For this project I wanted to incorporate music as a part of art. I have been told by some people that music and art should not be combined and yet everywhere we look, the two are combined. Throughout history music has been an important part of cultures all over the world. For some it is how they tell stories while for others it is simply a part of everyday life. When we look back at the art that people of different civilizations made, many times you will see sculptures, paintings, and photographs with music, musicians and even instruments with art on it. The whole purpose of this gallery is to show that. Show that music and art can indeed be combined and it has been for quite some time already.
Double portrait of musicians (Passerotti) 1577-1579 This is as the title says, a "Double portrait of musicians." In the late 1500's music was clearly still very much a part of life. It must have been enough for the artist to want to paint two of them in the same painting. He could have also got commissioned to do it but either way it was done. This is not just a portrait, it is one of two musicians in the same painting. It must have meant something then to have both in the same painting. Music is a part of our everyday life as it was then too.
Singing Boy with Flute (Hals) 1623 In this painting from the early 1600's we see a portrait of a boy singing. He seems to be very involved with his music and you can't help but smile. This painting is part of my gallery because not only does it show a boy singing, but also because of the artist. According to the details, the artist often painted children playing or singing music. This artist decided that for most of his paintings, he would portray children as musicians/singers. He mixed music and art together and clearly it worked for him.
Princess Listening to Music (Unkown) 1775-1780 For this piece of art we see an image of a Princess who is listening to music. For as far back as history allows us to go back, we have had music in our lives. As this piece was made in the late 1700's we can see that even then music was prevalent in life and in art. Not much is known about this piece but it is beautiful and shows music and art together once more.
Nguru (nose flute) (Unknown) 1800-1900 This is a great example of music and art being combined. It is a wooden nguru, also known as a nose flute. It is an instrument that has some serious detail on it. Whoever made this flute put A LOT of work into it. The closer that you look at this flute, the more you see. There are all of these lines as well as faces that are incorporated here. This is a clear example of how music and art can literally be combined. By having all of this detail on the outside of the flute, which makes music, you have the best of both worlds.
Grand piano (S. & P. Erard) 1856 This Grand piano was made for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the middle 1800's. The piano was the center of music in their home and I can see why. Not only is it a piano but it is also a piece of artwork. All of the intricate details on the sides as well as the other parts is one heck of an art piece. The piano physically makes music and many consider music art. Then you have all of the actual paintings on the piano itself. This artist took art and music and literally combined the two together to form this beautiful piano.
The Old Musician (Manet) 1862 In this painting from the middle 1800's, we see an image of an old musician with people that the artist would have seen around his studio. This painting is so simple and yet sends such a message. According to the details of this painting, the musician is surrounded by "a gypsy girl and infant, an acrobat, an urchin, a drunkard, and a ragpicker." With that in mind, we can tell that music is something that all sorts of people listen to and is important to the overall way of life.
The Band (Burra) 1934 For this piece, we see the movement of the band with the dancers. Music is shown as a movement through not only the band but also the dancers. This relates directly to my theme because there is clearly music in this art piece but also because the artist had studied many bands to do so. He went straight to music in order to paint it.
