Inventing the Music of Beauty

Ginny Ruffner, Inventing the Music of Beauty, 1991, glass, oil paint, colored pencil, and ink, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ann and Thomas Cousins, the James Renwick Alliance, and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1992.81
Copied Ginny Ruffner, Inventing the Music of Beauty, 1991, glass, oil paint, colored pencil, and ink, 10 1⁄2 x 21 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄4 in. (26.7 x 55.0 x 33.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ann and Thomas Cousins, the James Renwick Alliance, and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1992.81

Artwork Details

Title
Inventing the Music of Beauty
Artist
Date
1991
Location
Dimensions
10 1⁄2 x 21 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄4 in. (26.7 x 55.0 x 33.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ann and Thomas Cousins, the James Renwick Alliance, and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
glass, oil paint, colored pencil, and ink
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1992.81
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1992.81

Artwork Description

Ginny Ruffner believes music is very visual, and sees a conductor of an orchestra as the very embodiment of the way music moves and flows. The figure in this piece, copied from Michelangelo’s Libyan Sibyl in the Sistine Chapel, has a posture similar to that of a conductor, and the flowing lines in the background create an abstract music stave.

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