Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen
of the Six Marks
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
1864
The Artist:1834-1903
 Born in Massachusetts in 1834
 Father was an engineer
 Travelled to Russia and England as a boy
 Returned to US after Father’s death
 Enrolled at West Point
 Little success as student of military arts
 Not academic success
 1855: After working briefly as a cartographer emigrated to
Europe
The Artist: Continued
 Interested in art at early age
 Art classes in St. Petersburg from 1845-48
 Continued while travelling in London in 1847-48
 Moved to Paris, adopted bohemian lifestyle
 Studied at studio of Charles Gleyre, mentor to French
Impressionists
 Befriended Gustave Courbet
 Self directed study – copied works of those he admired
 Rembrandt van Rijn
 Learnt to create emotional and evocative works with limited range of
tones
The Artist: Continued
 Contradiction to Academies in France and England
 Did not think art had to be moralizing or enlightening
 Academic painters valued history painting
 Promoted “art for art’s sake”
 Pieces evocative, capture moods and emotions through subtle
use of color
 Titled pieces to recall music and its emotive effects
 Ex. Symphony inWhite, No.1:TheWhite Girl(1862), Arrangement in
Grey and Black:The Artists Mother(1871), Nocturne in Black and
Gold:The Falling Rocket(1874)
Nocturne in Black and Gold:
The Falling Rocket
 Made Whistler Famous
 Critic John Ruskin(Turner Supporter) criticized in harsh
terms
 “Flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”
 Whistler sued and won libel case
 Little compensation
 Trial included discussion of the goal of art and the role of the artist
Eastern Influence in France
 1870s – Impressionists in France fascinated by Japanese Art
 Especially inexpensive woodblock prints
 Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh collected hundreds,
influence on work clearly visible
 Whistler began incorporating these influences years before
 Like contemporaries in England, Great admirer of Chinese
art, especially porcelain
 Royal academy viewers of Purple and Rose:The Lange Leizen of
the Six Marks would recognize blue and white porcelain
objects
Purple and
Rose:The
Lange
Leizen of the
Six Marks
Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of
the Six Marks
 Small painting focusing on female figure surrounded by
beautiful Chinese objects, likely part of Whistler’s collection
 Model – Joanna Hiffernan
 Whistler’s Mistress in the 1860s
 Modeled for number of his works
 Ex. Symphony in White, No.1:TheWhite Girl and Symphony in White, No.2 The
LittleWhite Girl(1864-65)
 Also had relationship with Courbet, posed in his studio
Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of
the Six Marks
 Shown seated in a relaxed, casual pose
 Body marks diagonal line from the lower left to upper right corner
 Nearly fills frame
 Dressed in Chinese brocade robe
 Decorated with floral motif in peach and rose
 Under layer and trim on robe in dark purple(Inspired Philadelphia
Museum of Art title Purple and Rose
 Supports blue and white object in left hand, brush in right hand
like she is imagining herself painting vessel
 Make up accentuates features, hair pulled back tightly, to imitate
Chinese courtly fashion
Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of
the Six Marks
 Surrounding Hiffernan, number of Chinese objects laid out
as if on display
 Several blue and white
 Teacup and large ginger jar
 Painted fan decorated with a crane and a tray
 Group of brushes on table behind her
 A few other objects to detract form Hiffernan and
surrounding imports
 Colors in background are beige and brown, more vivid tones
of robe and porcelain are accentuated
The Porcelain
 Objects highlighted are Whistler’s own.
 He is an avid collector
 Featured porcelain is blue and white
 First produced in about the 14th century
 17th Century created for export to Europe
 Europeans later copy styles
 Lange Leizen is a pattern with willowy ladies; “Long Eliza”
 “Six Marks refers to the markings that verify authenticity
World at the time
 Obsession with Chinese porcelain connected to a rise in the
consumption of Chinese tea in the early 19th century
 By the time this work is painted 90% of the tea in England
was from China