Style Imitating Art: Katzensymphonie

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Salazar is this week’s curator with this intriguing piece of art. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Salazar chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to Salazar by Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

The artist…

Moritz von Schwind was born in Vienna on January 21, 1804.  Schwind seems to have had an idyllic and quite joyful life.  One of his pals was Franz Schubert, the composer.  Schwind illustrated some of those songs.  When Schubert died in 1828, Schwind moved to Munich.  There, he became friends with Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, a German painter.  He also benefitted from the direction of Peter von Cornelius, the director of the Munich Academy.   I couldn’t find anything saying he actually attended the Academy, but I would guess he did if Cornelius chose to take him under his wing.  King Ludwig I of Bavaria commissioned Schwind to decorate his new palace with wall paintings.  These were to illustrate the poems of Ludwig Tieck (probably as there were several Tiecks around at this time, but Ludwig was the only poet).  Can you imagine being tasked with decorating an entire palace?  I’m sure he had some help and maybe it was a small palace!  During this same time, Schwind also illustrated the works of Goethe and other writers.  He also worked on almanacs.  Throughout all this, Schwind’s name became fairly well recognized which led to more employment. 

A little more…

I guess hanging out with poets may lead you to look at everything a little more whimsically.  In 1839, Schwind was “entrusted with the new Karlsruhe academy, itself an embodiment in fresco of ideas thrown out by Goethe (source).”  He also was given full rein to decorate a villa in Leipzig with the story of Cupid and Pysche, then went on to further prove why he was called the poet-painter by designing the walls of the castle, Hohenschwangau in Bavaria with designs from Niebelungenlied (source) and Tasso’s Gerusalemme (a poem depicting a “highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade during the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099)”. 

Still more…

Around 1844, Schwind moved to Frankfurt where he created more art, including designs for the Goethe celebration.  He also created book illustrations.  In 1847, he returned to Munich and the academy where he was a professor.  By 1855, Schwind gained even more recognition when he completed a wall of pictures illustrating the “Singers’ Contest” and the history of Elizabeth of Hungary on the wall of the castle of Wartburg.  At a big music festival honoring the illustrations, Schwind was in the orchestra as one of the violinists.  He added designer of altars and windows to his resume as he worked in the Church of Our Lady in Munich.  In 1857, Schwind produced “Seven Ravens” which were based on Grimm’s fairy stories.  He also went to England so he could report to King Ludwig about the treasures the English had in Manchester.  At some point, he and his old friend, Schnorr, designed and painted glass for the Glasgow Cathedral.

Even more…

Schwind loved music.  He even said his motto was:  “I cannot live without music!”  He created our artwork as a gift for violinist Joseph Joachim’s appointment as director of Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik.  I do believe Schwind was a bit of a snarky dude because he wrote to poet and pastor Edward Mörike on January 19, 1869, along with a photograph of the sheet music. 

“I have become a musician, a musician of the future in the second higher degree. Away with the old, stiff, dry staff! Outdated, outdated, outdated stuff — I need a new, spiritualized, lively means of expression for my new, unimagined thoughts — whether it’s sounds, images or the devil knows what, it doesn’t matter — I have achieved the unbelievable. The enclosed sonata, dedicated to Mr Joachim, is a telling proof. He confesses that he is incapable of playing it — this wizard on the violin! Incidentally, it can be noted that Joachim and I belong to the famous Order of the Black Cat and that it was this inconspicuous occasion – that brought about this giant leap in music.”

Finally…

Another insider joke…Katzensymphonie can be translated as “cat symphony,” but others have said it also means cacophony or, my personal favorite, caterwauling!  Schwind was not a fan of Wagner’s bombastic style, and some believe he wrote Katzensymphonie as a response to Wagner’s music.  Of course, the symphony is completely unplayable.  But, that’s part of the fun, right?  Some say Rorschach used the sheet music as inspiration for his famous ink blots.  Schwind was a member of the Order of the Black Cat.  I’m going to link a couple of pieces about that here (you may have to click on English on this site) and here.  Moritz von Schwind died on February 8, 1871 in Pöcking in Bavaria and was buried in the Alter Südfriedhof (Old South Cemetery) in Munich.

The artwork…

I tried to find out more about the actual artwork, but all I could find was that it’s a piece of sheet music. It is held at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe in Germany. I did, however, find this cool craft the museum created during Covid. I’m betting at least two of my readers will give this a try!

My interpretation…

This is my first choice, and I think it works well for the challenge. I’m wearing the Rasgulla Luminous Maxi dress from Kantha Bae. Remember, these are all unique so I’ve linked to a random one. Believe it or not, I had ordered this before Salazar chose our artwork! It’s very long and very full. The dress has a self tie, but it’s silk so pretty much useless! I’ll find a use for it somewhere else. I pulled out my trusty leather obi belt. This allowed me to pull the dress up enough so I wasn’t tripping over the hem! The dress has pockets, but they’re kinda hard to find as the skirt is so full. I have to admit the bodice bothers me because the print doesn’t go straight across it. I think the lines as well as the repeating pattern are pretty good interpretations of the patterns of the musical staff. And, yet, I think the pattern is also random enough that it works for the various poses of the cats on our art!

The Lewk!

I had to draw up this dress so far because I kept tripping on it. You only get the barest of peeks at my boots! But, they are one of my favorites…the Leighton by Miz Mooz. These are the color, Ocean which is a very deep navy/teal color. Some would think I should have worn black. But, I wanted to wear these because they are so comfortable. I wore the brandy color to church this morning. Yes, I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon! I rarely have posts waiting in the wings! The Assuta earrings in black and white by Sylca Designs were perfect for this dress. I added two different multi-strand (?) bracelets. I’m pretty sure one came from Premier Designs while the other was from eBay. The necklace is a very old one from Brighton.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

This guy was so much fun to research.  I love that he combined both music and art.  That probably means he was very right brained.  While musical ability is most likely located in the auditory cortex, the cerebellum, and the motor cortex, artistic ability is found in different places in the brain, particularly the right prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, and temporal lobes.  But, both music and art share areas related to emotion and creativity like the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.  I also think he didn’t take himself too seriously!  So, can we talk?  Would you enjoy hanging out with Schwind?  Or, do you think he was more a pain in the butt and a little egotistical?  Would you like to hear this symphony performed?  Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Salazar your photo by 10:00 pm EST, Tuesday, November 4th. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, November 5th ! If you’re interested in joining us, consider all of your options…the colors, the textures, the feelings they evoke! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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