A Symphony, by John Melhuish Strudwick (1849-1937), seen on the right in its original gilt frame. Exhibited: New Gallery, 1903. Oil on canvas. 45 x 26 1/2 inches (114.3 x 67.3 cm.). Provenance: Richard Haworth, Blackburn, circa 1930. Images courtesy of Martin Beisly Fine Art, London (readers might like to consult their website: see bibliography below).
Commentary by Hilary Morgan
Throughout his life Strudwick worked on a series of paintings that take music as their central theme. A Symphony is among the culminating examples of these works, which also include The Gentle Music of a Bygone Day (1890, Private Collection), When Apples were Golden (1906, Manchester City Art Gallery) and closest precedent to the present work St. Cecilia (1897, private collection) which exists in a number of versions. Significantly in the present painting Strudwick has eliminated any reference to a story or individuals so that the musical theme stands alone. Music was the central metaphor in the aesthetic movement for the direct way in which paintings affected the spectator's emotions through their design and colour. Many artists in this movement made musical references in their works. It is noteworthy that Whistler titled his paintings Harmonies and Symphonies.
The present painting shows how Strudwick attains an evocative mood outside everyday reality through pictorial inventiveness. As Bernard Shaw wrote in his pioneering article on the artist: "No matter how minutely a painter copies a model in the costume of a certain period, with appropriate furniture and accessories, his labour is as nothing compared to that of a man who creates his figures and invents all the circumstances and accessories. This is what Strudwick does."
In the present painting, by drawing directly onto the canvas and then building up a series of thin glowing glazes in the Pre-Raphaelite manner, Strudwick creates both a richness and delicacy.
The caption material and Hilary Morgan's commentary here both come from Peter Nahum Ltd, London, which has most generously given its permission to use in the Victorian Web information, images, and text from its catalogues. This generosity has led to the creation of hundreds of the site's most valuable documents on painting, drawing, and sculpture. The copyright in material from these catalogues remains, of course, with Peter Nahum Ltd.
Readers should consult the website of Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries to obtain information about recent exhibitions and to order their catalogues. [GPL]
Related Material
- Burne-Jones's Influence upon the Work of John Melhuish Strudwick
- J.M. Strudwick and the Imagery of Music
Bibliography
Martin Beisly Fine Art, London.
Morgan, Hilary and Nahum, Peter. Burne-Jones, The Pre-Raphaelites and Their Century. London: Peter Nahum, 1989. Catalogue number 157.
Shaw, George Bernard. "J.M. Strudwick". Art Journal, 1891. [Text in full on the Victorian Web.]
Created 10 June 2007
Last modified 3 October 2025