The Daily Valdemar No. 17: March 29
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| Valdemar Andersen, for the satirical magazine Tik Tak, 1909. |
It accompanied a poem by Johannes Dam, who had been the first editor to hire Valdemar Andersen and his career to off from there. Johannes Dam translated Dante and Dam's own poetry incorporated a tone borrowed from the Middle Ages such as in this case the troubadour doomed to travel the hurly-burly of the market places by day, clowning on his violin for the masses with no appreciation for his artistry. In the evening, however, he returns to his beloved, takes out his violin, and plays tones only meant for her, while the open window lets his music travel long and far into the night.
The scene before us is in itself a poem. The atmosphere of truth in the music played and understood. The diamond-shaped pattern of the window is reflected in his jacket connecting him to the outside, yet the red of his trousers owns the central line of the picture plane. He belongs to the intimacy of the room away from the world. She is by no means passive either although all colours are on him. Her hands are moving through her hair, letting it cascade in movements to the flow of the music.
The intensely listening cat extends the bottom plane of the scene making room for us all to listen in.
