James Whistler is most famously known for
the boldly composed painting of his mother, ‘Arrangements in Grey and Black No.
1.’ ‘The Gold Scab’ is a stark departure: modern, angry, and comical. It
resembles something out of the oeuvre of Picasso or Dr. Seuss, not a Victorian
artist known mostly for sweet portraits of women in somber grey or billowy
white.
Directly before embarking on a costly and
ruinous libel suit against art critic John Ruskin, Whistler was commissioned to
“touch up” a decorative mural in the home of Frederick Leyland. His task was to
“harmonize” the room, improve upon the work done by another interior decorative
artist. Instead, Whistler “went on-without design or sketch-putting in every
touch with such freedom…I forgot everything in my joy in it.” He created a room
awash in brilliant blue-green and gold leaf, a complete re-design of the
original; he called his masterpiece ‘Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock
Room.’ Leyland, furious with the drastic and unauthorized changes, refused to
pay Whistler’s commission fee. The loss of this much-needed income, a ruined
reputation with other art patrons, and his disastrous libel suit against Ruskin
resulted in bankruptcy. Whistler’s beloved White House and his belongings were
auctioned off by his creditors, including Leyland.
The enraged artist painted a caricature of
Frederick Leyland as a greedy, vain and contemptible peacock sitting atop
Whistler’s beloved White House. The painting is an aggressive personal attack
on Leyland and a bitter representation of Whistler’s own anger and
disappointment. He left the painting hanging prominently when his home and its
contents were seized, a giant middle finger to Leyland and his other creditors.
Article
Submitted by:
-Jayme
Catalano
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