22 Artist Sketches

Last month I’d posted a painter/artist song compilation that was well received plus generated a lot of comments with more possible candidates, thanks Crab Devil, Richard, and One Buck Guy.

All in all a good reason to come up with a follow up collection including some of those suggestions plus some serious Indiana Jones digging throughout the Net…

The end result is a 22 track CD (for those who still burn them!) covering this time a wider variety of musical styles & borders…

 

Karel Appel and the Cobra Art movement get a brass band tribute by José Manuel Ferreira Brito.

Another Karel Appel track goes noise, psych-rock, pop, and experimentation courtesy of Poem Rocket…

A virtually unknown American band - Verbatim - released a one-of Hieronymus Bosch song in 1969.

Salvador Dali pops up twice, first in Death By Chocolate’s Murder Mystery followed by The Death Of Dali’s Psychoanalyst as sung by Ellen Foley.

M.C. Escher also appear two times, by Italian pianist Gianluca Taglietti (who dedicates a whole album to Escher!) and by a German prog-rock band named Kraan.

Rene Magritte is perhaps responsible for some Electric Angels’ strange times.

Johannes Vermeer gets the Jonathan Richman treatment while mentioning Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen as will.

2x Andy Warhol; by Dana Gillespie covering Bowie and a very different original song by Trevor Sensor.

David Hockney's Diary is the subject of Television Personalities.

Piet Mondrian (and Erik Satie!) are used for Ken Vandermark’s Furniture Music, while Don Douglas & assorted friends’ version reaches dizzy heights…

Leonardo da Vinci goes orchestral thanks to Ennio Morricone.

Wassily Kandinsky is sung and whistled(!) in Spanish by a band called Fellini.

A portrait of Vincent van Gogh is described by Rolf Hermsen and Mathilde Santing Ensemble as part of a 1986 art exhibition project called La Grande Parade (subtitle: 11 Songs Based On 10 Paintings Played By 39 Musicians From The Netherlands).

Toulouse Lautrec is subject of a 1983 single by Dutch vocal duo Saskia & Serge.

Pablo Picasso’s Surrealistic Hands and paintings are lots of fun according to Claudia Phillips while Neil Diamond is focusing on his last painting.

Edward Munch’s Model By The Wicker Chair is getting an instrumental treatment by Juan Martin & Mark Isham, part of their 1986 Painter In Sound album.

Maurice Utrillo is used as a framework for The Watchman’s song.

 

Enjoy!

12 Artist Sketches

Over the years I’d noticed songs about artists passing by, the classic being Don McClean’s Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) of course but also The Modern Lovers’ Pablo Picasso (was never called an asshole)…

Occasionally other blogs came up with similar related music such as Farq’s False Memory Foam with his post about Robert Callender’s Le Musée de l'Impressionnisme, absolutely brilliant/bonkers! Once we start talking/writing/thinking about Art these two adjectives often go together very well indeed!

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark released in 2019 The Punishment Of Luxury which included Art Eats Art, a short song listing loads of artists & composers…

All this seemed a good enough reason to put together an ‘artistic’ themed compilation!

 

Pablo Picasso had to be the The Modern Lovers’ one but performed by Burning Sensation instead. 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is borrowed from Farq’s blog (thanks man!), but we got a prog rock tribute to this painter by Clearlight as well!

Henri Rousseau is rendered as a beautiful ambient piece by Midori Takada.

Paul Gauguin also shows up twice, in a song by Jimmy Webb and as an instrumental by Michael Shrieve.

Winslow Homer is painted musically by Bill Frisell.

René  Magritte appears in a composition by Phil Manzanera.

Henri Matisse is thoroughly explored by the Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow Trio.

Salvador Dalí gets a fitting surrealist treatment by Pepe Deluxé.

 

Of course no compilation would be complete without some Dutch artists!

Rembrandt van Rijn is combined with Philip Glass(!) courtesy of Robert Jan Stips.

And M.C. Escher is sketched by Michael Brecker!