Music in Art

 

Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) Le Violoniste à la fenêtre (The Violinist at the window), 1918.

Henri Matisse traveled to Nice in 1918 to concentrate on his art. He settled alone while
his wife and three children stayed in Paris.  In this painting Matisse returns to the 
motif of the window.  He uses black and some other heavy colours. He also takes up the
theme of Music which he has done in many other of his art works. Music was used a lot in
this time period for painting.  Music was a subject so dear to Matisse as he was a
violinist who played everyday.  In this respect Le Violoniste à la fenêtre can be 
interpreted as a self-portrait. The artist is playing to a window which Matisse wants to 
represent.

Taken from the George Pompidou Centre, Paris.

 

 

Frans Van Mieris the Elder (1635 – 1681) A Woman playing a Lute, 1663.

Van Mieris trained with Gerrit Dou and became one of the best known Dutch Fine Painters,
who were famous for their meticulous and highly finished style.  He faithfully depicted
a specific type of lute, popular in the Netherlands and in the British Isles in the 2nd 
half of the 17th Century, and the correct positions of the fingers playing.  It has not
been possible yet to identify the music on the song sheet. 

Taken from the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.

 

 

Salvador Dalí (1904 – 1989) Partial Hallucination Six Apparitions of Lenin on a Piano, 1931. 

Salvador Dali was a Spanish Catalan Painter best known for his bizarre images in 
surrealist work.  Surrealism attempts to portray, through contrasting and illogical 
imagry, the landscapes of the subconscious mind.  Dali was able to display a natural 
artistic gift and curiousity that never seemed to diminish even in his older age.  
Partial Hallucination Six Apparitions of Lenin on a Piano is one of his many works
in which he uses music as an artistic element in his work, this showcases his
vision of the world. 

Taken from the George Pompidou Centre, Paris.