La belle homicide (Testudo)

Peter De Cleyn La belle homicide

Stoneware clay, wood, metals

(36 x 9 x 20 cm)

From TESTUDO:

"Literally: the beautiful murder.
Who kills who? Is it le vieux Ennemond Gaultier who literally goes 'under' the ax or rather le jeune Denis Gaultier ? And is it Charles Mouton who strikes? What is his motive? Is Mouton jealous of the success of his predecessors? Is he a wolf in sheep's clothing? Or is La belle homicide a femme fatale? One that seduces men before dumping them? So a murder chick. You know them: Cleopatra, Salome, Mata Hari and Carmen. Be that as it may: Charles Mouton (1617 - c.1699) is a French lutenist-composer who may have studied with Denis Gaultier, the absolute grandmaster of French lute music. Mouton worked mainly in Paris, but for a short time also in Turin, at the court of the Dukes of Savoy. In Paris, as a lute teacher, he was in close contact with the nobility. Around 1680 he published two collections of lute music. François de Troy painted a beautiful portrait of Mouton in 1690."