James McNeill Whistler

La Petite Maison rouge

Date c. 1881-1885
Materials Oil on wood
Dimensions 21.5 cm x 12.4 cm
Marks None
Further information GLAHA 46347.
Andrew McLaren Young, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1980 (281, plate 165).

Note There is a lot going on in this painting. Whistler called it "The Little Red House", knowing that the eye would be immediately drawn to this touch of colour. The most interesting thing about this painting is the energy and character of the brushwork. Look at the sky. Whistler kept altering the direction of paint and he even scraped some areas with the pointed end of his brush in order to give an impression of the liveliness of the clouds. Notice how he changed his brushstroke to uniform horizontal rows to suggest the wooden boards of the houses, and to straight vertical lines to depict the wooden fence. Look how the cows in the foreground are only roughly painted, Whistler outlining their principle features only – tail, head, legs – with strokes of liquid paint. From a distance they look like cows but close up they are transparent.