James Abbott McNeill Whistler
One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time
1843-1903
American born British Tonalist Painter
Stylistically influenced by the following painters and movements - The Pre-Raphaelites , 18th Century Japanese Prints, Gustave Courbet, Francisco de Goya, Classical Greek Art and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Cause of Death - Heart Failure, he is buried at St Nicholas's Church in Chiswick, London.
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A eccentric genius, Whistler forged his own artistic path. He was a colorful, original personality who enjoyed his celebrity status to the hilt. Often parading about the streets of London sporting a flamboyant hat, dressed in a avant-garde suit that he designed himself, wearing a large diamond stickpin and a monocle. The painter was surrounded by the leading writers, artists, intellectuals and society dandies of the day. Whistler became famous for his lavish dinner parties that unusually ended with several guests rushing out in tears. One of his best friends was the great English playwright, Oscar Wilde, with whom he traded barbs on a regular basis. Whistler is considered the Andy Warhol of his day.
Description of the Tonalist Painting Style and Technique
Tonalist style is rooted in the French Barbizon movement, which emphasized atmosphere and shadow. The unifying factor is that all the colors in the tonalist palette are nearly the same value, resulting in an understated and harmonious composition. Resulting in a understated and compelling overall effect. The tonalist subject matter is never entirely apparent; their is no effort to communicate a message or narrate a story. Instead of relating a story, each sensitively chosen color, composition, and line is arranged to create an intriguing visual poem.
The interiors of tonalist paintings are generally elegant and sparsely decorated, tonally uniform, simplified and indistinct; the figures are usually presented alone in silent contemplation. Landscapes are typically luscious and luminous with evocative atmospheric effects featuring misty backgrounds illuminated by moonlight. Tonalists painters were drawn to both the natural and spiritual realms. They sought to awaken the viewers consciousness by shrouding the subject in a misty indistinct veil of emotionalism. The palette is minimal, characterized by warm hues of brown, soft greens, gauzy yellows and muted grays. Preferred themes were evocative moonlight nights and poetic, vaporous landscapes. Tonalist painters seemed to favored unconscious states and psychological experiences over reality.
Principle Painters of Tonalism Movement
Ralph Albert
Blakelock American,
1847-1919
Thomas Wilmer Dewing
American, 1851-1938]
Robert Swain Gifford
American, 1840-1905
Alexander Thomas
Harrison
American, 1854 -1929
Lowell Birge Harrison
American, 1854-1929
George Inness
American, 1825-1894
John
La Farge
American, 1835-1910
Arthur Frank Mathews
American, 1860-1945
John Francis Murphy
American, 1853-1921
Albert Pinkham Ryder
American, 1847-1917
John Henry Twachtman
American,1853-1902
Julian Alden Weir
American,1852-1919
James Abbott McNeill
Whistler
American, 1843-1903
Key terms and phrase associated with Whistler's style - obscured details, single-figure themes, the natural and spiritual domain, waking, monochromatic , sleep, dreams, death, aura, religious implication, emotionalism, emotionalists, pictorial space, compositional space, diffused light, incandescent glow, organic forms, artistic inspiration, illusionist representation, luminous, transcendentalist, glowing, metaphysical, sensitive expression, poetic, evocative
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