Description
Ode to Joy
74 cm, oil on canvas
My painting takes its name from one of Beethoven's most famous works, Ode to Joy, the text of which was written by the German poet Friedrich Schiller in 1785. The work is the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with four soloists, choir and orchestra.
The Council of Europe made Ode to Joy the national anthem of of Europe in 1972.
It draws attention to how important is to practice the qualities of love, such as devotion, acceptance, tolerance, self-sacrifice,altruism, brotherhood.
My painting was inspired by this, but I wanted to approach these from a light-hearted side, so I used four different monkeys with funny faces as they indulge in singing. They symbolize unity despite their differences in this painting.
