Beyond the Paint

Two giants of 19th-century Paris, Auguste Rodin and César Franck created masterworks of extensive range. Franck’s "Chorale in A Minor", his final composition, is the culmination of his musical work, simultaneously new and old, explosive with virtuosity, heartbreakingly beautiful with melodic sophistication. The monumental Rodin bronzes "The Thinker" (1904) and "The Three Shades" (1898) could be categorized the same way.

Artwork:

Auguste Rodin

The Thinker, 1904

Cast bronze, 72 x 38 x 54 in. (182.9 x 96.5 x 137.2 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, 1924.18.1

Photograph courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Composition: César Franck, "​Chorale in A Minor" (1890)

The English countryside calls to mind spaciousness and freedom. English composers have loved this aspect of their native land, perhaps none more than Ralph Vaughan Williams. His depiction of a lark ascending, fluttering, dipping, and gliding immediately conjures images of soaring liberty. Thomas Gainsborough’s painting, "Landscape with Country Carts", nearly 150 years earlier, seems to foreshadow what musicians would only later discover: the English countryside is evocative and beautiful.

Artwork:

Thomas Gainsborough

Landscape with Country Carts, ca. 1784–1785

Oil on canvas, 50 3/8 x 40 3/8 in. (128 x 102.6 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Collection, 75.2.8

Photograph courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Composition: Ralph Vaughan Williams, "The Lark Ascending" (1914) Arrangement by Jonathan Dimmock

English pageantry has a special place in art history, at once formal but compelling, depicting the jubilant side of military prowess. John Stanley’s wonderful "Trumpet Voluntary" was written for a solo organ demonstrating the trumpet stop. “Voluntaries” were meant to be played before and at the conclusion of church services, so called because organists were not actually paid to play outside of the services themselves. The piece matches the contemporaneous, larger-than-life painting of William Beechey’s "Master James Hatch" (1796) as he models noble military attire. Although Hatch was far too young to serve, his station groomed him for this appearance.

Artwork:

William Beechey

Master James Hatch, 1796

Oil on canvas, 73 x 52 1/2 in. (185.4 x 133.4 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase by exchange, Mildred Anna Williams Collection, 1942.10

Photograph courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Composition: John Stanley, "Trumpet Tune" (ca. 1770)

Aelst’s painting "Flowers in a Silver Vase" (16th century), with its decaying tulip blossom in the center, is a testament to the vast importance of flowers, and tulips in particular, to the economy of the Netherlands at this time in history. Next to the tulip is a yellow European chrysanthemum. Composer Joseph Bonnet’s "Lied des Chrysanthèmes" gives a musical illustration of the serene simplicity of flowers. The sweetness and quietness of the music mimics the pondering of a precious, elegant flower in full bloom.

Artwork:

Willem van Aelst

Flowers in a Silver Vase, 1663

Oil on canvas, 26 5/8 x 21 1/2 in. (67.6 x 54.6 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Hermann Schuelein, 51.21

Photograph courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Composition: Joseph Bonnet, "Lied des Chrysanthèmes" (1908)

Composition: Melchior Schildt: Paduana Lachrymae (ca. 1725)

Artwork:

Ambrosius Benson (Southern Netherlandish, ca. 1495–before 1550)

The Lamentation, 16th century

Oil on panel

25 5/8 x 31 in. (65.1 x 78.7 cm)

Museum purchase, Mildred Anna Williams Collection

1956.90

Composition: Olivier Messiaen: Apparition de l'Église Éternelle (1932)

Artwork:

Arnold Genthe (American, 1869–1942)

Untitled (Two men pose while looking at this general scene of ruin after the earthquake and fire), 1906

Photograph, cellulose nitrate negative

3 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (8.3 x 14 cm) irreg.

Museum purchase, James D. Phelan Bequest Fund

1943.407.63

Composition:

Léon Boëllmann: Prière à Notre-Dame (1895)

Artwork:

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905)

The Broken Pitcher, 1891

Oil on canvas

53 x 33 in. (134.6 x 83.8 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Bequest of M.H. de Young

53162

Composition: Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade by Modest Mussorgsky

Composition: Johann Sebastian Bach: Fugue in G minor, BWV 542,2 (1720)

Artwork:

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)

The Tribute Money, ca. 1610–1615

Oil on panel

56 3/4 x 74 3/4 in. (144.1 x 189.9 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Museum purchase, M.H. de Young Art Trust Fund

44.11

Composition: Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor: Agnus Dei (1740)

Artwork:

Franz Anton Bustelli (German, b. Switzerland, 1723–1763)

House Altar Containing a Scene of the Crucifixion, ca. 1760

Porcelain figures, cabinet of painted and gilded wood

88 9/16 x 40 3/16 x 24 13/16 in. (225 x 102 x 63 cm)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

European Decorative Arts Fund

2013.30