​Students will look at the muse of musical instruments & musicians as subjects of VISUAL ART --

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​The Spirit of ’76, originally titled Yankee Doodle, was painted by Archibald M. Willard, of Cleveland Ohio for exhibit in Philadelphia during the 1876 centennial celebrations.

   For centuries, armies used music as the means to communicate the military orders of the day to soldiers. The high pitch of the fife and the sharp sound of the drum allowed messages to be heard at great distance, even through the din of battle. Boys under 16 (often following their fathers into war) and men over 50 (too old to enlist) were the musicians, usually led by a Fife and Drum Major with musical talent who would instruct them in the numerous rhythms and tunes the army depended on to maintain order in battle and in camp. During battle, drum beats indicated when to load and fire muskets, or announced which direction to turn when marching.  Fifes played tunes to indicate cease fire, or “Parley,” indicating their side’s wish for peace talks or surrender. 
   



The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso

   Pablo Picasso made The Old Guitarist while working in Barcelona. In the paintings of his Blue Period (1901-04), the artist restricted himself to a cold, monochromatic blue palette, flattened forms, and emotional, psychological themes of human misery and alienation related to the work of such artists as Edvard Munch and Paul Gauguin.
   The elongated, angular figure of the blind musician also relates to Picasso’s interest in Spanish art and, in particular, the great 16th-century artist El Greco. The image reflects the twenty-two-year-old Picasso’s personal struggle and sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden; he knew what it was like to be poor, having been nearly penniless during all of 1902.







​BAREFOOT BOY PLAYING FLUTE

   by, Norman Rockwell












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Picture



TWO GIRLS AT THE PIANO by Renoir


   In late 1891 or early 1892 Renoir was invited by the French government to execute a painting for a new museum in Paris, the Musée du Luxembourg, which was to be devoted to the work of living artists. He chose as his subject two girls at the piano. Aware of the intense scrutiny to which his submission would be subjected, Renoir lavished extraordinary care on this project, developing and refining the composition in a series of five canvases.