There are many recurring themes and subjects that have preoccupied painters throughout the history of western art including self-portraits and identity, the reclining nude, the Madonna and child, mother and baby, heaven and hell, Greek and Roman mythology, femmes fatales, nymphs and sirens. The list is endless and art students are frequently called upon to research or study such areas and come up with original or contemporary ideas based on earlier artistic interpretations of these topics. Although I’m largely self-taught, I know someone who has been a tremendous help and inspiration in helping me gain a much wider appreciation of art history, and I am extremely indebted to her not only for this but also for the technical advice I have received from her. Rosie Gardner, a former grammar school head of art, is her name. Along with my wife, Christine, we have become very close friends during the last fifteen years and she always encouraged me with my painting. It was through Rosie’s influence that I decided to look at the art/music relationship and started to paint pictures based on music and its creators.
Sirens, mermaids and water nymphs were extremely popular subjects for Victorian artists such as John Collier, John William Waterhouse, Lord Leighton and William Etty and when studying art I read about and experienced at first hand many of these paintings. I also listened to Song to the Siren by Tim Buckley/Larry Beckett and, in particular, a cover version of this by Sheila Chandra who took part in a gig a few years ago with Galley Beggar, the band which our son Paul is in.The music is haunting and the words compelling; part of the first verse says “…and you sang “sail to me, let me unfold you, here I am, here I am, willing to hold you””. This is how I interpreted these words:
Song to the Siren
My exploration of the relationship between visual art and music through their respective histories has also focused on the converse of the above example where a musical work was inspired by the imagination of a fine artist. The majestic Eisenheim altar-piece painted in 1515 by the German Renaissance artist Matthias Grunewald prompted Paul Hindemith to write Matis der Maler (Matthias the Painter) in 1934. The more familiar symphony, which pre-dated an opera of the same name, represented three of the vibrant altar-piece panels relating to the Crucifixion of Christ including a Madonna and Child, the Entombment and the Temptation of St Anthony, all of which have been important themes in the history of European Art. The composer Hindemith was interested in the artist’s role in troubled times. For Grunewald, the backdrop was a German peasant revolt whereas with the composer it was the shadow of the rise of the Nazis, which eventually forced him into exile.
The complete panel that Hindemith used to interpret part of the music is referred to as “Angel Concert serenading the Madonna and Child” and can be heard in the first movement of the symphony which has been given a shortened title “Angel Concert.” Although the Madonna and Child/Mother and Baby theme was repeated time and again during the Renaissance (Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and many more), contemporary versions in art have been rather more scarce but there is one which has always intrigued me by Sir Peter Blake. Unfortunately I can’t show it for copyright reasons, but it is a beautifully painted traditional Madonna and Child set against the background of Trafalgar square. I’ve tried several times to tackle simple representations of a young mother and baby (not in any religious context) rather than a Madonna and Child and two examples are included here.
Denim Madonna
Intimacy
I can’t honestly say that I listened to an appropriate song or piece of music when these pictures were painted but I was certainly aware of music associated with the birth and nurturing of children and other songs dedicated to them. Apart from the obvious Christmas carols and classical music devoted to the birth of Christ there have been many popular songs written by authors about their offspring. These were simply penned as fathers or mothers of babies and young children by such writers as David Bowie Kooks, Billy Joel Lullabye (Goodnight my Angel), Stevie Wonder Isn’t She Lovely, Eric Clapton Tears in Heaven, Kate Bush Snowflake, Elbow First Steps, Adele Sweetest Devotion and a host of others. All these songs reinforced the timeless emotions of parents, the bond between a new mother or father, their hopes, fears, aspirations and above all love for their child.