AP Art History
PowerPoint Project
by Jake Schrass
l_whistler_arrangement in black_schrass
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100 WELL KNOWN
WORKS OF ART
#12 Whistler Arrangement in Black and
Grey No. 1
Interpreted Using
The
Feldman Model of Formal Analysis
Feldman’s Model of Art Criticism
From the work of Edmund Burke Feldman,
During the late 1960’s and early 70’s
1. DescriptionList the visual qualities of the work that are obvious and immediate.
“What do you see in the artwork”?
Include content and subject matter in representational worksInclude abstract elements in nonrepresentational pieces.
2. AnalysisFocus on the formal aspects of elements of art, principles of design.
“How does the artist create a center of interest?
How does the use of color impact the painting?”
3. InterpretationPropose ideas for possible meaning based on evidence.
“What was the artist trying to communicate”?
4. JudgmentDiscuss the overall strengths/success/merit of the work.
How and why has this work achieved cultural value?
James Abbot McNeill Whistler
Arrangement in Black and Grey No. 1, 1872,
Realism Movement, painting
Paris, France
1.DESCRIPTION
a. painting
b. paint on canvas
c. 56.8 inches by 63.9 inches
d. line, shape, value, texture, form: these elements
make the work look flat and depressing
e. horizontal, asymmetrical
f. soft, variable, irregular, faint, contour
g. the lines create organic shapes like the woman and
the curtain and hard rectangles like the stool
h. medium, overlapping, scaled down
i. gray scale, almost monochromatic
j. simulated texture on the wall and in the fabrics,
made to look as if it were real
k. 1872, realism
2.ANALYSIS
a. Iconographic elements: historical event (narrative),
allegory, mythology, other.
b. the painter emphasized the monochromatic colors and the soft
lines highlight the calm featured in the work.
c. stable, unified, harmonious, geometric, varied, horizontal oriented,
flat
d. no movement, no rhythm, varied forms, and flat colors create unity
in the work
e. contrasty, shadowy, cool, symbolic, sad, calm
f. shallow, naturalistic, flat, real
g. static composition because the woman never moves from her
pose of looking of beyond the frame of the picture
h. Technique as influenced by the choice of medium:
i. a calm, partly sad, almost like acceptance feeling is created by the
work
3. Interpretation
a. The artist said “what can or ought the
public to care about the identity of the
portrait” and that the painting is only an
“arrangement” of colors.
b. This art creates a feeling of motherly
acceptance and has a calming effect on the
viewer.
c. The artist uses textures to represent the
world, but he uses colors to make the world
seem simple.
d. (quotes and sources or a link to your
essay)
4. Judgment
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
· This work is famous because it was made by an
American artist, and it has been featured on TV, exposing
it to the world.
· This work uses complex patterns created with a great
technique with the paintbrush to create feelings in the
viewer. This skill, and its exposure add value to the piece.
· The skill the artist used and the prowess of the artist
relate to the value of this work.
· This work is worth studying because it created
controversy through the artist’s description of what it was,
compared to the meaning the painting conveys. The fact
that it conveys such a clear meaning, yet allows people to
argue over the meaning of the work make it popular in the
world.
e. Context with AP Exam: Link to AP Exam Q&A
Compare and Contrast
Whistler Article from Britannica
Whistler Bio
Musée d’ Orsay
Smart History Whistler
America in the Gilded Age
Summary of Gilded Age
• American artists struggled to create a style not
dependent on European styling.
• Art boomed in America in this time because
Americans had the money and the time to enjoy art.
• Artists like John Singer Sargent, Robert Mills, Henry
Merwin Shrady, and Whistler made art Gilded Age
art.
• Art mirrored and influenced the new industrial
society in America.
• Newspapers and magazines began reporting on
artists, so artists became popular public figures.
Interesting Facts About Artist
• Whistler was thrown out of west point
after refusing to cut his hair.
• He said “As music is the poetry of
sound, so is art the poetry of sight.”
• All of his 1870’s works were titled with
musical terms (arrangement, nocturne,
symphony etc.)
• He was born in America, but, after
leaving for Europe, he never returned
to his homeland. Whistler went to court over this painting when he
valued it highly. Critics said “A coxcomb ask two
hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the
public's face”. Whistler won the trial, but didn’t
win very much money from it.
References
•
•
http://arthistoryap.pbworks.com/w/page/70267
480/Resources-Word%20Documents
http://quizlet.com/28888032/the-controversiesof-james-whistler-and-his-art-flash-cards/