James McNeill Whistler

Harmony in Flesh Colour and Black:
Portrait of Mrs Louise Jopling

Date 1877
Materials Oil on canvas
Dimensions 192.5 cm x 90.0 cm
Marks None
Further information GLAHA 46317.
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 (191, plate 155).

Note Louise Jopling said that she posed for only two hours for this bold and dramatic full-length portrait. It was painted at speed in a direct and fluid manner with a broad, soft brush. The width of the strokes are evident particularly on her dress. Her elegant hat was painted with just a few strokes of wet, red paint. Whistler used the coarse weave of the canvas to give the painting added texture. He appears to have painted directly on to a previously prepared canvas, as Jopling’s face was painted over the dark background. Notice how Whistler decided to paint her from behind so that he could focus on the lines of her dress. This was appropriate as Jopling was very interested in costume and objected to the suffocating dresses and corsets that women had to wear. In this portrait she wears a simple dress that naturally complements her figure.