Title: Battle scene (oil painting)

Description: This allegorical painting was inspired by the battle music in Richard Strauss’s famous tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Heroic Life). The music is beautiful but also has a harsh atonal edge. Here the battle is fought by crystalline shapes rather than by soldiers. It's raining, and in the immediate background of the battle rise "great balls of fire." However, these are transformed into golden curls about the hero (represented by the upright sword-like object at far right), reminding him that his lover awaits should he prevail in battle. The painting contains three "signatures" of fluid-dynamics: shock waves, sound waves, and ripples on a liquid surface. Can you find them? Oil on canvas, 24x36”, 2010.

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Web Page: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5103925006865519809&ei=PYoJS5C3BKCM2wLylYTpDg&q=%22richard+strauss%22#

Contributed By: Gary S. Settles