This was drawn 10 June 2001, copied from one of the many Greek vases depicting Greek musicians, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Greek and Roman galleries. Images of musicians like this are usually associated with drinking parties, an important festival occasion in the Greek world of that era. What intrigued me about this particular rendering was the animation the painter imparted to the image, enabling one to almost feel the musician playing the double flute they called the Aulos. I realized as I drew this that the many such paintings demonstrate the importance of musicians as artistic subjects in ancient Greece. What I did not realize was how universal such an image of a musician can be. I found out a few weeks later when I drew Rick Stone playing the soprano saxaphone at Riverside Church in Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" (inset).

Why Artists use musicians as subjects    Index to all Exhibits

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