The thought of General Conyers playing his cello reminds Jenkins of “Dutch genre pictures, sentimental yet at the same time impressive, not only on account of their adroit recession and delicate colour tones, but also from the deep social conviction of the painter.” [ALM 72/69]

Rural Musicians
Adriaen van Ostade, ~1655
oil on panel, 15 X 12 in
Hermitage Museum
images in public domain from Wikimedia Commons

When Dutch painting flourished in the seventeenth century, painters commonly devoted themselves to scenes of everyday life, called genre paintings. Maybe Nick was thinking of something like this cellist in a painting by Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685).