Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
'I was inspired to pair "Notre Dame" by Maximilien Luce and Claude Debussy's "Syrinx" because they both transcend the subject matters that inspired them. The viewer of this painting doesn't have to actually be familiar with the magnificent Notre Dame to appreciate the beauty of this painting and in Debussy's piece, one doesn't have to be familiar with the actual story of the work to appreciate this beautiful example of Impressionism in music.'
—Demarre McGill
Trained as a printmaker, Maximilien Luce was first noted as a painter by the critic Félix Fénéon, who coined the term Neo-Impressionism to describe a new school of landscape painting based on “scientific” principles of color, in contrast to Impressionism’s largely instinctive attempt to capture the fleeting and spontaneous effects of light. Like his fellow Neo-Impressionists Seurat and Signac, Luce experimented with the separation of colors into individual, contrasting dots on the canvas.
Virtual SDMA+ Art of Elan is a series of short online experiences pairing The San Diego Museum of Art permanent collection with the thoughtfully curated music of Art of Elan. Building on the 13-year partnership between the two arts organizations, the video series features short musical responses to works of art that are meant to inspire and uplift the community. Art of Elan has chosen six prestigious musicians to kick off the series.
Virtual SDMA+ Art of Elan online concerts will be shared on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. PT on SDMA YouTube.
June 9 – Kate Hatmaker, violin – Virgin and Child with Saint John by Francisco de Zurbarán (1658)
June 23 – Demarre McGill, flute – Notre Dame by Maximilien Luce (ca. 1900)
July 7 – Julie Smith Phillips, harp – In the San Felipe Valley by Charles Reiffel (1927)
July 21 – Keir GoGwilt, violin – Doors I by Claudia Fernández (1998, published 2001)
August 4 – Rose Lombardo, flute – Las Tres Virgenes Volcano at Sunset by Eliot Furness Porter (1966)
August 18 – Stephanie Richards, trumpet – Circle, Blue-Violet by DeWain Valentine (1978)
SDMArt.org/virtual-sdma-plus & ArtOfElan.org
Featured: "Syrinx" for solo flute by Claude Debussy performed by Demarre McGill
Maximilien Luce. "Notre Dame," ca. 1900. Oil on canvas. Gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Maxwell Gluck. 1985.77.
'I was inspired to pair "Notre Dame" by Maximilien Luce and Claude Debussy's "Syrinx" because they both transcend the subject matters that inspired them. The viewer of this painting doesn't have to actually be familiar with the magnificent Notre Dame to appreciate the beauty of this painting and in Debussy's piece, one doesn't have to be familiar with the actual story of the work to appreciate this beautiful example of Impressionism in music.'
—Demarre McGill
Trained as a printmaker, Maximilien Luce was first noted as a painter by the critic Félix Fénéon, who coined the term Neo-Impressionism to describe a new school of landscape painting based on “scientific” principles of color, in contrast to Impressionism’s largely instinctive attempt to capture the fleeting and spontaneous effects of light. Like his fellow Neo-Impressionists Seurat and Signac, Luce experimented with the separation of colors into individual, contrasting dots on the canvas.
Virtual SDMA+ Art of Elan is a series of short online experiences pairing The San Diego Museum of Art permanent collection with the thoughtfully curated music of Art of Elan. Building on the 13-year partnership between the two arts organizations, the video series features short musical responses to works of art that are meant to inspire and uplift the community. Art of Elan has chosen six prestigious musicians to kick off the series.
Virtual SDMA+ Art of Elan online concerts will be shared on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. PT on SDMA YouTube.
June 9 – Kate Hatmaker, violin – Virgin and Child with Saint John by Francisco de Zurbarán (1658)
June 23 – Demarre McGill, flute – Notre Dame by Maximilien Luce (ca. 1900)
July 7 – Julie Smith Phillips, harp – In the San Felipe Valley by Charles Reiffel (1927)
July 21 – Keir GoGwilt, violin – Doors I by Claudia Fernández (1998, published 2001)
August 4 – Rose Lombardo, flute – Las Tres Virgenes Volcano at Sunset by Eliot Furness Porter (1966)
August 18 – Stephanie Richards, trumpet – Circle, Blue-Violet by DeWain Valentine (1978)
SDMArt.org/virtual-sdma-plus & ArtOfElan.org
Featured: "Syrinx" for solo flute by Claude Debussy performed by Demarre McGill
Maximilien Luce. "Notre Dame," ca. 1900. Oil on canvas. Gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Maxwell Gluck. 1985.77.
