11-B James McNeill Whistler, Harmony in Blue and Gold, The Peacock Room, 1876–1877

11-B James McNeill Whistler, Harmony in Blue and Gold, The Peacock Room, 1876–1877
-Look closely at all areas of this room. Where are the peacocks?
-Why is this room called the peacock room? (The four peacocks, the color of the room)
-What words would you use to describe this room? Why those words?
-What objects seem exotic or foreign to Western Europeans and Americans? (The peacocks are Asian birds, blue and white Chinese ceramics fill the shelves, the woman in the painting stands on an oriental rug in front of an Asian screen, wearing a kimono)
-How did Whistler create a sense of unity and harmony in the room? (Color, repeated patterns, use of gold)
-How did Whistler make his painting of the woman an important part of the rooms’ overall design? (It’s over the fireplace, surrounded by gold shelves that match its frame)
-Imagine people in this room when it was first designed. How would they dress? (In the 1870’s, women wore long, elaborate dresses and men wore cravats/ties, fitted jackets and long trousers)
-What might they do in a room like this? (Originally this was the dining room; parties or groups of people would dine and admire the room and its collection of ceramics)
-How does the room embody Whistler’s philosophy of “art for art’s sake”? (The owner intended it to be a dining room and a place to display his collection of fine East Asian porcelain, but after Whistler had finished, the room draws more attention to itself as a work of art. It contains no moral message, but there is symbolism in the design of the peacock fight, which refers to the dispute between Whistler and the room’s owner.)
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