Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian[2][3] is a painting by
James McNeill Whistler. The work shows a woman in full figure standing with her back to the viewer, with her head in profile. The model is
Ethel Whibley, (née Birnie Philip) the artist's secretary and sister-in-law.
The colour scheme of the painting is black, mother of pearl and silver. The title refers to Ethel's grey silk evening dress, which is a Parisian dress in a
Belle Époque style, with the transparent layered sleeves of the black
bolero jacket resembling a traditional
Andalusian costume.[4]
Artist and model
James McNeill Whistler was born in the United States in 1834, the son of
George Washington Whistler, a railway engineer.[5] In 1843, his father relocated the family to
Saint Petersburg, Russia, where James received training in painting.[6] After a stay in England, he returned to America to attend the
US Military Academy at West Point in 1851.[7] In 1855, he made his way back to Europe, determined to dedicate himself to painting. He settled in Paris at first, but in 1859 moved to London, where he would spend most of the remainder of his life.[8] Although he returned to Paris from 1892 to 1901 and resided at 110
Rue du Bac, Paris, with his studio at the top of 86 Rue Notre Dame des Champs.[9]
Ethel Birnie Philip was born at Chelsea, London, on 29 September 1861. She was the daughter of the sculptor
John Birnie Philip[10] and Frances Black. Her sister
Beatrice (also called "Beatrix" or "Trixie') married Whistler in 1888. Ethel worked for a time in 1893–1894 as secretary to Whistler. She married
Charles Whibley in 1896 in the garden of the house occupied by Whistler at Rue du Bac.[11] Her sister
Rosalind Birnie Philip succeeded Ethel as Whistler's secretary, and was appointed the artist's
executrix at his death.[12]
Whistler painted a number of full-length portraits of Ethel, including Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian[13] and the watercolour Rose and Silver: Portrait of Mrs Whibley;[14] and other sketches and etchings of her titled as Miss Ethel Philip or Mrs Whibley.[15][16][17]
Creation
Whistler commenced work on The Andalusian in London in 1888, the year Whistler married Beatrix, with the painting being completed in Paris in 1900.
^Young, Andrew McLaren; MacDonald, Margaret F.; Spencer, Robin; Miles, Hamish (1980). The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Young, Andrew McLaren; MacDonald, Margaret F.; Spencer, Robin; Miles, Hamish (1980). The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven and London: 2 vols, Yale University Press.
MacDonald, Margaret F.; Galassi, Susan Grace; Ribeiro, Aileen (2003). Whistler, Women, & Fashion. Frick Collection/Yale University.
Newton, Joy; Margaret F. MacDonald (1978). "Whistler: Search for a European Reputation". Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte. 41 (2): 148–159.
doi:
10.2307/1481962.
JSTOR1481962.