John Milton Playing an Organ to Oliver Cromwell and his family

Lithograph of John Milton Playing an Organ to Oliver Cromwell and his family at Hampton Court. The print is based on a painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-1868), one of a pair (with 'The first soiree of Charles II at Whitehall') which were original exhibited together at the 1858 Munich Exhibition. An ordinance dated 9 May 1644 prohibited music in divine worship except for the singing of psalms. It stipulated that all organs be removed from churches and chaples. One organ built in 1637 and initially housed in Magdelen College Oxford, was moved to Hamptonn Court Palace by order of Oliver Cromwell sometime between 1654 and 1660. Milton, according to tradition, played on this organ.