Lighting the scene was quite easy. Original painting had the light coming from the left so I just tried to match that with a direct light. I used two omni lights as specular only plus a spotlight to light up the area behind the tambourine.

Rendering & Post:

Final render took around 25 minutes at 648x975 resolution. I am never too keen on post production so I only corrected the colors a bit and sharpened it up. My goal was never to go for photorealism. I just wanted to capture a feeling of something that was old and used. I hope someone finds this article useful as I really enjoyed working on this little project. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me.

William Michael Harnett (1848 - 1892):

American painter, William Michael Harnett was born in Ireland but raised in Philadelphia. In 1869, he moved to New York and remained there for most of his later life except for a six-year stay in Europe from 1880 to 1886. His preferred still life subjects were firearms and musical instruments. Initially his work was popular with the general audience but dismissed by critics. However, in 1940, he was recognized for his strong compositions. Original Painting was painted in 1889 and is now held in City Art Gallery in Sheffield, England.