Whistler’s Father Budapest, Hungary 2011
The genesis of the title should be obvious, but just in case it’s not, here’s the inspiration:
Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (a.k.a. Whistler’s Mother) James McNeill Whistler 1871
I’ve seen Whistler’s actual painting at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. I really like the colors in this painting but what I find really interesting about it is the sliver of a frame and white mat in the upper right hand corner of the painting. It’s the kind of seemingly extraneous thing you’d see by accident in a photograph (at least until Photoshop made such things easy to remove), but which painter’s would just choose not to include. So I have to wonder why Whistler bothered to actually paint it in. Perhaps it provides just the balance or tension the composition needs, without which it would fail to please; but you couldn’t prove it by me. ]]>
For me, the little bit of frame and matting are the perfect balance to the one that is already there. Without it, I would feel like I was listing to the left! 🙂 What a genius!
I like your Whistler’s Father photo. It inspires a peaceful, thoughtful feeling – more than the Whistler’s Mother painting does.
Carol, I thought so too, although when I covered it up I didn’t list to the left. Buct check out this subsequent, less famous painting he did called Arrangement in Grey and Black #2: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Whistler_James_Arrangement_in_Gray_and_Black_No2_1873.jpg He used different elements to achieve balance in it I guess.
Interesting observation about that piece of frame in the painting. One could say that the themostat? on the left wall in your photo serves a similar purpose. It connects to the spotlight in the back/distance and helps reinforce a sense of depth by calling our visual attention to the first/front layer of the image. It’s rectangular shape (albeit horizontal) also echoes the vertical frame in the distance.
Kathy
Interesting point about the thermostat Kathy. I don’t always look at photos or paintings that analytically but it’s kind of fun (and informative) to explore how various compositional elements either add to or distract from a composition.