institution of Cornwall
James Scott Skinner (1843–1927), Violinist and Composer 1912
David Waterson (1870–1954)
Oil on canvas
H 73.7 x W 55.8 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Harry Andrews, Yarmouth Violin Maker c.1960
Matthews
Oil on board
H 61 x W 50.5 cm
Great Yarmouth Museums
Henry Harewood Robinson (1850–1904)
Oil on canvas
H 139.5 x W 87.5 cm
National Trust, Lanhydrock
Portrait of a Young Man with a Violin
John Closterman (1660–1711) (circle of)
Oil on canvas
H 108 x W 76.2 cm
Keble College, University of Oxford
The Violin Teacher c.1875–1890
Federico Andreotti (1847–1930)
Oil on canvas
H 31.4 x W 25.7 cm
Glasgow Life Museums
Girl with Violin c.1940
Edward Le Bas (1904–1966)
Oil on card
H 64.5 x W 54 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre
Arthur Angle, Cardiff Musician, Playing the Violin early 20th C
British School
Oil on canvas
H 90.5 x W 75 cm
Cardiff Council
Man Playing a Violin 1930
George Findlay McKenzie (active 1930–1937)
Oil on canvas
H 50 x W 60 cm
University of Edinburgh
Hatwell's 'Gallopers': Woman Playing the Violin c.1890
Henry Whiting (c.1839–1931) (attributed to)
Oil on panel
H 80 x W 50 cm
The Fairground Heritage Trust
Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) 1870
Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (1811–1889)
Oil on canvas
H 150 x W 110.5 cm
Royal College of Music
The Violin Player 1888
Charles Fairfax Murray (1849–1919)
Oil on canvas
H 219.7 x W 157.5 cm
Walker Art Gallery
Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) 1932
Mamie Macdonald Christie (1904–1984)
Plaster
H 44 x W 41 x D 26 cm
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)
John Thomas Willy (1812–1885), English Violinist 19th C
unknown artist
Watercolour & chalk on paper
H 50.7 x W 40 cm
Royal Academy of Music
Albert Sammons (1886–1957) 1950
Alexander Akerbladh (1886–1967)
Oil on canvas
H 64.5 x W 53 cm
Royal College of Music
The Hand of the Violinist 1912
Giacomo Balla (1871–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 78.3 cm
Estorick Collection, London
The Last Violin (The Markevitch Concert, Florence) 1951
Derek Hill (1916–2000)
Oil on canvas
H 33 x W 22 cm
National Trust, Mottisfont Abbey
Explore artists in this Curation
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George Adolphus Storey (1834–1919) -
John Moir (c.1776–1857) -
Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) -
British School -
Henry Whiting (c.1839–1931) -
Matthews -
Mamie Macdonald Christie (1904–1984) -
Arnold Gerstl (1888–1956) -
Hugh Howard (1675–1737) -
Marc Chagall (1887–1985) - View all 47