Music in the Fields

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

This composition of children playing instruments against a pastoral landscape reveals Davies's eclecticism. As a former illustrator, the artist favored a limited color palette as well as strong contrasts between highlights and shadows. The warm hues, idyllic setting, and focus on female figures likely stemmed from Davies's interest in the Pre-Raphaelites. Moreover, the work's subject matter demonstrates his documented fascination for the connections between art and music. In 1895, for instance, he was quoted as saying that "painting is like music."

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