![Diego Velazquez - Three Musicians [c.1618]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/16360299110_2e8e5416d9_o.jpg)
In this painting three young men are grouped around a table eating, drinking and playing music, with intense contrasts of light and darkness around the figures. The light falls from the left, creating sharp shadows and intense highlights. Two men with stringed instruments are singing while the third, the youngest, has an instrument of his own under his arm and a glass of wine in his hand; he displays the glass with a mocking smile, pointing out the wine that inspires the musicians. In the background can be seen a monkey with a pear in hand. The monkey emphasises the grotesque nature of the scene. A loaf of bread on a napkin, a glass of wine, and a cheese with a knife stuck into it give Velázquez the opportunity to study the different textures.
[Gemäldegalerie, Berlin - Oil on canvas, 88 x 111 cm]