Music History through Paintings | Community Music School

From Caravaggio’s The Musicians (1595) to Picasso’s Three Musicians (1921) and Andy Warhol’s Beethoven print series (1987), painters have been fascinated with capturing musicians practicing their art for hundreds of years. Focusing on the lives of both visual artists and musicians, we will study the history of music as represented in art. We will take one painting as our central focus for each class meeting as we study the most memorable musical works from that region and moment in history. Although it is impossible—in most cases—to hear the exact musical moments depicted in these paintings, exploring the contemporary musical scene in the presence of visual art will encourage a deeper understanding of music’s connection to contemporary society. We will also examine paintings that directly inspired musical works such as Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress (1734-35), Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa (ca. 1829-33), and Hogarth’s collection of illustrations.

The School of Music's Community Music School is open to all members of the community. To register for the course, click here.

Registration fees are $200 for the entire course (includes all class meetings). If you wish to register for an additional Community Music School course, each additional course is offered at a discounted fee of $150. All course fees directly benefit the School of Music. Please note that this is not a UF credit-bearing course.

This class is taught by Emily Theobald.