Whistler’s Mother

Prakash Hegade 20 Comments

W2020

Its April of 2020 and Day 23 of A to Z challenge. This year, I am doing Metaphors. Be it a movie, song, painting, book, idiom, etc. I plan to give a perspective to it with an explanation and a 8 line poem.

 

Metaphor: Whistler’s Mother

Whistler’s mother is an iconic oil painting on canvas by James McNeil Whistler of his mother Anna. The painting done in 1871 is also known as Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. The painting is in 56.81 x 63.94 inches(That’s huge!) canvas and also known to be Victorian Mona Lisa. The painting is culturally popular. It’s been featured in several movies and my favorite is in Mr. Bean. It’s been used in posters, music, etc. and there has been a stamp a well.

whistlers-mother

I am inspired by the brilliance of the painting which plays with black, grey and shades of light. The image has been used since the Victorian era as an icon for motherhood, affection for parents, and family values (especially in United States). Paintings are viewed with a varied meanings as per each individual and there is always a personal level connect.

Poem:
A total absence,
Presence,
Presence with absence,
In any other sense,
And every other sense,
– family and values.
But everyone can see,
Whistler’s mother.

Everyone in the world isn’t gifted with the same. Not everyone has learnt the values of family and some never will.

20 thoughts on “Whistler’s Mother”

  3. I didn’t know it was the “Victorian Mona Lisa”–you’re a wealth of knowledge! I do remember seeing it in Mr Bean–he’s so funny 🙂 As to family and values, those who come from dysfunctional family homes are quite deprived…I tend to envy people I know who’ve had close loving families. And I suppose I chose to be alone, since I didn’t have a clue how to do a healthy family. Wonderful post, as always, PH–Bravo!

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