Mystic Music
The painting, with its eloquent subtitle “Boy dying”, conveys an impression of weakness and pain. In a dark room, on a simple bed, is depicted a dying boy playing the violin. In the middle of the painting dominates the huge figure of the angel of death who, with his wings spread out, gently welcomes the boy into his arms. Next to his bed there is a chair, on which is placed a jug of water; just behind, in the twilight light of the room, a crucifix appears. Diefenbach wants to emphasize the caducity of human life and the frivolous and ephemeral character of existence. The last gesture of the child, expected by the angel of death, is to play the violin, instrument able to raise the soul itself through its vibrations. He “first intones his sorrow and nostalgia for life, and after the tears and suffering he trincera and cradles himself in heavenly dreams that help his thirsty soul to overcome the moment.” This is how the Master described the work on the occasion of the 1903 exhibition at Villa Camerelle and added: “Woe and dishonor, blasphemy of humanity against you, who allow this misery!”.
© MINISTERO DELLA CULTURA

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