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Honthorst has posed two boisterous musicians in flamboyant attire behind a ledge. Looking out beyond the frame, the male violinist bows his instrument with great vigour while singing. His smiling female companion accompanies him on the lute. Directly behind this engaging couple, an adolescent boy lifts his roemer of wine on high, as if to toast their efforts. The setting of the scene can be identified as a brothel.
Honthorst based the theme of the painting, the theatrical headgear, and the strongly-lit, half-length figures on works by Caravaggio, who had many followers in the Netherlands.
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