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This painting, originally entered in the archives of the National Gallery as a work by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, was later attributed to Cecco del Caravaggio by Roberto Longhi. The identity of the painter called Cecco del Caravaggio was unknown. He was believed to be alternately French, Spanish, even Dutch, whereas Gianni Papi identified him as the Italian Francesco Boneri (G. Papi, "Cecco del Caravaggio," Nuova Memoria, Florence, 1992).Cecco del Caravaggio (Cecco is short for Francesco) worked in Italy during the first half of the 17th century. Mancini, in "Considerazioni sulla Pittura", c. 1620, refers to a Francesco, called del Caravaggio, as an admirer and imitator of Caravaggio. It seems that the high regard Francesco had for the Lombardian painter, and his ability to imitate the master, gave him the pseudonym del Caravaggio. This painting has generated much debate over its content. Roberto Longhi chose the title Musical Instrument Maker on the basis of the round object that the young man holds in his hand, which he seems about to place on the tambourine. Besides the violin - and it's unclear whether this has been constructed or simply repaired - there is nothing else to indicate an association with this occupation. Furthermore, the array of objects in the foreground, which, aside from the violin, have nothing to do with music, heightens the mystery surrounding its theme. We see a carafe, a thin, round case, a pair of binoculars, a notebook, a rolled up map, and an unrecognizable object that could be a mirror with a cover or even a case for the tambourine. All this is arrayed on a table behind which the young man is seated on a rather ornate chair that bears no resemblance to any chair in a craftsman's workshop. The youth regards the viewer in the eye, whereas his parted lips give the impression that he is singing or even speaking to someone facing him, possibly outside the picture. The open drawer on the viewer's side suggests the (unseen) presence of someone who, in the end, is identified with the viewer.The painting's enigmatic and allegorical character allows us to speculate that it was directed towards connoisseurs - a reason why A. Cottino chose the title "Allegorical Portrait of a Youth with Musical Instruments" (A. Cottino, "La natura morta caravaggesca" in La natura morta in Italia, vol. II, p. 726). Believing that this opinion offers a better interpretation of the scene's content, we have selected the neutral title "Young Musician".Besides which, the monogram on the back of the painting, consisting of two facing "G"s topped with a crown, testifies that the painting belonged to the Medici collection and presumably could have been purchased or even commissioned by Cosimο II.After examining the Caravaggesque nature of the scene, the compositional interest, and the stylistic kinship with musical instruments found in other followers of Caravaggio, such as Antiveduto Grammatica and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, Gianni Papi dated this painting to the mid-1620s. A second version of the picture with some variations mostly in the garments, the facial expression and the position of the musical instrument held by the youth, is in the Wellington Museum in London.
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