A self-portrait

I love this picture of a French spinet from the 1760s. The colour scheme is quite lovely and the cantilever legs are such fun. My first harpsichord-type instrument was a French type leg-of-mutton spinet. It was much plainer than the one in the picture, and had a simple trestle stand, but it was beautifully elegant both in tone and appearance.
There is so much that I enjoy about eighteenth-century music and art. The emphasis was entirely on beauty. Classical models were either adhered to, or used as a starting point. I love the classically simple lines and the rococo lightness and asymmetry of the above instrument. In a way it reminds me of the simplicity of appearance of a Georgian terrace of houses.
If someone were to ask me 'If you were a musical instrument, which one would it be?', I would reply that I'm a rather battered old spinet. I love the elegance of simplicity. I would feel quite at home in a cultured household  of the Enlightenment. I would be in heaven, playing all the beautiful music that had been composed for me. I say battered because I'm getting a bit long in the tooth now. I also feel ravaged by the experience of coming to terms with myself, and the many difficulties I have experienced along the way. However the one constant in my life has always been music, and harpsichord music in particular.