"Eine Symphonie" - Kupferstich von Julius Ernst nach dem Gemälde von Moritz von Schwind aus dem Jahr 1852, München, um 1856

Throughout all his life Moritz von Schwind was occupied with turning musical motives into illustrations. His painting "Eine Symphonie" (A symphony) from 1852 was, so he said, inspired by Beethoven's Choral Fantasy (op. 80) in honour to the composer. In his painting, Schwind combined allusions to Beethoven's compositions with technical elements he had derived from the musical structure of a symphony.

The lowermost of the four illustrations that constitute the painting refers directly to Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. The diverse ensemble depicted by the painter is meeting at a spa location to make music. According to Schwind, the type of ensemble clearly reveals which composition is being performed here. A wreathed Beethoven bust in an elevated position under a baldachin in the background also emphasises the hint to Beethoven. Partially, the displayed persons are depicted in the form of memory portraits: On the left edge, Franz Grillparzer, Michael Vogl, Josef von Spaun and Franz Schubert are pictured. The conductor in the upper part of the scene resembles Franz Lachner, and the singer among the group of people in the front, who has just risen from her seat to perform a solo part, can well be likened to Caroline Hetzenecker. Sitting at the piano is Maximiliane Brentano. Schwind himself can be found next to the pianist, turning the sheet music pages for her. However, the painter did not portray himself as a young man but as a man aged around 50, thereby mixing present and past in the scene.

Whereas the lower part of the painting clearly refers to Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, the ornate frame around the main scenes expresses the atmosphere of the composition. In several letters to his friends Moritz von Schwind explained in detail the complex concept behind his work, over and over again emphasising the relation to the nature of Beethoven's music. Thus, he interpreted the last movement of the Choral Fantasy as a song of praise for the joys of nature's delight. In detail, the following motives can be found: The lockets around the second scene show the times of the day: on the left morning and evening, on the right noon and night. Between the lockets a rectangle in landscape format shows nymphs revitalising sick people, alluding to the refreshing effects of spa treatments. The scenes are surrounded by trees with riders and grotesquenesses on the side, derived from the character Artemis of Ephesus.

Finally, Schwind sets his painting in a larger mythological-cosmologic context by integrating numerous allegoric depictions in the frame. In the lower right and left corner next to the concert scene two Christian saints in grisaille technique can be seen. One of them is Saint Cecilia, the patroness of musicians. Between the lowermost and the smaller scene in the middle Cupid and Psyche are depicted, both shackled. The formal centre of the composition, i.e. between the second and third scene, shows Ganymede, whom Schwind interpreted as a symbol of spring awakening, surrounded by cupids next to and above him, playing music. The arch-shaped upper frame of the painting is decorated with allegories of the four winds, Notos, Zephyros, Euros and Boreas, and between them little scenes representing the seasons.

While Schwind relates the atmosphere of his work to Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, using it as a starting point for the story told in his painting, the size and content design of the central scenes refer to the structure of classic symphonic compositions. Just like the four movements of a symphony, Schwind's pictorial sequence consists of four parts. Concerning size and arrangement, the individual pictures are in line with the traditional structure of a symphony. The above mentioned concert scene, stretching over the whole width and almost a third of the inner area's height, marks the starting point. It shows one of the singers rising from her seat in order to perform a solo part, thereby catching the attention of a young man among the audience pictured in the upper right corner. The second scene shows how the young couple meets again in the woods, however, there is no direct contact established between them. Instead, the scene is calm and lyric, therefore clearly corresponding to the Andante movement of a symphony. The third frieze-like picture shows couples dancing at a masked ball. In the middle, in a flower-wreathed alcove, the two main characters are pictured together, the young man declaring his love to the young singer. With its serene nature and the dance scenes the sequence meets the requirements of a symphony's third movement. The happy end of the story told by Schwind, i.e. the symphony's finale, is displayed in the semicircle illustration in the upper part of the painting. In size and meaning, it can well be compared to the introductory scene. Here, the young couple is returning from their honeymoon, looking upon their future blissful residence, set faraway in a bucolic landscape.

Because of its complexity, the painting "A Symphony" can well be called the most outstanding piece of pictorial music interpretation of Moritz von Schwind's oeuvre. Originally, the painting was to be hung on the wall in a music room dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven. As its counterpart, painter Schwind had planned a similar painting dealing with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Magic Flute", however, this painting was never realised. Only some studies and a larger watercolour sketch of it are kept at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. (S.B.)