Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
Whistler's Mother
James McNeill Whistler · 1871
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Date
- 1871
- Where to see it
- Musée d'Orsay
Musée d'Orsay · Public domain · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake".
What do you see?
Stand in front of it for a moment. Then tell us what you noticed or felt - there are no wrong answers.
Be the first to share a thought.
