Captivating Moments of Music in Art

Painted masterpieces that explore popular musical themes used by artists

King David Playing the Harp (1622) by Gerrit van Honthorst. Oil on canvas, 81 × 65 cm. Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands. Image source Wikimedia Commons

Music has always been a popular subject of paintings, thanks to the ability of artists to describe the meaningful, irresistible and often passionate connection we share with music.

What art can do is draw our attention to aspects of music that lie outside of the audioscape itself: the ambience, the setting, the way music features in our lives and its effect on the listener.

In this regard, painting has much to teach us…

Enchanting Harmony

Ancient Roman floor mosaic showing Orpheus charming the animals with his music. Originally from Palermo, now in the Museo archeologico regionale di Palermo. Image source Wikimedia Commons

If we reach back to antiquity, one of the first musicians was the Greek Orpheus. So talented was he that almost everyone who heard him sing and play fell in love with him, including Eurydice — who would become his tragic lover.

The ancient Roman mosaic shown above depicts Orpheus sitting beneath a tree playing his stringed lyre, taming the animals with his music, wild and domestic alike. The beauty of his music was said to even charm the trees and rocks, and here the entranced animals draw close to him, blithely unaware of…