Heinrich Anton Dahling was a professor of the Berlin Academy of Art, portrait artist, miniaturist, and master of religious painting. He was influenced by late classicists and early romanticists. It was no accident that he turned to the theme of singer-poets as a higher expression of genius. After all, romanticism found its embodiment in the synthesis of literature, music, and painting. The painting Singers Competition transports the viewer into the Renaissance era, inspiring memories of Rafael’s painting “Parnassus.”
The strictly constructed composition, which resembles old fresco paintings, shows the classicist tradition. The master’s romantic aspirations are seen in the portrayal of the empathy in the characters around the young blonde singer. These could be Italian singers: great poets of Ancient Rome, troubadours and lyrical poet-humanists of the Renaissance.