Max Klinger (1857–1920)
“Alte Liebe” (“Old Love”) from Brahms-Phantasie (Brahms Fantasy)
Etching with aquatint, 1894
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
“Alte Liebe” (“Old Love”) from Brahms-Phantasie (Brahms Fantasy)
In his Brahms-Phantasie, the symbolist artist Max Klinger combines graphic images with musical scores inspired by the works of the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) to create a series of “fantasies.” Klinger presented his illustrations for Brahms’s music to the composer, his close friend, on January 1, 1894. The first part of the book includes illustrations to five songs, including this one titled “Old Love.” Weaving together music and song, Klinger portrays birds swooping between the lines of the score, a reference to the opening lines of “Old Love,” which read: “The dark swallow returns from a distant land.”
: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Co…
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
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