What was the music held by the Duke in Goya’s “José Álvarez de Toledo”? Around 1795, the Spanish painter Goya painted a picture of his patron, Don José Álvarez de Toledo Osorio y Gonzaga, 11th Marquess of Villafranca, Grandee of

Nell Shaw Cohen: The Course of Empire The English-born American artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848) was the first significant American landscape painter and was the founder of the Hudson River School in New York in the mid-19th century. Although his highly

In his 1990 opera Vincent, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) took scenes from the life of the artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and, to his own libretto, created a work that starts in the mental hospital at Saint-Rémy, where he

Alan Hovhaness’ Piano Sonatas Inspired by Paintings of Cats Cats were the favourite creatures of the Ukiyo-e (floating world) painters. They were shown in all kinds of attitudes: caught up in hunting, caught up in clothing, washing, playing, sleeping, in

Poetry and Music Inspired by “Washington Crossing the Delaware” In 1953, the New York painter Larry Rivers, considered the either Godfather or Grandfather of Pop art, took up an All-American subject, General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. To most

Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil: Le soleil One of the important elements of so much of the Impressionist landscape painting is the sun. From the very first Impressionist painting, Monet’s Impression, Sunrise the sun is important, in this case, probably the most important

Richard Blackford: 7 Hokusai Miniatures Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was an artist in ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world). This genre of woodblock prints and paintings shows pictures of all kinds of subjects: from beautiful women to caricatures of actors and

Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) Over his life, Franz Liszt (1811–1886) travelled widely. From his start in Hungary, through his first concerts as a child, his training in Vienna, his life in Paris, living with Countess Marie