Lyre Guitar 1835 - 1845

This striking lyre guitar was made by Joseph-Louis Germain in 19th century France. It's an example of a hybrid instrument, combining the shapes of a lyre and a guitar, reflecting both classical ideals and contemporary tastes. The lyre guitar emerged during a period when interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture was high. It's visual codes—the lyre shape, the decorative motifs— evoke this classical past, while the guitar's fingerboard and tuning mechanism demonstrate its modernity. Consider the social function of music at this time. The French Revolution had changed the patronage system. Musical instruments such as this one catered to a wealthy bourgeois market that could afford such refined and novel instruments. Makers like Germain sold to a culture that used music as a form of social display and entertainment, often within the domestic sphere. Understanding this object requires that we consult archival resources and musical instrument histories to discover the socio-economic conditions that shaped Germain’s production. Artworks such as this one take on new meanings as we consider their broader social and cultural context.