Eine Symphonie
Moritz von Schwind (1804-1871)

Eine Symphonie,

1852
Material / Technology / Carrier
Öl auf Leinwand
Dimensions of the object
168,8 x 100 cm
Department
19. Jahrhundert
Genre
Malerei
Inventory number
WAF 1017
Acquisition
1878 aus dem Nachlass König Ottos von Griechenland erworben
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek München
Citation
Moritz von Schwind, Eine Symphonie, 1852, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/y7GEJ5v4PV (Last updated on 22.01.2024)
Schwind's painting "A Symphony", which functions on several levels, was conceived as a wall decoration for a music room. In a richly framed four-part picture sequence, the story first unfolds about the love of a young man for a singer. Below, their first encounter during a house concert is depicted; above that, their re-encounter during a walk in the woods, and above that a scene where he declares his love during a costume ball. The story is finally brought to a close with a scene during the honeymoon of the freshly married pair. The four scenes are furthermore related to the four movements of Beethoven's Fantasy for Piano, Orchestra and Choir in C major, a performance of which is depicted in the bottom panel. The individual scenes are architecturally framed, and the entire composition is divided into different zones through the use of decorative grotesque elements. In this manner Schwind follows the classical wall-fresco tradition that, in turn, is oriented on antique Roman-Pompeian wall-painting. Schwind has, as well, added smaller related scenes. The painter Runge also used a similar method of ornamentation in his work "The Lesson of the Nightingale".

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