Symphony in White, No. 3
Symphony in White, No. 3 | |
---|---|
Artist | James McNeill Whistler |
Year | 1865–67 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 51.4 cm × 76.9 cm (20.2 in × 30.3 in) |
Location | Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham |
Symphony in White, No. 3, is a painting by
Though Whistler started on the painting in 1865, he was not ready to exhibit it publicly until 1867, when it went on display at the
Background
James McNeill Whistler was born in the United States in 1834, the son of George Washington Whistler, a railway engineer.[1] In 1843, his father relocated the family to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where James received training in painting.[2] After a stay in England, he returned to America to attend the US Military Academy at West Point in 1851.[3] In 1855, he made his way back to Europe, determined to dedicate himself to painting. Here he settled in Paris at first, but in 1859 moved to London, where he would spend most of the remainder of his life.[4] There he met Dante Gabriel Rossetti and other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who would have a profound influence on Whistler.[5]
It was also in London that Whistler met
Creation and reception
Whistler started on Symphony in White, No. 3 perhaps as early as July 1865.
The work was greatly admired by Whistler's colleagues, including
In the "Symphony in White No. III." by Mr. Whistler there are many dainty varieties of tint, but it is not precisely a symphony in white. One lady has a yellowish dress and brown hair and a bit of blue ribbon, the other has a red fan, and there are flowers and green leaves. There is a girl in white on a white sofa, but even this girl has reddish hair; and of course there is the flesh colour of the complexions.[11]
Whistler was always belligerent in his response to critics. He wrote a letter to the editor that the newspaper would not print, but was later reprinted by Whistler himself in his book The Gentle Art of Making Enemies:
How pleasing that such profound prattle should inevitably find its place in print!...Bon Dieu! did this wise person expect white hair and chalked faces ? And does he then, in his astounding consequence, believe that a symphony in F contains no other note, but shall be a continued repetition of F, F, F ? . . . Fool![14]
The painting was originally bought by the wealthy art collector Louis Huth, who later also commissioned Whistler to paint a portrait of his wife.[15] It is in the ownership of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, in Birmingham, England.[16]
Composition and interpretation
Symphony in White, No. 3 shows Heffernan reclining on a sofa with her head rested on her hand, while Jones is seated on the floor, leaning against the sofa. There is a fan on the floor, and a plant bearing white flowers on the right. The fan is an oriental element, and an expression of the artistic trend known as Japonisme which was then prevalent in European art.[16] At the time, Whistler was greatly influenced by his friend and colleague Albert Joseph Moore. The painting bears close resemblances to Moore's roughly contemporary painting A Musician, though at the time the two were working so closely together that it is hard to ascertain exactly who influenced whom.[9]
The painter
In 'Symphony in White, No. 3,' we get the culbute. A bad picture, lâchons le mot, badly composed, badly drawn, badly painted, the low-water mark of the old manner, before the birth of the new. Folds of drapery are expressed by ribbons of paint in the direction of the folds themselves, with hard edges to them. Only painters can quite understand the depth of technical infamy confessed in this last description. It means that the drapery is no longer painted, but intended.[17]
To Whistler himself, however, the painting was not old-fashioned, but rather an expression of something new and innovative. By naming it Symphony in White, No. 3, Whistler highlighted his emphasis on composition, rather than subject matter. The use of a musical title was also an expression of the theory of corresponding arts, which was an idea developed by the French poet Charles Baudelaire.[12] These tendencies became more and more dominant in Whistler's art over time. His two earlier paintings Symphony in White, No. 1 and Symphony in White, No. 2 had originally been titled The White Girl and The Little White Girl respectively, and later been renamed by the artist.[18] Whistler had originally intended to call this work Two Little White Girls, but the development of his artistic philosophy made him change his mind, and from the time of its first exhibition it has been called by its musical title.[19][20]
References
- ^ Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 3–6.
- ^ Weintraub (1974), pp. 6–9.
- ^ Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 26–31.
- ^ MacDonald (1999).
- ^ Spencer (2004)
- ^ Spencer (1998), p. 309.
- ^ Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 41–3.
- ^ Weintraub (1974), pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b c Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 152.
- ^ Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 151.
- ^ a b Weintraub (1974), p. 128.
- ^ a b c Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 166.
- ^ Reff (1977), p. 13.
- ^ Whistler (1890), p. 45.
- ^ Anderson & Koval (1994), pp. 183.
- ^ a b "Symphony in White, No. III". Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ^ Sickert (2002), p. 185.
- ^ Craven (2003), p. 342–3.
- ^ Weintraub (1974), p. 127.
- ^ Taylor (1978), p. 32.
Sources
- Craven, Wayne (2003). American Art: History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-141524-6. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- MacDonald, Margaret F. (1999). "Whistler, James (Abbott) McNeill". Grove Art Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- Reff, Theodore (1977). "Degas: A Master among Masters". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 34 (4): 2–48. JSTOR 3258697.
- Sickert, Walter (2002) [1908]. Anna Gruetzner Robins (ed.). Walter Sickert: The Complete Writings on Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926169-5. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- Spencer, Robin (1998). "Whistler's 'The White Girl': Painting, Poetry and Meaning". JSTOR 887886.
- Spencer, Robin (2004). "Whistler, James Abbott McNeill". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36855. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Taylor, Hilary (1978). James McNeill Whistler. London: Studio Vista. ISBN 0-289-70836-2.
- Whistler, James McNeill (1890). The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. William Heinemann.