The winter my father painted this work, most likely sometime around 1996 or 1997, he told me he had been listening intently to the entire series of Shostakovich’s string quartets. He said he added the composers name to the title because the influence of the music was so strong that the finished work had as much ‘Shostakovich’ in it as it did ‘Last Supper’.

My father loved Shostakovich's music, and not just the quartets but also the symphonies, piano music and various other works.

For those not familiar with Shostakovich's work and especially his string quartets, this link will give you a small sample of this complex and powerful music.