PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST’S MOTHER
Questions to arouse interest. What is the name of this picture? Who painted it? Half close your eyes and tell what part of the picture stands out most distinctly. Which part should be most distinct? (The figure, especially the head, holds the center of interest.) From this glimpse of her, describe the character and disposition of Whistler’s mother as you would judge them to be. Give reasons. What would make you think she was neat and orderly? Where is she sitting? How is she dressed? What can you see in the background?
Original Picture: Luxembourg Gallery, Paris, France.
Artist: James McNeill Whistler.
Birthplace: Lowell, Massachusetts.
Dates: Born, 1834; died, 1903.
The story of the picture. Whistler called this picture “An Arrangement in Gray and Black,” for he felt that the public could not be interested in a portrait of his mother. He said, “To me, it is interesting as a picture of my mother; but what can or ought the public to care about the identity of the portrait?” However, this knowledge of relationship has appealed so strongly to the people that by common consent the picture has been renamed by them, “Whistler’s Mother,” or “Portrait of the Painter’s Mother,” or even “Portrait of My Mother.” Then again many critics declare the picture might well be called “A Mother,” for it represents a type rather than an individual. The face seems to speak to each and every one of us in a language all can understand.
This dear old lady in her plain black dress, seated so comfortably with her hands in her lap and her feet on a footstool, has an air of peace and restfulness about her that is good to look upon. A feeling of stillness and perfect quiet comes to us, and we do not at first realize the skill of the artist in producing such an effect.
Seated in this restful gray room, she seems to be in a happy reverie of the days gone by. The simple dignity of the thoughtful figure is increased by the refinement of her surroundings. A single picture and part of the frame of another hang on the gray wall behind her. At the left we see a very dark green curtain hanging in straight folds, with its weird Japanese pattern of white flowers.
All is gray and dull save the face. This contrast brings out its soft warmth. The dark mass of the curtain with its severely straight vertical lines, contrasted with the darker diagonal mass which represents the figure of the mother, gives us a feeling of solemnity and reverence. The severity of these dark masses is broken by the head and hands. The dainty white cap with its suggestion of lace on the cap strings softens the sweet face and relieves the glossy smoothness of her hair. In her hands she holds a lace handkerchief which we can barely distinguish from the lace on her cuffs. But the hands serve as an exquisite bit of light to lead the eye back to the face, where we study again the calm and tender dignity of the figure and the mysterious beauty of those far-seeing eyes.