Mozart and Salieri – A Theatre Painting
Watercolour on paper
During a recent stay in Auroville, I attended a performance of Pushkin's Mozart and Salieri.
This painting depicts Salieri watching as Mozart encounters a blind street fiddler playing an aria from The Marriage of Figaro.
What interested me was the relationship between the figures and the theatrical space - the lighting, shadows and atmosphere of the stage.
As the painting developed, the figures became more prominent than I had initially imagined. Yet I wanted the surrounding space to remain equally alive, rather than becoming merely a backdrop.
A painting of a theatrical performance about music - one art form interpreting another.
Write a comment