Symphonie Funèbre

Symphonie Funèbre
Joseph R. Hertzi

Artist Biography
Acquisition Number: 76.14
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 48" x 48"
Date: 1975
Credit: Purchased by the Canton Museum of Art

Hertzi grew up in a house of music, and many of his Op art works reflect this, likely painted to the music that they were named after. "Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale (Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony)," Op. 15, is the fourth and last symphony by the French composer Hector Berlioz, first performed in 1840 in Paris. It is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for military band. The French government commissioned the symphony for the celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the July Revolution which had brought Louis-Philippe I to power, for which it was erecting the July Column in the Place de la Bastille. Berlioz claimed to have completed the entire score in just 40 hours, pulling much of the musical material from unfinished works.