Nocturne in black and gold: The falling rocket
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| Nocturne in black and gold: The falling rocket |
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| James McNeill Whistler , 1874/1877 |
| oil on wood |
| 60.3 x 46.6 cm |
| Detroit Institute of Arts |
Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (German: Nocturne in Black and Gold: The falling rocket ) is a tonalistic oil painting by the American painter James McNeill Whistler , which went down in the history of art criticism .
The picture
In the 1870s, London on the River Thames in Chelsea had an amusement park called Cremorne Gardens, which Whistler who lived and worked in London loved to visit. Fireworks were held in this park at night . Whistler, who enjoyed painting nocturnal pieces at the time , took this as an opportunity to create this Nocturne .
The picture shows a park at night, on the left a group of trees, in the foreground and in the middle distance a number of people watching the fireworks. The fireworks pavilion is faintly visible. The rockets falling to the ground can be seen in the sky. The composition has echoes of Japanese.
David Park Curry calls this Nocturne one of the most modern works of its time and says, referring to the famous judgment of John Ruskin :
“[It] was more than a pot of paint flung in the face of an unreceptive public. It was an incendiary cocktail tossed by an aesthetic terrorist. The appropriate musical reference might have been not an "harmony" but a battaglia . "
“[It] was more than a pot of paint thrown in the face of an unresponsive audience. It was an incendiary bomb thrown by an aesthetic terrorist. The appropriate musical analogy would not be a "harmony", but a battaglia . "
With this comparison to a baroque battle music that imitates the noise of war, Curry alludes to the connection between fireworks and battles .
An exhibition of the work in America from 1883 to 1884 was also accompanied by a scandal.
Whistler's signature, a stylized butterfly, is not on the picture, but on the frame (see also the Venetian scene below in this article).
Another Nocturne in black and gold with the addition The Gardens also shows the Cremorne Garden.
The naming
Whistler called many of his works nocturnes, symphonies, harmonies or compositions to illustrate a connection between painting and music. One example is his most famous work, the arrangement in gray and black: Portrait of the artist's mother . With this way of naming his work, he repeatedly met with incomprehension or rejection.
Whistler himself explained the name in court:
"First and foremost, it is a composition of line, shape and color ... I painted various night pieces and chose the word 'Nocturne' because it describes the whole series in a generalizing and simplistic way."
Concerning the criticism of a different picture, the Symphony in White No. III , Whistler counters the critic:
“HOW pleasing that such profound prattle should inevitably find its place in print! “Not precisely a symphony in white .... for there is a yellowish dress .... brown hair, etc. .... another with reddish hair .... and of course there is the flesh color of the complexions. ”
Bon Dieu! did this wise person expect white hair and chalked faces? And does he then, in his astounding consequences, believe that a symphony in F contains no other note, but shall be a contuinued repetition of F, F, F.?....Fool! ”
“HOW pleasing that such profound babbling inevitably finds its place in print! "Not exactly a symphony in white .... because there is a yellowish dress .... brown hair, etc .... another with reddish hair .... and of course there is the flesh color of the faces."
Good God! did this wise person expect white hair and white faces? And does he then believe, with its astonishing consequences, that a symphony in D contains no other note except for a continuous repetition of D, D, D.?.... Depp! "
The process
In May 1877, Whistler exhibited the Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket at the Grosvenor Gallery . This moved John Ruskin , the most influential English-language art critic of his time, to this devastating judgment:
“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. "
The press pounced on this statement, and there is no doubt that it could do dramatic damage to an artist's career. Whistler reacted (English: with a defamation libel ). Because of Ruskin's mental illness, the trial could not take place until October 1878. Whistler sued for 1000 pounds and the court costs, but hoped that the lawsuit would also attract additional publicity, which also worked quantitatively.
Whistler said they worked on this Nocturne for 2 days. Nevertheless, it is worth 200 guineas, as it is the result of lifelong experience.
Sir Edward Burne-Jones testified as a witness for Ruskin. He explained that the nocturne was one of numerous failed attempts to depict the night and was not worth 200 guineas.
Tom Taylor, editor of Punch , testified for Ruskin. He explained that the nocturne was not serious work. He further said:
“All Mr. Whistler's work is unfinished. It is sketchy. He, no doubt, possesses artistic qualities, and he has got appreciation of qualities of tone, but he is not complete, and all his works are in the nature of sketching. I have expressed, and still adhere to the opinion, that these pictures only come 'one step nearer pictures than a delicately wall-paper.' ”
“All of Mr. Whistler's works are unfinished. They are sketchy. Undoubtedly he has artistic qualities and he has an assessment of the qualities of the clay, but it is not complete and all of his works are sketchy. I have said, and will continue to do so, that these pictures are only one step closer to pictures than fine wallpaper. "
Even William Powell Frith , painter of Derby Day , testified against Whistler. In his opinion, a work of art had to “have a theme, tell a story, describe an event or express a feeling.” It also needed a “finish”, which Whistler's works did not have.
Whistler won the case but received only a farthing , the smallest coin in circulation, worth a quarter of a penny, as compensation and had to pay the court costs himself. He had speculated on the process to generate revenue and this is often cited as the reason for his bankruptcy. However, he had already lost a benefactor in the spring and the cost of building his house, The White House , rose above the budget, which contributed significantly to his financial problems. His social reputation had also suffered considerable damage.
In the following period Whistler went to Venice for 14 months , where numerous works were created, which he was later able to successfully exhibit in the gallery of the prestigious Fine Art Society . After returning to London, he was able to restore his reputation. In 1890, he processed the process and other events in the book making enemies like The Arts (English The gentle art of making enemies ).
- → See also: The fine art of making enemies
literature
- 100 masterpieces from the great museums of the world , Edwin Mullins , vgs, ISBN 3-8025-2161-7
- Uneasy Pieces, David Park Curry, VMFA, ISBN 1-593-72001-7
- The gentle art of making enemies , James McNeill Whistler, Dover, ISBN 0-486-21875-9
- Abridged text by the third prize winner Grischka Petri of the Deubner Foundation - essay on Whistler's trial against Ruskin
Footnotes
- ↑ a b c 100 masterpieces from the great museums of the world, Milton Brown, p. 124
- ↑ a b Uneasy Pieces, David Park Curry, p. 184
- ↑ Uneasy Pieces, David Park Curry, p. 59
- ↑ a b 100 Masterpieces from the Great Museums of the World, Milton Brown, p. 126
- ↑ http://www.artchive.com/artchive/W/whistler.html , Robert Hughes, February 10, 2007
- ↑ a b 100 Masterpieces from the Great Museums of the World, Milton Brown, p. 123
- ↑ a b c Uneasy Pieces, David Park Curry, p. 15
- ^ The gentle art of making enemies, p. 5
- ^ The gentle art of making enemies, p. 15
- ^ The gentle art of making enemies, p. 19