Look and Listen

A painting’s composition is the arrangement of shapes and colors within a scene. In music, a composition is an arrangement of music notes. Other than the way you experience it—either looking or hearing—is there a difference between the two types of composition?

There’s a lot of overlap in the language we use to describe visual art and music. Both can evoke similar feelings in a viewer and a listener. “[Music is] freedom: Anyone can listen to it, you don’t have to pay for it, it makes you feel good, it inspires you, it uplifts you,” said American artist Keith Haring. “For me, this is art’s role.”

A painting’s composition is the arrangement of shapes and colors. In music, a composition is the arrangement of sounds. We look at one art form and listen to the other. Are there other differences?

The ways we talk about visual art and music have a lot in common. “[Music is] freedom,” said artist Keith Haring. “It makes you feel good, it inspires you, it uplifts you. For me, this is art’s role.”

In the 1860s, James McNeill Whistler painted three portraits of the same woman, collectively titling them Symphony in White. In music, a symphony is a large-scale, complex composition, usually written for an orchestra. Borrowing this term for his paintings lets the American artist articulate his idea that art should be less about telling a story and more about producing a sensory response—in other words, more like music.

In one of Whistler’s portraits, above, vertical lines in the white dress echo the folds in the creamy drapes behind the woman. She stands on a rug painted with earth tones that match her copper hair. The subtle balance of lines and colors make for a pleasing visual harmony, or unified effect, much like a symphony.

In the 1860s, James McNeill Whistler painted three portraits of the same woman. He called the series Symphony in White. In music, a symphony is a work involving many instruments. Why did Whistler borrow this word for his paintings? The American artist thought art should produce a response. In other words, it should be like music.

One of Whistler’s portraits is above. The lines in the woman’s white dress echo the folds in the curtains. The rug beneath her has earthy colors that match her hair. These similarities create visual harmony.

Artists use color, shape, and line to create visual rhythm, kind of like musical beats, in their work. What rhythm do you see in Swiss German painter Paul Klee’s 1920 Camel (in Rhythmic Tree Landscape), above?

Notice how the trees, arranged on a series of parallel lines, resemble notes on sheet music. Klee said he liked to “improvise freely on the keyboard of colors.” The artist nestles triangles within jewel-toned rectangles. The triangles act like a chord change, shifting the rhythm.

Klee was a violin prodigy before becoming an artist. How might this background have informed the way he approached painting?

Artists use color, shape, and line to create visual rhythm. Look at the 1920 painting Camel in Rhythmic Tree Landscape, above. It’s by Swiss German painter Paul Klee. What rhythm do you see?

Notice how the trees are arranged on parallel lines. They look like notes on a piece of sheet music. Klee said he liked to play on “the keyboard of colors.” The different colors and shapes create the rhythm of the piece.

Klee played the violin before he became an artist. How might this have influenced his paintings?

Stuart Davis explained that in his 1940 Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors—7th Avenue Style, above, “[the six colors] are used as the instruments in a musical composition.” The high energy of jazz and of urban life inspired the American artist.

Davis’s painting of a New York City street features white arrows, blue teardrops, yellow zigzags, orange diagonals, and more. He includes irregular, organic shapes with curving edges, as well as geometric shapes painted with sharp angles. Yet, by repeating motifs and evenly distributing colors, Davis creates balance in a seemingly chaotic image. And because he gives every part of the painting equal emphasis, none of the “instruments” take over as a soloist.

There are six colors in Stuart Davis’s 1940 painting above. The colors “are used as the instruments in a musical composition,” he said.

Davis’s painting depicts a New York City street. He uses white arrows, blue teardrops, yellow zigzags, and more. He includes both natural, organic shapes and geometric shapes, or shapes with hard edges. By repeating patterns and colors, Davis creates balance. None of the “instruments” take over—they play as one.

Keith Haring almost always played music while working in his studio, from hip-hop and rock to rap. He also loved to dance, then render movements he saw on the dance floor in his artwork. For Haring, dancing, art making, and listening to music were intertwined and joyful.

Haring often depicts people in motion, as in his untitled 1984 abstract painting, above. Zigzagging lines swirl around two figures, as if making the music’s vibrations visible. Using bright analogous colors pink, red, orange, and yellow, Haring captures the elation of being enveloped by music.

Keith Haring often played music while he painted. He enjoyed all kinds of music. He also loved to dance then depict dance movements in his artwork.

Dancing, art, and music were all connected for Haring. Look at his abstract 1984 painting above. Zigzagging lines surround two human figures. These lines capture the vibrations of music. Haring uses bright pink, red, orange, and yellow. These colors celebrate the joy of music.