“Art is not an end in itself, but a means of addressing humanity.”
Modest Mussorgsky
As philosopher Richard Wollheim says, art is “one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture.” In its simplest manifestation, art is a form of communication that serves as a vehicle for the expression of emotions and ideas. As ideas and beliefs are culturally specific and constantly changing over time, there really is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes art. That being said, the classical branches of the visual arts are identified as painting, sculpture and architecture. Literature and poetry are considered part of the humanities or as one of the arts, while music, alongside theatre, film and dance belong to the performing arts. In this section you will discover not only specific explorations of individual art forms, but also a more detailed probing of the relationship between the visual arts and music, including painting and music, sculpture and music and architecture and music. Originally, poetry and music were treated as a unity, but gradually they have become more independent. Nevertheless, the two art forms have never forgotten their shared genetic makeup, and been intertwined for millennia. Art and music have engaged in a dynamic relationship that reveals a diverse range of human activity intended to be appreciated for their beauty.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was known for his fluid style and his use of colour and it’s those two attributes that French composer Éric Montalbetti (b. 1968) chose as the inspiration for the three vocalises for voice and clarinet he created
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) suffered from various mental illnesses from an early age. Counselors and historian suggest that his diagnosis was dementia praecox, an illness soon renamed schizophrenia. Beginning in 1849, Schumann began to suffer from auditory hallucinations, and he heard
The ceramic art of writer and potter Edmund de Waal focuses on porcelain pieces, usually in a single colour, against a plain background. The installations carry their own rhythm and, when Scottish composer Martin Suckling looked at the works from
Robert Schumann had a face-to-face encounter with Friedrich Hebbel in 1847. Hebbel had called on Schumann in Dresden while passing through. Hebbel found Schumann “not only persistently, but also uncomfortably mute.” Schumann, as he noted in his diary, however, felt
One of the problems in trying to portray a painting in music is how literal one chooses to be. Some of the most successful of the musician / artist combinations we’ve looked at in this series have dealt with modern
The poet and dramatist Friedrich Hebbel (1813-1863) grew up in abject poverty and struggled with severe health issues throughout his life. From personal experience and meticulous observations he concluded that life is “a struggle between the individual and the universe.”
Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), who died 300 years ago at the young age of 37, was one of the most original and brilliant artists of the eighteen-century. Rising from an obscure provincial background he achieved fame in the French capital, and
The influence of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) for the art world is clear – from his cubist works to his focus on mythological beings, with his effortless drawing and painting style, he created a 20th century that has never really been
