1873, James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Black: Portrait of F. R. Leyland -- National Museum of Asian Art (Washington)
From the museum label: Leyland appears in the guise of a Spanish monarch, an association both he and Whistler welcomed. With its subtle shades of black and gray, the painting suggests the work of Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), court painter to the Spanish Habsburgs and Whistler's artistic hero. The painting took the artist a long time to complete, leading Leyland to complain that the ordeal was "my own martyrdom." Ultimately, however, he was pleased with the result, a portrait that documents mutual admiration between artist and subject.
1873, James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Black: Portrait of F. R. Leyland -- National Museum of Asian Art (Washington)
From the museum label: Leyland appears in the guise of a Spanish monarch, an association both he and Whistler welcomed. With its subtle shades of black and gray, the painting suggests the work of Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), court painter to the Spanish Habsburgs and Whistler's artistic hero. The painting took the artist a long time to complete, leading Leyland to complain that the ordeal was "my own martyrdom." Ultimately, however, he was pleased with the result, a portrait that documents mutual admiration between artist and subject.