Symphonie Funèbre

Name/Title

Symphonie Funèbre

Entry/Object ID

76.14

Artwork Details

Medium

Acrylic on Canvas

Context

Credit Line: Purchased by the Canton Museum of Art

Made/Created

Artist

Joseph R. Hertzi

Date made

1975

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Frame Size

Height

48-1/2 in

Width

48-1/2 in

Dimension Description

Image Size

Height

48 in

Width

48 in

Interpretative Labels

Label

Hertzi grew up in a house of music, and many of his Op art works reflect this, likely painted to the music that they were named after. "Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale (Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony)," Op. 15, is the fourth and last symphony by the French composer Hector Berlioz, first performed in 1840 in Paris. It is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for military band. The French government commissioned the symphony for the celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the July Revolution which had brought Louis-Philippe I to power, for which it was erecting the July Column in the Place de la Bastille. Berlioz claimed to have completed the entire score in just 40 hours, pulling much of the musical material from unfinished works.