Realism · 1871
James McNeill Whistler 1834–1903
Musée d'Orsay · Paris
An 'arrangement in grey and black' — Whistler's severe, tender portrait of his mother became an unlikely icon of motherhood.
Watch the story
Watch the first minute here. The full film, with the painter, the history and a close reading of the details, is in Hear Art.
The rest of the story is in Hear Art
Unlock all 119 films with one purchase. Ten paintings are free. No subscription.
Free preview · first minute
Look closer
Choose a detail to move in close. The film reads every one of them aloud.
Chapter 1 of 7
Stand before one of the most quietly radical paintings in Western art. In 1871, James McNeill Whistler — an American expatriate in London — arranged his own mother in profile and titled the result Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1.
He was insisting you look at design, not sentiment, even here, even her.
119 masterpieces, each with its own film, in eight languages. Ten are free; one purchase unlocks the rest. No subscription.
