The manuscripts show that the boys are practicing madrigals celebrating love, and the eyes of the lutanist, the principal figure, are moist with tears-presumably the songs are of the sorrow of love rather than its pleasures.
The manuscripts show that the boys are practicing madrigals celebrating love, a point underlined by the cupid and the grapes, and the youths are painted with a langorous sensuousness. The eyes of the lutanist, the principal figure, are moist with tears-presumably the songs are of the sorrow of love rather than its pleasures.