This Painting Is Stranger Than It Looks. Here's Why

If you've ever watched the celebrated 1997 Bean movie, you might already recognize this painting. Mr. Bean, referred to as Doctor in that famous scene, described it as a very big picture of a mad old cow, who he, the artist, who will be identified very shortly, thought the world of. But is it just that, or is there something else Bean is probably missing? Is Dr. Bean Examining the painting at close length, several questions may already emerge, such as, what is this woman staring at? Why is she sitting that way? Is she mourning someone? Is she a mad old cow? Did I leave the stove on? So many pressing questions, so little time. But before we proceed with our painting analysis, let's do a bit of background, shall we? A prominent, even if you don't know the artist's name, you may have come across some of his most famous works at one point or another. Whistler defied contemporary conventions, straying from the canons of Victorian era London, and its obsession with flamboyant scenes designated with pompous titles. The main controversy surrounding Whistler's style, believe it or not, was not that it was gross, too sexualized, or too surreal. Rather, wait for this, it was that it was too boring and barebones. Yeah, you heard that right. That was the big fuss. Victorian artists were forced to come up with over-the-top illustrations to entice the viewer audience, receive the proverbial thumbs up, just like the ones you'll give this video, of course, if you still haven't done so, and ultimately make ends meet. Oddly enough, Whistler's first noteworthy painting, namely Symphony in White, The White Girl, crafted and exhibited in 1861, did captivate and arouse the imagination of many painting critics. Some claimed that the girl in the white gown symbolized a bride's loss of innocence, while others associated her with the main character in Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, a popular read at that time. Now, let's just go ahead and say that all this speculation did not please Mr. Whistler, but seriously, who can blame these people? The painting portrayed lots of ostensibly weird stuff that would indicate strong allegorical content. For example, the woman held a lily in her left hand while standing on a wolfskin rug. All of this screamed symbolism, wouldn't you agree? Well, as it turns out, there was no hidden meaning at all. Whistler simply responded by saying, and I paraphrase of course, it's just a painting of a girl in white holding a lily. Get over it! According to Whistler, nature contains the elements in colour and form of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music. But the artist is born to pick and choose and group with science these elements that the result may be beautiful, as the musician gathers his notes and forms his chords until he brings forth from chaos glorious harmony. Many would call Whistler's mother, arguably Whistler's most notable painting ever, the artist's proverbial middle finger to artistic pedantry. But this was, in fact, partially an accident. Some sources claim he was actually expecting to paint a young model, just like his former mistress. But this model, a member of Parliament's daughter by the name of Maggie Graham, retracted for some reason. This was, unbeknownst to the artist, a blessed turn of events due to what was about to occur. So, Whistler was left without a model, but he still needed to paint someone, for the canvas had already been prepared. But who would be that lucky person? Well, as you'd probably already guessed, it was... drumroll... his mother! Yep, meet Anna Matilda McNeill Whistler, one of the most celebrated American portrait models of the late 19th century, or ever for that matter. As it was rightly imagined, James realized painting his mother would take much more effort than initially anticipated, as the poor woman could hardly stand on her own two feet for prolonged periods. Hence he allowed her to adopt a seated pose for the remainder of the session. And, well, the rest is quite literally history. The first thing to note about this painting is the evidently washed-out color palette. There is no trace of vivid colors whatsoever, a predominant feature in contemporary impressionist art, save for the woman's barely perceptible blush and some minuscule curtain decorations. Couple this with her dark attire, which seems to suggest that she was mourning somebody, and you have a largely monochromatic portrait. Not for nothing, he officially called this portrait, Arrangement in Grey and Black. Oh, that's the other thing, he reportedly abhorred the very idea of naming his portraits. Moving on. Some people call this the American Mona Lisa. By the way, did I mention the Whistlers were American? Probably not, but I digress. Okay, so regarding that Mona Lisa claim, I'll say it outright, it's a tad misleading. Mona Lisa's very facial expression has been a subject of ongoing debate throughout the centuries. In contrast, the woman in this painting has a decidedly tired and stern look, as if she's directly gazing at both the unknown and all her life's past hardships with resignation. If you can think of other reasons why this painting should be compared to the Mona Lisa, please leave your thoughts in the comments. Leaving aside the Mona Lisa comparison, I can definitely point out many details about the painting that even Whistler might not have envisioned. I was particularly intrigued by Anna's firm grip on the lace trim, which suggests she was clinging to sanity. She certainly didn't seem like the mad old cow or hideous old bat that the aforementioned Dr. Bean alluded to. Her demeanor appears more like that of a mother who's clearly uncomfortable, but peacefully enduring this lack of comfort to please her son, though she may have reached a tipping point during those days. After all, she would die just a short 10 years later. Oh gosh, what am I doing? I'm overanalyzing it again, aren't I? I hope Mr. Whistler doesn't read this. On another note, Whistler insisted on having his mother's identity concealed when the painting was about to be exhibited, as he later disclosed in his book, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. Cute title for a book, I must say. In one part of the book, he stated the following, the explanation is quite simple. I wish to be near my mother. In addition, he was hesitant to call the work a portrait. However, seeing how the Royal Academy of Art in London nearly refused to exhibit this piece, he had to make some compromises. Hence, he was compelled to subtitle the work, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, in order to appeal to the viewer audience's sensibilities. Even then, the painting would have poor placement, being considered a failed experiment by many. Little did these people know that this painting would become an icon of American art and culture for years to come, being featured on postage stamps and even famous cartoons. The painting was so influential that it spawned numerous imitations just a couple of decades later, and ended up being claimed by Paris' Musée de Luxembourg, becoming the first American painting to be exhibited at some of the most renowned Parisian painting galleries. With that, we'd like to end with a beautiful, thought-provoking idea from Whistler himself. Hang on the walls of your mind the memory of your successes. Take counsel of your strength, not your weakness. Think of the good jobs you have done. Think of the times when you rose above your average level of performance and carried out an idea or a dream or a desire for which you had deeply longed. Hang these pictures on the walls of your mind and look at them as you travel the roadway of life. With all this said, and to wrap up this video, perhaps it's time to admit Dr. Bean may have been onto something there with his impromptu examination of the artwork, though we had fun adding some twists to it, possibly to Whistler's posthumous scorn. What do you think? Would Whistler have found our analysis too off-putting or off the mark? Let us know in the comments below. You can also grace us with your own original analysis. Until next time!