1834 -1903 · United States, Paris, London and Venice

Silent portraits, white symphonies and almost abstract nocturnal symphonies make James McNeill Whistler the most refined advocate of art for art's sake in the 19th century.

James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1834. His childhood between the United States and Russia, then his time at West Point and topographical drawing, gave him early mastery of the line. In 1855, he moved to Paris, studied briefly with Charles Gleyre and frequented Courbet, Fantin-Latour and Legros. Installed in London in 1859, he became an essential intermediary between the French, British and American avant-gardes. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His first views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His early views of the Thames combined port modernity and realism, but Whistler quickly moved away from narration. His early views of the Thames combined port modernity 1, known as The White Girl, transforms a life-size figure into a variation of differentiated whites. Arrangement in gray and black n° 1, portrait of his mother, pushes this ideal further: profile, curtain, frame and dress build a balance of tones before telling a story. Whistler borrows from music the words "arrangement", "symphony", "harmony" and "nocturnal" in order to shift attention towards color and rhythm. Night in black and gold: the falling rocket reduces a fireworks display on the Thames to a few bursts suspended in colorful darkness. John Ruskin's violent criticism leads to the famous trial of 1878: Whistler wins his case but ruins himself. HAS Venice, he then renewed etching and pastel with a vision made of mist, reflections and chosen details. Painter, engraver and decorator, author of the Peacock Room and meticulous designer of its frames and exhibitions, he signed a stylized butterfly integrated into the composition. Died in London in 1903, he left an ideal of visual unity which announces symbolism and abstraction. The selection "James McNeill Whistler" notably compares Night in Black and Gold: The Rocket That Falls and Arrangement in Gray and Black n° 1. His reading favors composition.

Whistler tunes the painting like an instrument: objects become notes, voids silences and color carries all the emotion.