Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #jamesmcneillwhistler, aggregated by home.social.
Van Gogh Museum hosts Whistler exhibition until 10 January
The Van Gogh Museum is hosting Whistler. Dandy and Disruptor from 16 October 2026 to 10 January 2027…
#Netherlands #Nederland #NL #Europe #Europa #EU #Amsterdam #artexhibition #artmuseum #JamesMcNeillWhistler #Museumplein #Tourism #Travel #VanGoghMuseum #Whistler.DandyandDisruptor
https://www.europesays.com/netherlands/55286/
Whistler at Tate Britain
Back to the hotel for a short siesta after spending most of the day at Tate Britain, where there is a special exhibition of works by and about James McNeill Whistler. The main collection at Tate Britain is free, but the Whistler exhibition costs £24 to see. It’s well worth it though.
The first picture shows Whistler’s famous portrait of his mother, who seems to be holding court. My favourite pieces, however, the Nocturnes, two of which I have mentioned on this blog before. There are three shown below, but photographs don’t do them justice at all. The appearance of the paint when seen close up is quite remarkable, a sort of translucent quality to it even when the picture is very dark. Whistler was one of the first artists to really master painting in the dark without using moonlight or other obvious illumination.
The last of these is particularly interesting to me. When the great American songwriter Billy Strayhorn saw the beautifully evocative painting (above) of one of the bridges over the River Thames, it inspired him to write an equally evocative song to be performed by his longstanding musical collaborator and friend Duke Ellington. The song was written in 1941, but it was only years later that he realized that he had named it after the wrong bridge. The painting was of Battersea Bridge; but he had named the song Chelsea Bridge, a much less romantic location. Chelsea Bridge is an intriguing tune, based on minor sixth chords voiced via their third inversions, it sounds almost atonal but very evocative, just like the painting.
In one of the video segments played during the exhibition we hear the actor Anton Lesser quoting Whistler with words the effect that he saw colours like notes on a keyboard; he started naming his paintings after musical works, e.g. “Symphony in White” before he got to his masterpieces, the Nocturnes.
I wrote about another of the Nocturnes here. Nocturne in Black and Gold, in the same series as the third picture above, is famous for having been at the centre of a libel case. The influential art critic John Ruskin hated it and accused Whistler of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”. Whistler sued for damages (though he couldn’t really afford to). He won the case against Ruskin, but the outcome was financially disastrous for him because he was awarded only one farthing in damages and was bankrupted.
Tate Britain has an extensive permanent collection of primarily English art from about 1600 onwards, not least a huge collection of works by J.M.W. Turner. It’s fascinating to see so many of these together, charting this extraordinary artist’s evolution from brilliant if conventional upstart to pioneering impressionist. Along the way Turner’s interest in conventional themes began to wane in favour of the interplay between sea and clouds, to the extent that his works began to look like abstracts. There is in my mind a strong influence on Whistler. This one, ostensibly a seascape with a distant shore, reminds me of Rothko.
#BillyStrayhorn #ChelseaBridge #JMWTurner #JamesMcNeillWhistler #JohnRuskin #TateBritain
"Green and Blue: The Dancer," James Abbott McNeill Whistler, c. 1893.
Whistler (1834-1903) was famous for disdaining moral didacticism in painting; he believed in art for art's sake. Which is why the famous painting of his mother, being viewed as a sentimental tribute, would infuriate him; it wasn't, it was just an exercise in color.
When he painted this, he was living in Paris and was at the top of his career, doing commissions for many wealthy collectors as well as winning the esteem of many critics as well. (Except famous art critic John Ruskin, who gave a Whistler painting a derisive review, prompting Whistler to sue for libel...he won, but only a tiny sum.)
One of his fascinations in this period was the female form in diaphanous drapery, caught in dramatic poses. This worked well for him, experimenting with color and tone, while paying tribute to Greek and Japanese art, which he loved.
From the Art Institute of Chicago.
James McNeill Whistler was more than just a combative ‘coxcomb’ – The Art Newspaper
“Some artists get put in a place that you can’t get them out of,” says Carol Jacobi, the…
#NewsBeep #News #Artsanddesign #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #CA #Canada #Design #Entertainment #Exhibitions #JamesMcNeillWhistler #tatebritain
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/680144/
https://www.europesays.com/ie/492789/ James McNeill Whistler was more than just a combative ‘coxcomb’ – The Art Newspaper #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #ArtsAndDesign #ArtsDesign #Design #Éire #Entertainment #Exhibitions #IE #Ireland #JamesMcNeillWhistler #TateBritain
https://www.europesays.com/uk/971495/ James McNeill Whistler was more than just a combative ‘coxcomb’ – The Art Newspaper #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #Design #Entertainment #Exhibitions #JamesMcNeillWhistler #TateBritain #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.europesays.com/britain/40504/ James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain #Britain #JamesMcneillWhistler #MaudFranklin #PortraitOfTheArtist'sMother #TateBritai #Victorian
A tale of two Annas: Van Gogh’s favourite Whistler painting stars in Tate Britain show – The Art Newspaper
James McNeill Whistler’s portrait of his mother, now his best-known painting, will be a highlight of Tate Britain’s…
#NewsBeep #News #Artsanddesign #AdventureswithVanGogh #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #Design #Entertainment #JamesMcNeillWhistler #TateBritain #UK #UnitedKingdom #VincentvanGogh
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/590272/
https://www.europesays.com/uk/963251/ A tale of two Annas: Van Gogh’s favourite Whistler painting stars in Tate Britain show – The Art Newspaper #AdventuresWithVanGogh #Britain #England #GreatBritain #JamesMcNeillWhistler #london #TateBritain #UK #UnitedKingdom #VincentVanGogh
Das Bild, das Whistler ruinierte – Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket,
James MacNeill Whistler malte er während seines Aufenthalts in London eine Reihe von Nachtansichten, seine „Nocturnes“. Eine davon brachte ihm den finanziellen Ruin.
The Last of Old Westminster, 1862, James McNeill Whistler
#art #JamesMcNeillWhistler
Was steckt hinter dem Gemälde, das Mr. Bean einst zerstörte? https://andrepitz.de/2024/08/04/the-canvas-sucht-nach-der-bedeutung-von-whistlers-mother/
#ArrangementInGrauUndSchwarzPorträtDerMutterDesKünstlers #ArrangementInGreyAndBlackTheArtistSMother #filme #gemälde #JamesMcNeillWhistler #kunst #TheCanvas #VideoEssays #WhistlerSMother #WhistlersMutter #youtube
Whistler etching. For links to high-res image & more info, see my Lines and Colors post: http://linesandcolors.com/2023/11/20/eye-candy-for-today-whistlers-black-lion-wharf/ #art #etching #whistler #whistleretchings #london #19thcenturyart #jamesmcneillwhistler #printmaking #blacklionwharf
James Abbott McNeill Whistler💫
#art #jamesmcneillwhistler #tonalism
James McNeill Whistler, Artist's Studio (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #americanart #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13213
Blue and Silver: Boat Entering Pourville, 1899 #jamesmcneillwhistler #impressionism https://www.wikiart.org/en/james-mcneill-whistler/blue-and-silver-boat-entering-pourville
James McNeill Whistler, Man with Donkey and Reclining Boy (Recto); Two Areas Blocked in Blue: Head of Man, Female Head and Head (Verso) (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #jamesmcneillwhistler #metmuseum https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13259
James McNeill Whistler, Thomas Winan's Family (from Sketchbook), ca. 1854–55 #themet #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13291
James McNeill Whistler, The Two Doorways, 1879 #museumarchive #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.artic.edu/artworks/80131/
James McNeill Whistler, Pour Boire (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #jamesmcneillwhistler #americanart https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13275
James McNeill Whistler, Captain Cuttle (a Character from Charles Dickens's "Dombey and Son") (from Sketchbook), ca. 1854–55 #metmuseum #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13219
James McNeill Whistler, Lady in Gray, ca. 1883 #jamesmcneillwhistler #americanart https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13245
James McNeill Whistler, Little Wapping (The Little Rotherhithe), 1861 #themet #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/372526
James McNeill Whistler, Monk (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #jamesmcneillwhistler #themet https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13267
James McNeill Whistler, Leg (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #americanart #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13247
James McNeill Whistler, Woman Carrying Basket (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #jamesmcneillwhistler #themet https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13305
James McNeill Whistler, Sketches of Wheels, Drums (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #americanart #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16009
James McNeill Whistler, Christ and Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #jamesmcneillwhistler #americanart https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13221
James McNeill Whistler, Museum Interior (?) with a Man Seated, 1901 #jamesmcneillwhistler #metmuseum https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459515
Nocturne in Blue and Gold Valparaiso Bay, 1866 #whistler #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.wikiart.org/en/james-mcneill-whistler/nocturne-in-blue-and-gold-valparaiso-bay-1
James McNeill Whistler, Partial Text from Letter (?); Autograph (from Sketchbook), 1854–55 #metmuseum #jamesmcneillwhistler https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16014
James McNeill Whistler, Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, after 1872 #jamesmcneillwhistler #metmuseum https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13008
