We Set the Tone: Pictures of Music from Mantegna to Matisse

A selection of about 100 beautiful musical works will be on display at the Kupferstichkabinett, including works by Andrea Mantegna, Wassily Kandinsky, Edvard Munch, and Gerhard Altenbourg. The recurring motif in the exhibition is the special affinity between musical and pictorial expression. In musical notation, for instance, many of the basic elements of the graphic arts such as lines, initials, and abbreviations capture the fleeting sound of a melody – music, in short, is drawn. And on the other hand, in the prints and drawings on display here, the dancing, flowing, or staccato strokes of the pen, pencil, or burin are strongly reminiscent of musical rhythms and harmonies. Find out more about the ‘We Set the Tone’ exhibition from the Kupferstichkabinett’s website.

Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here

The Knife Launcher (Der Messerwerfer) (1947), Henri Matisse. © bpk, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jörg P. Anders

The Bacchanal with the Silen (c. 1473–75) Andrea Mantegna. © bpk, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Volker-H. Schneider

Study of different musical instruments (c. 1514–15), Giovanni da Udine. © bpk, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jörg P. Anders

Design for an Organ (1527), Peter Flötner. © bpk, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jörg P. Anders

Violin Concerto (1903), Edvard Munch. © bpk, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Dietmar Katz