The Fiery Redhead

James Abbot McNeill Whistler - Symphony in White Number 2: The Little White Girl, 1864, 765 x 511 mm (approx. 30 x 20 in) - Tate Modern, London (click photo for larger image)Fiery redhead Joanna Hiffernan was romantically linked to two famed artists of the late 19th-century—the American born painter James McNeil Abbot Whistler (1834-1903) and the French painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877). Whistler first met Hiffernan in 1860 and she went on to have a 6-year relationship with him, during which period she model\led for some of his most famous paintings. Physically striking, Hiffernan's personality was even more impressive. Whistler's biographers and friends, the Pennells, wrote of her,  "She was not only beautiful. She was intelligent, she was sympathetic. She gave Whistler the constant companionship he could not do without.” Whistler's family did not approve of Hiffernan, as unmarried artists' models, and especially those who posed nude, were considered at that time to be little better than prostitutes. 

Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877) - Jo, La Belle Irlandaise - 1865–66 - Oil on canvas - 22 x 26 in. (55.9 x 66 cm) - H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 - Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (click photo for larger image)Gustave Courbet referred to Joanna as “the beautiful Irish girl”—and painted our featured piece just a year after Whistler’s work. She was in France with Whistler during the summer of 1861, and in Paris during the winter of 1861–62. That’s when she probably met Whistler's friend and fellow artist, Gustave Courbet, with whom she also had an affair. Despite all, Whistler gave Joanna full power of attorney over his affairs—and a household—when he traveled to Chile in 1866 for 7 months. She was also favored in Whistler’s Will.

Edouard Manet—Leading the Charge

Edouard Manet, The Absinthe Drinker, 1859, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, CopenhagenWhen Edouard Manet (1832-1883) began to paint genre (everyday) subjects, such as old beggars, street urchins, café characters, and Spanish bullfight scenes, he was challenging all of the standard of the Salon. Monet adopted a direct, bold brush technique in his treatment of realistic subject matter—which was bitterly attacked by his critics. In 1866, the French novelist Emile Zola, who championed the art of Manet in the newspaper Figaro, became a close friend of the painter. He was soon joined by the young group of French impressionist painters, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Cezanne, who were influenced by Manet's art and who, in turn, influenced him! Together, they all dramtically changed the direction of art. But it was definitely Manet who led the charge.

Paul Delaroche: An Academic Painter

Paul Delaroche - The Death of Elizabeth I, Queen of England - 1828 - Oil on canvas, 422 x 343 cm - Musée du Louvre, Paris (click photo for larger image)French painter Paul Delaroche’s (1797-1856) early work consists mainly of subjects from the Old Testament, while later he chose subjects from French and English history. He was one of the most popular artists of his day. His paintings satisfied the need for education through art and the demand for sensibility. Both his carefully researched interiors and costumes, as well as the theatrical content of his art rendered his paintings immensely popular. In The Death of Elizabeth I, Queen of England the cultivation of material actually distracts attention from the real subject--the death of the Queen. However, this approach was in keeping with the contemporary taste for decorative history painting, which had gone to extremes in its meticulous attention to detail in the objects, furniture, and costumes. This painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1827/28. Academic painting of this type (also known as Academic Classicism) is what the Impressionists would eventually challenge, in the last quarter of the 19th century. Because of the later popularity of Impressionism and the modern movements that followed, Academic Painting was largely ignored by art historians for many years. We’re finally beginning to take notice of their noteworthy achievements, but progress remains slow. These were remarkable artists. It’s “okay” to admire them--as well as the avant-garde artists. We don’t have to choose one over the other any longer.