The Old Violin  1886

by William Michael Harnett

The Old Violin is one of Harnett's most famous paintings. The subject is deceptively simple; a violin, a sheet of music, a small newspaper clipping, and a blue envelope are shown against a background formed by a green wooden door. The painting is also a work of multi–layered meanings involving the relationships between illusion and reality, between old and new, and between...
Size: 
96.5 x 60 cm (38 x 23 5/8 in.)
Medium: 
Oil on Canvas
Credit: 
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington