_1864.jpg)
Whistlers early and consistent use of musical titles ‘nocturnes’, ‘symphonies’ and ‘arrangements’, helped to confirm the impression that the visual arts ought to aspire towards the condition of music; and his decorative ideas- such as the use of a peacock- feather pattern in the room which he painted for his patron F.R. Leyland- were extensively plagiarized.
According to Edward Lucie-Smith in his book titled Symbolist Art, “There is some current disposition to underrate Whistler and write him off as an essentially isolated artist. To do this is to distort the history of the art of his time, in which he was, and remained an influential, even central, figure.” I think very often we as artists forget how much effort it takes to stay in solitude to complete a piece. Outside of the art world they may never understand the amount of copious hours we spend hacking away at our projects. If you’re all in, it’s a constant battle to stay focused and build your piece into something you can be proud of. Even here with Whistler people are ready to write him off as an isolated artist, but how we work on our art is how we inspire others and help other creators of our time. This is being part of something. So those of you who are struggling to focus because people say you’re spending too much isolated time on your masterpiece, you’re part of the crowd and you are not alone.
You can check out where I got the pics from here:
Wikimedia Commons
File:Whistler James Symphony in White no 2 (The Little White Girl) 1864.jpg
and here”
Encyclopedia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-McNeill-Whistler
Jayne.press 