To James McNeill Whistler, music and painting were closely connected. He not only drew inspiration from music, he also deliberately used musical terms in the titles of his paintings. Composition, symphony, harmony and nocturne are all words he used to give his art a musical charge.
Whistler thought paintings were like compositions. Just like a piece of music is made from a harmony of tones, a painting comes together through its colours, forms and lines. The subject was not the most important aspect. To Whistler, it was about the harmony of the whole.
‘As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight, and the subject-matter has nothing to do with harmony of sound or of colour.’
A night in paint
One of Whistler’s favourite musical terms was nocturne: a piece of music that evokes the dreamlike atmosphere of the night. He used the word for his paintings of nocturnal landscapes and cityscapes. Rather than emphasising what was depicted, he placed the focus on the work’s atmosphere, colours and tonality.
From Chopin to Debussy
Whistler took his musical inspiration from composers including Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert. But the influence also worked the other way. The composer Claude Debussy drew inspiration from Whistler’s nocturnes for his music. This resulted in a special exchange: music inspired Whistler and, in turn, his paintings inspired new music.
Listen for yourself
The exhibition is accompanied by a playlist with music linked to Whistler and his art. Listen for yourself and discover which sounds are in harmony with his paintings.
