The Musicale
Stacy Tolman
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
“Musicales,” social evenings featuring music making, and their depiction in painting were exceedingly popular during the late nineteenth century among the upper classes, interested in demonstrating their cultivation and dedication to an artistic lifestyle. Departing from the typical parlor setting, Stacy Tolman relocated the musicale to the artist’s studio, lending the scene a bohemian ambiance. He also pictured himself as the violinist, evoking classical comparisons between music and visual art. The pale green palms and parasol hanging at the upper left may be a nod to late nineteenth-century Japanism, a fascination with Asian art that influenced the Aesthetic Movement.
Caption
Stacy Tolman (American, 1860–1935). The Musicale, 1887. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 46 in. (92 x 116.9 cm) frame: 46 1/8 x 56 x 3 3/4 in. (117.2 x 142.2 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 51.211. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Musicale
Date
1887
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
36 1/4 x 46 in. (92 x 116.9 cm) frame: 46 1/8 x 56 x 3 3/4 in. (117.2 x 142.2 x 9.5 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower left (traced over weaker signature): "Stacy Tolman / 1887"
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Accession Number
51.211
Frequent Art Questions
Stacy Tolman was based in Boston when he painted this, and he liked to depict artists and musicians at work. The setting is most likely the studio he shared with another artist.
Artists in the 1880s often decorated their studios with beautiful objects that they had collected on travels, to show that they were very cultured, and other interesting things that they might want to use as props in their art. For example, there's an Asian parasol on the wall in this scene.Westerners (including Americans) were very interested in Japanese art, in particular, during this time. You will see other Asian-inspired furniture and objects near this painting.Did the artist actually know how to play the violin?
I wonder if Stacy Tolman actually could play the violin! The person he depicts playing the cello is actually Bicknell, an artist who was a friend of Tolman and also a talented cellist, so if Tolman could not actually play the violin, he is putting himself in good company!
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