Lélio: The Aeolian Harp, from Hector Berlioz, sa vie et ses oeuvres

Hector Berlioz created Lélio, a work incorporating both music and spoken text, as a sequel to his Symphonie Fantastique. Like its predecessor, Lélio tells the story of a failed love affair, but it also describes the artist’s turn to music as an antidote to his heartbreak. This lithograph depicts Lélio’s fifth song, in which the artist listens to an Aeolian harp. Played by the wind, this wooden instrument served as an important symbol of artistic inspiration during the Romantic era.