The Colours of Music – Hart Is Run Away Blues

The musical form known as "blues" was created by African Americans following the Civil War.  Primarily a vocal form, singing the blues refers to singing about your feelings, generally melancholy due to problems of love, oppression or hard times.  An unusual aspect of this painting is that it is built on a completely hidden underpainting containing a warrant for an indentured servant in England who ran away without completing the terms of his indenture.  The original dates from 1700.  So if you were to scrape off the oil painting surface, beneath you'd find the elements of the sad song of Hart who tried to escape his harsh fate.