Musical Compositions

Do you enjoy going to concerts? Or do you prefer streaming your favorite song in your bedroom? Do you and your friends talk about music? Are you in a band?

Whether you’re playing an instrument, singing, listening quietly, or dancing along, music is a form of personal expression. The tunes we enjoy and the way we experience them vary a lot and always have. Over time, music’s role in culture has changed, and visual artists have documented these changes as they happened.

Do you like concerts? Or dancing to your favorite song? Do you talk about music with friends?

No matter how you experience music, it helps you express your personality. Music also plays an important role in culture, which has changed over time. Many visual artists have documented these changes.

Music has been part of celebrations and other aspects of culture for centuries. By the mid-1800s, music became a status symbol for a new wealthy class created by industrialization. We can learn a lot from the ways artists painted elite members of society experiencing music.

In his 1870 painting The Orchestra of the Opera, above, French painter Edgar Degas captures the glamour of attending an opera, which was a way for the newly wealthy to socialize with “the right kind” of people. Degas emphasizes the value high society placed on music by focusing on the orchestra in the foreground.

For centuries, music has been part of celebrations. In the mid- 1800s, it became a status symbol. A manufacturing boom made more people wealthy. This gave them access to more kinds of music.

Edgar Degas was a French painter. He made The Orchestra of the Opera, above, around 1870. Attending an opera was expensive. It was a way for the newly rich to mingle with other people like them. Degas paints the orchestra in the foreground. This shows how much the wealthy valued music. 

French painter Auguste Renoir, who was part of the Impressionist movement like Degas, depicts another new wealth signifier in his 1892 work Two Young Girls at the Piano, above. Knowing how to play an instrument was a sign—especially for girls—that you were from a family that could afford to buy instruments and hire music tutors. Renoir’s use of soft, layered colors and glints of light creates a quiet sense of luxury.

The painting above, Two Young Girls at the Piano, is another example. Auguste Renoir, another French artist, made it in 1892. At the time, learning how to play an instrument was a sign of wealth. Renoir uses soft, layered colors and glimmers of light to show luxury.

Unlike opera and private recitals for the wealthy, folk music has always been for everyone. In many cultures, people passed folk songs down from one generation to the next. They were typically performed by just one or two people who sang or played homemade instruments.

When Russian artist Marc Chagall was growing up, a local fiddler performed at gatherings such as weddings, the birth of a child, and funerals. In his 1913 work The Fiddler, above, Chagall emphasizes the importance of folk music in his community’s traditions and values by placing the fiddler in the center of the village. What message do you think he communicates by depicting the fiddler at a larger-than-life scale?

Unlike opera and private music lessons, folk music has always been for everyone. Many cultures have their own styles. Folk songs are passed down from one generation to the next. They’re often performed by one or two people who sing or play homemade instruments.

The artist Marc Chagall grew up in a Russian village. A local fiddler performed folk music at events like weddings and funerals. Chagall painted The Fiddler, above, in 1913. He placed the musician in the center of the village. The fiddler’s scale is larger-than-life. This shows how important folk music was to his community.

With industrialization, many people left small farming communities behind and moved to cities. As cities grew, people sought new venues for entertainment. In his 1943 work Nightlife, above, American artist Archibald John Motley Jr. depicts the lively excitement of socializing and dancing to swing music at a nightclub in Chicago. Swing grew out of jazz, which was created by Black musicians in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.

In Motley’s painting, no musicians are visible, but it’s easy to imagine the melodies filling the space as the figures dance across the scene. No single individual is the focal point. Instead, dancers fill the composition, creating a collective rhythm and excitement. The nightclub is not just the setting but the star of the scene.

Look at the paintings shown here. What would you paint to show music’s role in culture today?

As manufacturing took off, many people moved to cities for work. As cities grew, people looked for new types of entertainment. American artist Archibald John Motley Jr. painted Nightlife, above, in 1943. It depicts a lively crowd dancing to swing music at a nightclub in Chicago.

You can’t see any musicians in Motley’s painting. But it’s easy to imagine their melodies filling the air. No single person in the nightclub is the focal point. Instead, dancers fill the exciting scene.

Look at the paintings shown here. How do they illustrate the different roles music can play?