Heinz Koppel (1919 Berlin, Germany – 1980 Cwmerfyn, Wales)
The Musicians, before 1960
Tempera and mixed media on hardboard
235 x 102 cm
Heinz Koppel Picture Trust
© The Estate of Heinz Koppel
Immigrated to England 1939
This monumental painting depicts two musicians - a male cellist on the left, seen in three quarter-face, as he stands resting his chin upon his hand contemplating the female harpist, seen in profile, draped over her instrument as she plucks at its strings. The presence of a musical score to the boy's left and a music stand positioned far behind the girl, as well as the title, suggests they are engaged in a performance, yet the size, scale and positioning of the elongated and flatly painted figures, together with the presence of the harp, suggests a religious connotation, recalling the work of early Renaissance painters such as Fra Angelico and Giotto, and drawing an interesting analogy with Koppel's own earlier Annunciation (1950). Their youthful forms, the girl's white dress and red hair are also reminiscent of Mary and the Angel Gabriel in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Annunciation.
