The good art of making enemies

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The equine art of making enemies (english The gentle art of making enemies: as pleasingly exemplified in many instances: worin the serious ones of this earth, care fully exasperated, have been prettily spurred on to unseemliness and indiscretion, while overcome by at undue sense of right , in some German-language editions also The Fine Art of Making Enemies or The Noble Art of Making Enemies ) is a book by the American painter James McNeill Whistler published in 1890 .

This book of selected correspondence and commentary is anything but "gentle".

Nocturne in black and gold: The falling rocket

The history

The painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket was created in 1874 and was exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery in London in 1877 . The critic John Ruskin reviled the work and was then sued by Whistler.

The book

James McNeill Whistler reads from The Art of Making Enemies at the Académie Carmen . An illustration by Cyrus Cuneo for Pall Mall Magazine , 1906
Whistler's signature, a stylized butterfly. Detail from Venetian Scene , 1879

Whistler worked with Sheridan Ford on this book. Among other things, it was Ford's job to do the archival work in the British Museum . However, Whistler decided not to name Ford, but to pay him off. Ford then had its own version printed first in Antwerp and then in Paris . This was confiscated when trying to import it into England. Another pirated print emerged in America but fell victim to a fire. Whistler took on the pirated title for his own book. The publisher William Heinemann set a circulation of 150 for the English market and 100 for the American market in 1890. The 2nd expanded edition appeared in 1892.

Marginal notes are used instead of footnotes or endnotes. Whistler's contributions as well as his notes in the margin are each signed with a stylized butterfly, Whistler's trademark. These are individual drawings, each adapted to the character of the entry. The butterfly also replaces Whistler's name on the book cover.

Since its publication, the book has been reprinted many times and also in excerpts.

The dedication reads:

"To The rare Few, who early in Life, have rid Themselves of the Friendship of the Many, these pathetic Papers are inscribed"

"These poor papers are dedicated to the few who freed themselves from the friendship of the many early in life"

- James McNeill Whistler : The gentle art of making enemies

Prologue

The prologue is the famous quote from influential art critic John Ruskin :

“FOR Mr. Whistler's own sake, no less than for the protection of the purchaser, Sir Coutts Lindsay ought not to have admitted works into the gallery in which the ill-educated conceit of the artist so nearly approached the aspect of wilful imposture. I have seen, and heard, much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face. "

"Mr. For Whistler's sake, no less than to protect the buyer, Sir Coutts Lindsay should not have included any works in the gallery in which the poorly educated conceit of an artist comes so close to the aspect of wanton imposture. I've seen and heard a lot of cockney flailing; but I never expected to hear a dude demand two hundred guineas for throwing a pot of paint in the face of the audience. "

- John Ruskin : Fors Clavigera, July 2, 1877

The action

The first section, The Action , is a record of the trial in Whistler's libel trial against Ruskin. However, Whistler has allowed himself some freedom with the statements. The verdict is given as briefly as possible in six words: “Verdict for plaintiff. Damages one farthing. ”The compensation for a farthing is equivalent to a quarter of a penny.

Whistler v. Ruskin: Art and Art Critics

In December 1878 Whistler first published his view of the trial, the pamphlet Whistler v. Ruskin: Art and Art Critics . The reprint of the text in the book is followed by reviews, including from Tom Taylor, editor of Punch , and replies from Whistler.

Mr. Whistler and his Critics - A Catalog

The section begins with a list of 51 short quotes from critics, the majority of which are negative. This is followed by longer texts (one to two pages each) by critics and Whistler.

The Red Rag

In 1878 Whistler interviewed The World: A Journal for Men and Women for their series Celebrities at Home :

“Why should not I call my works symphonies, arrangements, harmonies, nocturnes, and so forth? I know that many good people whose sense of humor is not very capacious think my nomenclature funny and myself eccentric .... But what do not they give me credit for meaning something, and knowing what I mean. "

“Why shouldn't I call my works symphonies, arrangements, harmonies, nocturnes and so on? I know that many good people, whose humor is not very receptive, find my nomenclature funny and eccentric ... But why don't they recognize that I mean something and know what I mean. "

- James McNeill Whistler : The World: A Journal for Men and Women, May 22, 1878, pp. 4f.

By the time Whistler added the revised interview to the book, his previous sense of humor had faded. Hence the provocative title of this section.

Mr. Whistler's "Ten O'Clock"

On February 20, 1885 at 10 p.m. Whistler gave a lecture in Prince's Hall in London, which was repeated in Oxford and Cambridge because of its scandalous success . A copy of this 10 o'clock lecture forms this section of the book.

Whistler says in this lecture that nature already contains all shapes and colors, just as the piano keyboard contains all notes. It is the artist's task to select and group so that beauty arises.

"To say to the painter, that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player, that he may sit on the piano."

"To tell the painter to take nature as it is is to tell the musician to sit on the piano."

- James McNeill Whistler : The gentle art of making enemies, p. 143

The lecture is followed in the book by a review by Oscar Wilde and replies from Whistler and Wilde. Newspaper articles and Whistler's letters to the newspapers follow.

Autobiographical

This section has been added in the 2nd edition. The short section deals with the question of how to complete a single painting.

Nocturnes, Marines, and Chevalet Pieces - A Catalog

This section is an exhibition catalog. 44 Whistler paintings are listed by name. If necessary, the respective lenders are named. In addition, reviews of the individual images are cited to varying degrees. Images are not included.

Arrangement in gray and black: portrait of the artist's mother

The last named picture is the now famous arrangement in gray and black: Portrait of the artist's mother . At the exhibition it was only available as a photograph. Negative reviews are cited over a page and a half. This is followed by a “résumé”: a series of remarks, some of which are negative, on Whistler's work. It concludes with the “moral”: a note that the gray and black arrangement has been chosen to represent modern British art in the Museé du Luxembourg in Paris .

The book ends with an index .

German editions

The German first edition was published in 1909 by Bruno Cassirer in Berlin in a translation by Margarete Mauthner. A German edition was published in Zurich in 1972. Others followed in 1984 in Zurich, Leipzig and Hanau. In 1996 the book was published again in Dresden and Hamburg.

Other uses of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

The Gentle Art of Making Enemies is an album by Near Miss and a song by Faith No More . It is also the title of a book by Hattie Spiers and Andrew Collard published by the print-on-demand service provider Lulu.com . It is also the name of an English magazine. The name is also used elsewhere in the English-speaking world.

literature

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Uneasy Pieces, David Park Curry, p. 259
  2. ↑ a b See also the article Nocturne in black and gold: The falling rocket .
  3. ^ Mr Whistler's Ten O'Clock Public Lecture, Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, February 20, 1885. The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow
  4. ^ The gentle art of making enemies, James McNeill Whistler, pp. 142f.
  5. ^ ISBN 3-257-20039-0
  6. ↑ ISBN 3-251-00037-3
  7. ↑ Leipzig; Weimar: Kiepenheuer
  8. ↑ ISBN 3-7833-6402-7
  9. ^ ISBN 90-5705-020-X
  10. ↑ ISBN 3-86572-420-5
  11. ↑ http://www.fortunecity.com/boozers/brewerytap/1/GAME.html ( Memento from May 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) February 12, 2007
  12. ↑ Example: http://www.icbs.com/Kb/web_design/kb_art-of-making-enemies.htm February 12, 2007