Lucinde Dol (S5717671)

Reality Contested: Visual Arts 1800-1914

Veronica Peselmann and Eva Waterbolk

10-04-2024

Wordcount: 760

Louis Moritz, De Muziekles, 1808, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

The painting De muziekles or The Music Lesson was

painted by Louis Moritz in 1808. He made it with oil

on panel and is 47cm x 53cm.1 The painting presents

two women and a man. They are holding musical

instruments. The painting shows us a music lesson.

The man in the painting is teaching the women to

sing and play musical instruments. The scene seems

Figure 1: Louis Moritz, De Muziekles, 1808
to take place in a home-setting.

We can look at this painting through a feminist art historical lens. Until the end of the 19th

century, it was believed that women were not musically capable like men were, so, at the

time, they were not allowed to join any schools or classes for professional musical education.

Therefore, if they wanted to learn an instrument or sing, a private teacher would come to their

residence to teach them. Such a private music lesson is portrayed in Louis Moritz’s painting. 2

1
Rijksmuseum. “De Muziekles, Louis Moritz, 1808 - Rijksmuseum,”
2
Rijksmuseum. “De Muziekles, Louis Moritz, 1808 - Rijksmuseum,”
In 1880, George P. Upton, who was a well renowned music critic from Chicago, published a

book called Women in Music, in which he argued that women, despite their musical

capabilities, biologically lacked the inherent creativity to compose good music. He

acknowledged that women could technically compose music, but they would never be on the

same level as men. According to Upton, because women are such emotional creatures, they

can do nothing else but keep these emotions inside themselves. To express these emotions in

music is impossible for them. Meanwhile the stern and relentless nature of man allows them

to manifest their emotions via music in as if it were mathematics, cold-bloodedly. 3

It was a common belief that women could only perform music, not compose it. To be a

woman, was to entertain and nothing more. These beliefs based on traditional gender roles

confined women to domestic settings like the one portrayed in De Muziekles, and forcibly

kept their musical pursuits at amateur level. Women’s apparent lack of musical expertise,

which kept them from educating themselves, was maintained by the fact that they were denied

that professional education they sought. However, despite the protest of many academic men,

at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the music education

industry was dominated by women. Women were regarded to be fit for educating others about

music previously composed by men, through various institutions like the church or as

kindergarten teachers.4 Unfortunately, they were still not respected in their ability to compose

new music themselves. 5 Due to these misogynistic male interpretations, we have missed

many musical female talents that could have shaped and formed the art history we learn about

right now.

3
Upton, George Putnam. Woman in Music, 1886.
4
Roske, Michael. “The Professionalism of Private Music Teaching in the 19th Century: A Study with
Social Statistics.” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, no. 91 (1987): 143–48.
5
“Women Composers in American Popular Song, Page 1,”
The misogyny that De Muziekles shows is how women were not

allowed to partake in professional music education, which was

an industry which was operated only for and by men. As a

result, women who were from wealthy descend and therefore

had the means to afford private music lessons, got to be

Figure 2: Louis Moritz, De Muziekles
musically educated in that way anyways. The women in De (detail), 1808

Muziekles exude wealth, evident from their generous gowns and jewelry and the grandeur of

their surroundings. The women being portrayed like they are adds another layer for us to

consider. The painting is most probably an accidental portrayal of the gender inequality of the

19th century. It was not meant as a political comment or to make people socially aware. It was

meant to be pretty to look at. The women are dressed and posed elegantly and are objects of

admiration. Performers. On top of that, the man teaching is in the middle. He is the main

character, the man in front of the women.

De Muziekles by Louis Moritz shows us a glimpse of the reality for 19th century women. The

painting reflects women’s’ exclusion from formal musical training and when you zoom out

and look through a feminist art historical lens it also shows women’s role as performers, not

creators. De Muziekles is a product of its time, urging the viewer to look further, and

recognize the overlooked contributions of women in music history.

Figure 3: Lucinde Dol, selfie in the
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Bibliography

Rijksmuseum. “De Muziekles, Louis Moritz, 1808 - Rijksmuseum,”

n.d. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/SK-A-4037.

Roske, Michael. “The Professionalism of Private Music Teaching in the 19th Century: A

Study with Social Statistics.” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, no. 91

(1987): 143–48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40318075.

Upton, George Putnam. Woman in Music, 1886.

“Women Composers in American Popular Song,”

n.d. http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-9/thismonth/feature.php.