Schoenberg was immediately taken by the idea and visited the museum three times over the course of six months to conceptualize the work.
Ultimately, eight of Picture Studies's movements would be based on four paintings, three photographs, and one sculpture—all by different artists.
2," Kurt Baasch photograph "Repetition," Vincent van Gogh's painting "Olive Orchard," Wassily Kandinsky's painting "Rose with Gray," Alexander Calder's sculpture "Untitled, 1937," Joan Miró's painting "Women at Sunrise," Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph "Atlantic Ocean, Cliffs of Moher," and Francis Blake's photograph "Pigeons in Flight.
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, the music critic Timothy L. McDonald of The Kansas City Star highly praised the piece, remarking, "Schoenberg's work is a gem, employing a broad palette of orchestral colors and musical forms.
McDonald continued, "Whether the sensuous melody of the 'Olive Orchard,' the jaunty whimsicality of 'The Three Pierrots' or the explosive rhythmic brutality of 'Kandinsky,' Picture Studies captured a remarkable variety of moods.