For a while now, I have been interested in the works of painter James McNeill Whistler. Born in Massachusetts in 1834 but living most of his life in Europe, Whistler is known for his paintings of London after dark, advanced full-length portraits, and detailed etchings and lithographs. Personally, I have always found his approach to color, form, as well as his paintings’ relationship to music very fascinating. Whistler believed in two main principles: that line is more important than color and that black is the fundamental color of tonal harmony. These philosophies worked in contrast to the impressionist ideas of the time, which favored vibrant colors and blurred lines. Whistler also had an interesting relationship with music. In 1872, one of his patrons, Frederick Leyland, inspired him to start using musical titles for his paintings. Whistler enjoyed these titles as they emphasized the tonal qualities and composition of his works and de-emphasized the narrative content. In fact, he went back and renamed many of his earlier works with titles such as “nocturne”, “symphony”, “harmony”, “arrangement”, and “study”.

 

This piece is a musical representation of four of Whistler’s works, as seen below. All of these works feature Whistler painting a body of water. Part I - From the Banks of the River Thames, focuses on two of Whistler’s nocturnes that he painted by the River Thames during his time in London: Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Chelsea (1871) and Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Battersea Reach (1872-1878).

 

I was inspired by Whistler's use of color in both paintings, as well as his depiction of the city lights in the distance. Both these works are “Nocturnes in Blue and Silver”, but both approach this color scheme in different ways. My intention was to present this juxtaposition between murkiness and clarity, as well as to depict the industrial nature of London during the 1870s.

 

The second movement, Part II - From the Shorelines of Brittany, is based around two works painted by Whistler during a summer stay in Brittany in 1893: Violet and Silver - The Deep Sea and Violet and Blue - Among the Rollers.

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Once again, I was interested in Whistler’s use of color, as these two paintings feature a more varied palette than the prior two. I was also drawn to the fact Whistler approaches painting bodies of water differently in metropolitan versus natural settings. In this second movement, I worked to recontextualize motifs and musical material from the first movement in a way that is more light, free, and natural, while still paying homage to the immense power of the ocean.