Sunday, March 23, 2025

 Intermezzo
16 x 20"     Oil on Linen

Whistler liked to think about his paintings in musical terms. His paintings were titled Symphony in White, Harmony in Gray and Green, and Nocturne in Black and Gold. I like to say I hear what I’m painting and often give my paintings musical titles. My Symphony in White is a large winter landscape, and I once did an exhibition of paintings that were all night scenes, 21 Nocturnes. An intermezzo in music is a short instrumental composition, often interposed between the acts of an opera or the movements of a musical work. One of the most famous is the intermezzo played between the two scenes of Pietro Mascagni’s one act opera Cavalleria Rusticana. It is often played in concert as a stand alone piece. My Intermezzo was painted after I had finished one large painting and was about to start another. I wanted a break before embarking on the second large piece and arranged this small still life. It is light and airy, with a touch of drama, has beautiful harmonies, rich color, and lovely rhythms in the brushwork. It can definitely be exhibited as a stand alone piece.    

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