Whistler

by Sandra Forty

Although American by birth and heritage, James McNeill Whistler spent most of his life in western Europe, particularly in Paris and London, where he lived his life in a swirl of controversy over his art and his often self-aggrandizing behavior, which tainted his associations with fellow artists and the public. His guiding principle was “art for art’s sake” meaning that the artist should only work to please himself. Whistler’s tonally disciplined palette distinguishes his painting from all other artists and provides his work with sophistication and elegance. He was a leader in the Aesthetic Movement and frequently wrote and lectured about his ideas on art and philosophy. Common themes were landscapes and portraits. Whistler often gave his works generalized titles, such as Arrangement in Grey and No.1 , better known as Whistler’s Mother , in order to emphasize his belief in the importance of line over color, composition over content. Whistler also frequently titled his works using words such as symphonies, harmonies, compositions, and arrangements. Throughout his long and somewhat contentious professional life, Whistler steadily produced outstanding works of art held today in the world’s most prestigious museums

Genres: Art

Library Binding

First published January 2, 2014

About the author

Sandra Forty is a graduate of London University where she studied medieval and early modern history, including a spell at the Courtald Institute learning about Renaissance art from Professor Gombrich.

Since then she has worked as a journalist in London, then as a book editor and writer.

She is the author of a number of books, most on art and architecture.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up to know I have known James MacNeill Whistler only by his iconic painting of his mother. So when I found this booklet at bargain price, I decided to learn more about him.



The real name of this painting is “Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1”. This title already tells of the extravagancy that characterised the life and to some extent also the oeuvre of this artist. American by birth he spent most of his life in London and Paris. His temper and caustic wit were legendary. Following his motto Art for art’s sake he fell out with almost all his friends and sponsors.

At the same time, he created extraordinary pieces of art. I was impressed by his brought rage of techniques, painting, oil painting, (chalk and) pastel, watercolour, charcoal, and etchings. He put his focus on tone and composition to the extent, that one of his admirers described his work style as if the portrait were hidden within the canvas and the master by passing his wands day after day over the surface evoked the image.

There are only 9 pages of text in this booklet and the reproductions of the painting are rather small and dark. Still, it is a good and speedy entry to the Whistler’s work, but I will need to read more and certainly see the real paintings. Some of my favourite ones in this book:

Symphony in White, No. 2, 1864, Tate Britain


Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso, 1866, Tate Britain

Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland, 1871-1874, Frick Collection, New York

[Ettore Pasquini · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is small but it has a nice thick matte paper, hardback cover and it gives you an idea of the greatness that Whistler achieved.

Whistler in many of his portraits creates some amazing ethereal figures. They have a quality that makes them almost ghost-like: men and women emerge from a dark canvas, sometimes barely visible, their face the only defining human feature. And even there, the paleness and unusual skin texturing sometimes reminded me of zombies. In all cases, they just stand there, haunting you. I don't particularly even like portraits but these are quite unique, and this little book does a decent job at bringing out this otherworldly trait that does exist in the original: matter of fact, I bought this book after seeing "Nocturne: Blue and Gold-- Southampton Water" at the Art Institute of Chicago (an amazing museum btw) which called for me from across the room. His landscapes are equally atmospheric, if not more, and while the Nocturne quoted above is not featured here, many others are.

A brief history of Whistler's life is present at the beginning of the book.

[Angel Bebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting as far as getting a glimpse into the painter's life before creating the paintings. The book had a small preface in which it talked about his family life and his life. It also talked about many of the backstories behind his paintings and I thought it was extremely interesting to read that first and then see the photos knowing the story behind them. It makes the photos come alive in a much better way. I think the reason I often don't read books that have art because it doesn't have the same meaning if there is no explanation for the paintings. I really liked it because it was a way for me to immerse myself in this man's life and his paintings and really even think like him. It allowed me as a reader to see the world through his eyes. I thought it was very interesting and it made me feel worldly after reading this. I would definitely purchase more books like this.