Whistler, The Man

Whistler was an American artist, wit and society figure, who lived for most of his life in London and Paris. He trained as an artist in Paris in the studio of Charles Gleyre [link – Key figures] but his early work was inspired by the paintings of the Realist painter Gustave Courbet [link – Key figures] and by the work of older masters such as Velázquez [link – Key figures, Painting/Portraits/YMSM 97, Painting/Portraits/GLAHA 46376], Rembrandt [link – Key figures, Works on Paper/Prints/ GLAHA 46721] and Thomas Gainsborough [link – Key figures, Studio/Techniques]. Later he absorbed the influences of Japanese and classical art [link – Painting/Decorative painting] to create works that were decorative and virtually subjectless. He was one of the central figures in the Aesthetic Movement. He was a man who liked to live his life in the public eye and was very concerned about his personal appearance and the critical reception of his paintings.