Friday, November 18, 2022

 James Abbott McNeill Whistler
(1834 - 1903)


James Abbott McNeill Whistler RBA  was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His signature for his paintings took the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger for a tail. The symbol combined both aspects of his personality: his art is marked by a subtle delicacy, while his public persona was combative. He found a parallel between painting and music, and entitled many of his paintings "arrangements", "harmonies", and "nocturnes", emphasizing the primacy of tonal harmony. His most famous painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871), commonly known as Whistler's Mother, is a revered and often parodied portrait of motherhood. Whistler influenced the art world and the broader culture of his time with his theories and his friendships with other leading artists and writers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Abbott_McNeill_Whistler

Whistler (self-portrait of the Artist)
1859
Etching and drypoint
22,5 x 15,1 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O653869/whistler-portrait-of-the-artist-print-whistler/


For more of Whistlers etchings:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/whet/hd_whet.htm

No comments:

Post a Comment

Julian Schnabel  (b. 1951) Julian Schnabel is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his &...