Musical instruments—particularly string instruments—have always inspired painters who chose to depict them.
This is part of a broader phenomenon: the kinship between different art forms. Aesthetic sensitivity is a flow of deeply personal emotions within each individual. Psychology, sociology, and the historical-cultural context are often seen as key tools for interpretation. We search for the deeper motivations behind aesthetic interest, but after all the analysis, one fact remains: our approach to art is a reflection of our personality and refers to the very specific, unique, and unrepeatable experience of each of us.

When aesthetic suggestion triggers an artist’s imagination, it gives rise to new works. These creations are born not only of talent but also of the expressive techniques the artist has mastered and the materials they choose to work with.

Maddalena Franguelli
This is precisely the case with painter Maddalena Franguelli, who looks to violin making as a source of inspiration.
Unlike other artists—Evaristo Baschenis being a prime example—who portrayed musical instruments to immortalize their form and the settings in which they were played, Maddalena is drawn to the materiality of the instruments, the expressive techniques involved, their forms, and the world of music that finds in them a welcoming cradle.
Four different but converging themes come together here: art, regardless of the medium or technique used, when it calls upon another art form, reveals secret aspects that only art itself can grasp and express.

Materiality
The materiality of wood—the backgrounds against which the forms of string instruments stand out—evokes nature itself. Wood is a living material, and it jealously holds the potential that master luthiers are able to unlock.
Each wood has its own voice, and the luthier’s art lies in expressing it, revealing its character, and exposing its tone.
Wood leaves a visual trace of itself, such as in its flame or figuring (marezzatura). A string instrument is also appreciated for how the luthier highlights the inherent characteristics of the material. The back and top plate of an instrument, in the hands of the maker, determine its uniqueness.
And now we come to Maddalena.
In the creation of any object—or rather, any work of art—one makes use of material, or more precisely, a specific “matter,” each with its own characteristics. For example, while we may generally refer to “wood,” each board has its unique traits.
We often think that the maker simply shapes an inert material, which passively receives its identity from the creator.
But for Maddalena, this is not the case: she understands that she must identify a specific material that is not a mere support but instead enables her—through her own expressive techniques—to give form to her aesthetic intuition. Thus, the techniques she employs become expressive techniques that allow her to bring a specific artwork into being.
Like master luthiers, Maddalena engages in a “dialogue” with the material. But her dialogue differs from theirs.
Luthiers seek out the right wood that suits the tone and, therefore, the form they wish to give the instrument. Maddalena, on the other hand, searches for aged wood that enables her to objectify the visions her aesthetic imagination suggests.
This isn’t limited to old wood. It also includes antique hemp, paper, and cotton canvas. Whatever material the painter chooses to engage with, it inspires the techniques that give form to her images—sometimes producing series of different works connected by a shared theme. In this way, she creates a cohesive body of work centered on a specific subject.

Expressive Techniques
This is not merely about skill, but about a vision that explores the relationship between matter and the artist’s aesthetic imagination.
Maddalena understands—and reveals to those who view her works—that art takes form through aisthesis (αἴσθησις: perception through the senses), because sensitive perception is intrinsic to it. Each work requires a material form. Then, aesthetic experience engages the imagination, a subjective knowledge involving emotion, allowing the viewer to truly “participate” in the work—immersing themselves in it.

Forms
Thus, Maddalena’s works, though inspired by musical instruments, do not follow the precise principles of violin making, but rather her own artistic intent.
The wood figuring that characterizes a violin is irrelevant to her. She doesn’t seek sound, but rather the meaning that instruments evoke in her art. The instrument’s functional purpose is of no concern to her—she’s focused on the relationship between the instrument and music, but above all, its relationship with life—at times venturing into a search for the ultimate meaning of existence.

Dimensions and Depth
For this reason, Maddalena never represents the thicknesses (ribs or sides) of the instruments. Instead, she gives them substance by representing different planes, allowing the depth and proportions of the instrument to be perceived.
She is always aware that her goal is to “express the value of music.” For her, music is an essential art form—one that conveys human emotion as it strives to transcend the limits of rationality.

The World of Music Within the Instrument
To this end, Maddalena incorporates in her works faceless figurines, human-like forms whose meaning shifts depending on the viewer. They appear within a defined boundary, unable to leave it—as if they are destined to be part of it. The musical instrument becomes the space that allows them to exist—a kind of maternal womb.

The Image Becomes Dynamic
There’s no ambiguity in the presence of musical symbols—staves, clefs, etc. The connection between the instrument and music is inseparable for Maddalena. Music demands the sound of the instrument, which she evokes. The marks on a score call out for music, giving her work dynamism.
A parallel emerges between painting and music.
Music is dynamic: one sound gives way to the next, yet the musical piece remains a single entity. A painting is static, but Maddalena conveys her vision so that movement emerges, hinting at the nature of sound.
Thus, music flows out of the instrument, yet also inhabits it.

The Violin-Woman and Pinocchio
Alongside the faceless figures appears an emblematic figure: the violin-woman. The cycle comes full circle, only to be reopened through another figure—Pinocchio, the wooden puppet, embraced by a double bass, symbolizing...

Pinocchio and Music
A new interpretation begins to take shape—of the relationship between music (which finds its expression through string instruments) and antique wooden boards that replicate the instrument’s form—the form shaped by the luthier.Just as Pinocchio becomes a real boy, string instruments become music. Similarly, Maddalena’s painting becomes sculpture—stiacciato—as she seeks the third dimension.

Final Thoughts
Art forms continue to influence one another in an ongoing evolution, where the artist’s imagination—Maddalena’s, in this case—leaves its mark. And we, the viewers, have the joy of pausing to observe, and of participating in an art that goes well beyond harmony and elegance.