The musician angel 1905

Vincenzo Irolli painted “The Musician Angel” with oil on canvas. It's a very romantic scene, right? I imagine Irolli layering the paint, building up the forms gradually, and letting the texture of the brushstrokes create the illusion of detail. The ground is an indistinct mass of greens and browns. Look at the angel's face and how softly the light catches her cheek and brow, and the child’s red hair spread out like a halo. The artist might have been thinking about how to create a sense of atmosphere. It seems Irolli was part of an ongoing conversation in painting about the relationship between realism and idealism, and how painting can evoke a sense of the spiritual. What do you think he wanted to convey about music, childhood, and innocence? It really speaks to the way that we all inspire each other, you know?