I found this Oil painting in a book from my Grandfather, it immediately captivated me from the raw curiosity I experienced. I desired to know what was going on in this woman’s head, why she was looking so sad and how the Artist was able to portray this so well.
The Artist, James McNeill Whistler, who I will refer to as Whistler from now on produces this piece back in 1864. It is a 76 x 51cm oil painting on canvas and is currently located in the Tate Modern.
This painting really drew me in with its use of color, the big white, puffy dress demands your attention. There is something about the texture that reminds me of a lamb, innocent and frail. This is also backed up by the pure whiteness of it, the woman resembles that of an angel, her big puffy sleeves as her feathered wings. Although, her dress is actually very unusual for the age in which this painting was made, other Pre-Raphaelite ladies were in a time of hoops and crinolines. This ‘little white girl’ is unconventional with her dimple white dress.
The only real color comes from a Japanese fan held by the model in her hand against the white dress. Whistler was a collector of Japanese decorative art and often featured elements into his own work. In this piece he creates an superficial exoticism in a conventional Victorian scene using this accessory. These colors create such a violent contrast, almost like the fan itself is a distraction from the reality of the woman’s emotions.
We can investigate the narrative of the image through the model’s face, she looks solemn, fatigued as she gazes at a wedding ring resting on her finger. I find that the woman’s reflection is a lot darker as well as expressive, it’s almost as if the mirror shows more of her inner reality. What we see from this side with the golden light shining on her face, is purely a false persona.
The poet Algernon Swinburne once composed a ballad ‘Before the mirror’ inspired by ‘the little white girl’. Due to the relation being so accurate, Whistler later printed this poem on the painting’s frame in gold letters. The first few lines read:
Come snow, come wind or thunder,
High up in the air,
I watch my face, and wonder
At my bright hair.
The mysteries of the white woman make my mind curious, wondering whether she has experiences loss, confinement or maybe even jealousy. I was inspired to write about this piece from the overwhelming sense of solitude it provides, something I am exploring myself. There is a sweet tension of balance between peace and inner turmoil. As I study this piece, it makes me aspire to create a piece of work similar to Whistler’s. To use something similar to a white pure dress as a mask to hide the true emotions within. Using color as a distraction, or simply just to highlight the quietness the dull colors create, representing her dark reality.
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