Arrangement in gray and black: portrait of the artist's mother
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| Arrangement in gray and black No. 1 |
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| James McNeill Whistler , 1872 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 143.3 x 162.4 cm |
| Musée d'Orsay |
Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother (English: Arrangement in Gray and Black: The Artist's Mother ) is one of the most famous paintings by the American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler .
The common English title of the picture is Whistler's Mother (German: Whistler's mother ).
history
The portrait depicts Whistler's mother and was painted in 1871 in the format 144.3 × 162.4 cm with oil on canvas. It shows his mother Anna, who is shown sitting in full body profile.
67-year-old Anna McNeill Whistler was the model for this picture while in London. Allegedly Whistler originally wanted to portray his model in a standing position, but this was too difficult for his mother.
Another portrait from the “Arrangements” series shows the Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle , who - after seeing the picture - was ready to sit as a model for a similar portrait.
Whistler's mother was shown publicly for the first time in 1872 at the 104th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in London . It is now in the Louvre Abu Dhabi .
Awareness through other media
The picture is particularly well known in the Anglo-Saxon culture and is quoted again and again. Examples are:
- The large bronze statue “Mothers' Memorial” in Ashland, Pennsylvania, inaugurated in 1938 is based on the painting.
- In the 1947 film The Greyhound and the Lady , an attractive promotional photo is to be taken with a young woman, naked in a semi-transparent dress. She is indignant about the unreasonable expectation that her agent suggests a long evening dress at her own risk. The client therefore rages with the agent; instead of a pin-up girl, he would bring “Whistler's Mother”. The picture here serves as a symbol of age and lack of color.
- In the 1966 film Der Glückspilz , a copy of the picture hangs in Harry Hinkle's apartment, played by Jack Lemmon.
- In the 1989 film Batman , the picture can be seen briefly in an art museum and is splashed with paint , along with other pictures of the Joker and his vassals.
- In the 1991 film Die Nackte Kanone 2½ , the character Dr. My Heimer a mole in the form of Whistler's Mother ( "a mole shaped like Whistler's Mother"). Since the portrait was obviously not well known in Germany, the German dubbing only turned it into “a birthmark in the form of a fat woman”.
- In the movie Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie from 1997, the picture is a main part of the plot, in which Mr. Bean accidentally damages the picture and tries in vain to repair the damage.
- In the 2007 film I Am Legend , a copy of the image can be seen in a quick scene in the stairwell of protagonist Robert Neville (played by Will Smith ) (Blu-ray time code 1:24:07, DVD time code 1:21 : 18).
- The picture can also be seen in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . In the song "Eddie's Teddy", the criminologist points to the picture hanging on the wall when he talks about the worries Eddy had caused his mother.
- In the movie The Addams Family in Crazy Tradition from 1993 you can see the picture right at the beginning (time code 1:20).
- In an episode of The Simpsons (season 20, title: Yes, that bee I mean, that's Monty ) a billionaires club around Mr. Burns shoots the painting with a bow and arrow .
- In the film Dinner for Spinners (2010) , after being run over by Tim, Berry shows a selection of famous paintings that he has copied with prepared mice. Whistler's mother is among them.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Enid Parker: Mr Bean finds a place at the Louvre Abu Dhabi! , Khaleej Times, November 8, 2017.