Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Power of Music
(18th and 19th Centuries )
A letter written by the artist to William Walters dated July 20, 1860 illuminates the subject of this painting. It shows a brother and sister resting before an old tomb. The brother is attempting to comfort his sibling by playing the violin, and she has fallen into a deep sleep, "oblivious of all grief, mental and physical."
This composition exists in at least one other version, now preserved at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. A closely related reduced replica was given to the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique by a descendant of the artist. The melancholic subject's popularity is attested by its reproduction on a porcelain plaque manufactured by the Royal Porcelain Factory, Berlin.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Acquired by William T. Walters, Baltimore, before 1861; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1980 | Salute to Belgium. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/25/1980 | Treatment | varnish removed; coated; inpainted; re-framed |
Geographies
Belgium (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 22 1/2 x W: 17 1/16 in. (57.2 x 43.3 cm); Framed H: 35 1/16 × W: 29 7/8 × D: 5 1/8 in. (89 × 75.9 × 13 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1861
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.134