Whistler’s most famous painting is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871), commonly known as Whistler’s Mother. Anna McNeill Whistler posed for the painting while living in London with her son.
“Gray and Black Concerto: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother” This is an important work of the painter and a work that can represent the painter’s style. The picture is occupied by a large area of black and gray. The mother sat in the chair of the room, with a serene, loving face, a white shawl around her neck, a white handcuff in her hand, and a black dress covering the entire chair. Large areas of walls and floors are pure gray, with the mother’s black
The color dress and the black curtains and chairs form a harmonious contrast. The small white flowers on the curtains, the stars are a bit, as if they are beating notes. A picture frame is hung on the gray wall, and the white background is echoed with the other whites on the screen. Like the white notes that suddenly rise in the black and gray symphonies, the contrast is sharp and strong, making the picture The added vitality and taste also dilute the excessive monotony of the two colors of black and gray on the screen.
In the whole picture, the meaning of the curtains and the small flowers, the floor, the dress, the wall, the picture frame, etc., have been relegated to the secondary position, as if they were arranged by the painter into different syllables, with the color Enhancements and levels of change, from the bass to the midrange to the beautiful music slowly rising in the treble. In the collision of the two main colors of black and gray, a layer of harmonious white notes is added, and the brightest picture frame is the highest sound. This painting is subject to the pursuit of color harmony and the beauty of music melodies from the shape, composition and form. This creates an atmosphere full of poetry and mystery, and the melody of smooth colors and music is vividly expressed here.