Musical Expressions

Ernst Stöhr (1860-1917), “Ver Sacrum”, #12, 1899  Source

Piano Tuner, in which a young boy and older gentlemen work together fully in unison, encases an exquisite range of detail for the inquisitive eye while also presenting an image of youthful wonder contrasted with sage expertise. With his hands firmly on the piano keys, the experienced tuner is focused on the task at hand, listening attentively to the music to make sure it is precisely on pitch. Meanwhile, to the left, a young boy, exuding a tender and youthful innocence, hits an octave to aid the tuner hard at work. Exquisite in its attention to detail, Piano Tuner highlights Rockwell’s extraordinary skills as a draftsman.

Don’t speak to me or my child, Opera bouffa, ever again! 

Music was certainly a strong motif in Honthorst’s oeuvre, where it is used and re-used to suggest flirtation, lovemaking and promiscuity. Here, it more likely alludes to the spiritual harmony and pleasures of love. Indeed, the picture typifies Honthorst’s keen sense of his audience and his skill in summoning up atmosphere. His figures, harmoniously arranged, are overtly playful and sensual, and such is their sunny countenance and engaging demeanour that is hard not to spontaneously share in their conviviality.

Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia), Collection Gallery, Room 17, South Wall Medium: Watercolor and graphite on wove paper

Al piano by Lionello Balestrieri (Italian, 1874–1958)

Ernst began as genre painter but, from 1885, he devoted himself exclusively to paintings with orientialist motifs; especially Islamic scenes, such as the interiors of mosques. He also painted harem scenes and portrayals of everyday life in North Africa, based on photographs and prints as well as his own memories from his travels in those regions.

Carolus-Duran’s son probably modelled for Goeneutte for this painting. The two artists certainly met in Paris in Edouard Manet’s studio.

One of the most beloved musically-themed posters ever created, Lotti’s work for the Bossard-Bonnel store of Rennes, in Brittany, displays a shocked Pierrot, caught as he’s trying to make off with a violin, a trombone, a baritone horn, a clarinet, an oboe, a mandolin, and a French horn, all of which were seemingly concealed inside the grand piano.

This work is an original illustration executed for Vanity Fair, ed. 54, published February 1929.

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/486846