Whistler - James Abbott McNeill Whistler

An American painter who was active mainly in London and Paris in the late 19th century. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He spent part of his childhood in St. Petersburg, Russia, and dropped out of West Point Military Academy. In 1855, he went to Paris, where he was exposed to avant-garde art such as that of Courbet and Manet. In 1859, he moved to London and began painting the series "Harmony" and "Symphony" while assimilating the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites. While commuting back and forth between Paris and the city, in 1864 he attempted to create works with a Japonisme style, using a butterfly signature similar to Japanese seals. In 1868, he created "Variations of Flesh and Green = Balcony," borrowing a design from an ukiyo-e print. He is famous for his court battle in 1877 with critic Ruskin, who had harshly criticized his near-abstract "Nocturne in Black and Gold = Weeping Fireworks." Whistler won the case and went bankrupt, but the series of copperplate prints he produced in Venice were well received. He lived in Paris in his later years, and had a great influence on the art world of his time.

[Kuwabara Sumio]

"Whistler" by Tom Prideaux, edited by Yoshiaki Higashino (1977, Time-Life Books)" ▽ "Denys Sutton James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels & Watercolors (1966, Phaidon Press, London)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

19世紀後半のロンドンとパリを中心に活動したアメリカ人画家。マサチューセッツ州ローウェルに生まれる。ロシアのペテルブルグで少年時代の一時期を過ごし、ウェストポイント陸軍士官学校を中退。1855年パリに行ってクールベ、マネなどの前衛的な美術に触れる。59年ロンドンに住んでラファエル前派の影響を消化しつつ「ハーモニー」「シンフォニー」の連作を描き始める。パリとの間を往復しながら64年にはジャポニスムによる作品を試み、日本の落款のような蝶(ちょう)のサインを使う。68年になると浮世絵の意匠を借用した『肌色(はだいろ)と緑のバリエーション＝バルコニー』を制作。抽象に近い『黒と金色のノクターン＝しだれ花火』を酷評した評論家ラスキンと77年に起こした法廷闘争は有名。勝訴したホイッスラーは破産したが、ベネチアで制作した銅版画連作は好評を得た。晩年はパリに住んだが、当時の美術界に与えた影響は大きい。

［桑原住雄］

『トム・プリドー著、東野芳明監修『ホイッスラー』（1977・タイムライフブックス）』▽『Denys SuttonJames McNeill Whistler : Paintings, Etchings, Pastels & Watercolors (1966, Phaidon Press, London)』

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