Whistler, the butterfly effect

Attempting to reveal an artist’s influence without showing the pivotal works of their career is a challenge. The Rouen Museum of Fine Arts is taking that risk with James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Neither the famous Symphony in White, No. 1 (1862) nor the renowned Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (1875) have made the trip, perhaps too fragile or too iconic to be loaned.

1. James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Red and Black; The Fan, 1891-1896
Oil on canvas - 187.4 x 89.8 cm
Glasgow The Hungarian University
Photo: The Hungarian University of Glasgow

See the image in its page

This is not a retrospective, but rather a confrontation of the master’s works with those of his contemporaries and subsequent generations (ill. 1 and 2). The curators, Laura Valette [1] and Florence Calame-Levert, aim to remind us of Whistler’s decisive role by showing that he was a source of inspiration for many artists. For the impact of his art seems to have been neglected by art history. While the painter has enjoyed several exhibitions in the United States in recent years, the last retrospective in France dates back to 1995 [2]. Perhaps because Whistler is unclassifiable. His homeland first, what was it? An American artist, divided between England and France, he had all the charm and flaws of a dandy, whether he was Londonian or Parisian. To which movement did he belong? Again, difficult to say. With their fading contours, their muted and limited palette, his paintings are neither realistic - though he was a great friend of Courbet - nor impressionist - he was connected to Monet but refused to participate in the group’s first exhibition in 1874 - nor even symbolist. They are Whistlerian. Indeed, “whistlérisme” was a term used as early as the 1880s by French and English critics.

2. Sidney Starr (1857-1925)
Study in Blue and Grey, 1891
Oil on canvas - 190.5 x 107.3 cm
London, Tate Gallery
Photo: Tate Gallery

See the image in its page

The Rouen exhibition thus seeks to demonstrate the butterfly effect of his painting through a thematic journey that mixes paintings, works on paper, art objects... There are also preparatory sculptures by Rodin for the unfinished monument in his memory, various photographs, cyanotypes by Paul Burry, ceramics by Felix Bracquemond and Moreau-Nélaton, as well as Tiffany glasses, fans, and Japanese prints that evoke the importance of Japonism for Whistler and his contemporaries. However, of the 188 works on display, only fifty-five are by Whistler, including just fifteen paintings. Is that enough to show the influence he exerted? The prints - etchings and lithographs - represent a somewhat forgotten aspect of his work that deserved to be highlighted, notably his nocturnes and views of Venice. Nevertheless, Whistler’s painting is not sufficiently visible, the labels not sufficiently commented, the comparisons of certain works not sufficiently justified. The catalog - bilingual French…