James McNeill Whistler

Brown and Gold

Date c.1895-1900
Materials Oil on canvas
Dimensions 95.8 cm x 51.5 cm
Marks None
Further information GLAHA 46376.
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 (440, plate 280).

Note This self-portrait was based on a painting by the Spanish artist Velázquez. Despite the confidence of Whistler’s pose, the painting is a sorrowful one. Whistler’s wife Beatrix died in 1896, and his shadowy face suggests grief and anxiety. Following her death Whistler scraped back the paint to the canvas surface, reputedly replacing the white jacket he originally wore with the black one we can now see. The muted tones are also mournful, but do not necessarily indicate grief, as Whistler typically worked within a limited range of subtle colours. Look how Whistler’s right hand merges with the background colours and how indistinct his feet are. Whistler’s long black coat makes his body appear even less solid. Critics often described his portraits as ghostly and mysterious. The effect is enhanced here because the work is unfinished and a ‘ghostly’ stain of colours is left on the canvas.

Related works GLAHA 46329, 46373.