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Many admirers of Whistler misinterpreted the artist’s insistence on immediacy as a directive to forgo preparation or refinement. Haskell’s drawing process for this composition suggests that he wanted to avoid this mistake. The composition is a mirror image of Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, Portrait of the Artist’s Mother (reproduced below), with Haskell’s monogram in the same location as Whistler’s famous butterfly signature. Haskell augmented Whistler’s tonal scheme with layers of formal exploration that reveal his overarching studies.
The properties of liquid graphite allow researchers to uncover Haskell’s drawing process without need of specialized scientific equipment. Here, Haskell’s preliminary sketch is visible as a shallow depression in the paper. Additions made over graphite wash are amplified by its metallic properties, a quality that probably appealed to Haskell. He eschewed any technique that could mask faulty draftsmanship.
KG, How He Was to His Talents exhibition, March 24, 2011-August 7, 2011
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+1996.178 |
