James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American artist who worked primarily in the United Kingdom. His Massachusetts birthplace is now a museum dedicated to him. His father was a talented driver and the family moved to Saint Petersburg in 1842 because of a good job offer. As a child, Whistler had to deal with violent episodes, seizures and periods of extreme tiredness - the drawing helped him to stay alert. He received private art lessons and attended the Russian Art Academy at the age of eleven. In 1844 he met the Scottish painter Sir William Allan, who called him a "rare genius". His brother-in-law, surgeon and painter
Sir Francis Seymour Haden , spurred him on to a career in painting and gave him his first set of water colors. After the father's death, the family returned to the United States and Whistler applied to the United States Military Academy, where he became more known for his sarcastic comments and aversion to authorities. However, he learned mapping there, which helped him to get his first job: model draftsman for military and maritime purposes.
In 1855 he traveled to Paris and studied there briefly, but preferred to study independently and to copy works of art in the Louvre. There he also met the French painter Henri
Henri Fantin-Latour , who in turn introduced him to
Gustave Courbet , leader of the Realism movement, and his circle. Among them were
Charles Baudelaire , whose theories strongly influenced Whistler, and Théophile Gautier, who inspired him to see music in art. Many of his works have names like "Arrangements", "Harmonies" and "Nocturnes". His most famous works include “Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1, better known as "Whistler's Mother", exhibited at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. At that time the work was negatively received due to a lack of sentimentality. Whistler is generally considered to be averse to sentimentality and moral allusions in paintings, he is an advocate of the "art of art sake". The artist was also particularly interested in Asian art, he studied ceramics and this is how his characteristic signature was created, which is reminiscent of a butterfly.
After the death of his mother in 1881, he adopted his maiden name as a second name. He became a member, and later president, of the “Society of British Artists”, even Queen Victoria expressed her admiration for the artist's illustrations. He made other important friendships with
Monet ,
Rodin and
Toulouse-Lautrec . All in all, he counts as inspiration for several generations of artists in Europe and the USA and had a lively exchange with impressionists, realists and symbolists.
© Meisterdrucke
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.jpg "Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 (Portrait of the Artists Mother) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket, 1875 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
 - (MeisterDrucke-249945).jpg "Nude Figure Reclining, c.1885-88 (etching on paper) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Caprice in Purple and Gold: The Golden Screen, 1864 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne- Blue and Silver by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Storm, 1861. by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
 (see also 88677) - (MeisterDrucke-151305).jpg "Symphony in White, No. III, 1865-67 (including frame) (see also 88677) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Sunset: Venice, c1880 1903-1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Green Cap by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Moreby Hall, c1883 1904. by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "A Nude Study, c1864, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Portrait of Charles Lang Freer by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Balcony, 1879, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Angry Sea, 1884, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne in Grey and Silver, the Thames by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler, 1871-73 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Storm, Sunset, 1880, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Two Ships, 1875, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Little Court, c1881, 1904 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Palaces from The First Venice Set, 1879-1880 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Savoy Pigeons, 1896, 1898 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-570038).jpg "Early Morning, Battersea, 1861 (drypoint) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Purple and Rose- The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Black Lion Wharf by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Portrait of Whistler with a Hat, 1857-59 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne: Grey and Silver - Chelsea Embankment, Winter, c.1879 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "The Piazetta, plate from The Second Venice Set or Twenty-Six Etchings, 1879-1880 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Venice by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
.jpg "Nocturne: The River at Battersea, 1878 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler")
