The artist Manuel dos Santos painted 14 portraits of two celebrated classical music composers, Bach and Vivaldi, over a period of approximately two months of inspiration, completing them almost consecutively. The portraits were dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, and Antonio Vivaldi, an Italian composer.
The title of the work contrasts the personalities of the two musicians, presenting Bach as "the stern German" and Vivaldi as "the smiling Italian". This distinction reflects the characteristics that the author highlights in each composer through their pictorial representations.
According to the author, Bach's portrait stands out with a "very assertive" expression, conveying the seriousness and intensity typically associated with the German composer. In contrast, Vivaldi's portrait is described as presenting "a type of smile", capturing the vibrancy and joy attributed to the Italian composer.
