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The Ten Greatest Portraits
Ever Painted
Ten immortal masterpieces
that tower over all the rest.
7. James Abbott MacNeil Whistler,
1834-1903
Portrait of My Mother:
Arrangement in Gray and Black
The
American Impressionist James
Whistler attempted make a statement
with his title for this picture:
"Arrangement in Gray and
Black." However, the world
has showered this painting with
affection, making it one of
the most universally beloved
of all works of art. The public
created and bestowed its popular
designation of Whistler's Mother.
Artists viewing the original
after long familiarity with
reproductions are surprised
to see the thinness of the paint
film; only the head and hands
carry any impasto. The wall
and floor are rendered with
washes of diluted paint.
Conceived
as a two-dimensional design,
and executed in a severe monochrome,
the painting nonetheless portrays
its human subject with genuine
tenderness and emotion. The
world has loved the artist's
mother more than the painter's
"arrangement in gray and
black." |
Musée
d'Orsay, Paris
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