Monteverdi, “Ah, dolente partita!”

Aroosa Cheema, Political Science and History, 2021

I chose the painting “Drowning Girl” by the American pop-artist Roy Lichtenstein as my visual piece. While listening to Monteverdi’s “Ah, Dolente, patrita!” I was struck by the emotion and drama (verging on melodrama) of the piece, and that same melodrama and subject matter of separation is present in the painting. In addition, Lichtenstein’s pop art gave text a prominent position on the canvas just as the word painting of the madrigal directed the audience’s focus towards the actual lyrics being sung. The song has a large dynamic range with both high and low voices dominating the song at different moments, and that range is represented by the sharp contrast between white and black and the gradations of gray in the piece. Finally, the crashing waves in the painting mirror the individual singing voices in that they are part of a cohesive whole but are also distinct and dynamic in their positions relative to each other.