Harmony in Flesh Colour and Red

In this painting-drawing on his sizeable collection of Japanese art and his interest in classical antiquity-Whistler combined a flattened picture plane and Asian-inspired setting with references to a Greek frieze, with figures sculpted or painted against a plain background. He clothed his models in fashionable Victorian costumes, setting the scene clearly in the present day. The painting owes its title to Whistler's interest in the relationship between the sensory experiences of music and the visual arts, a preoccupation of many Aesthetic Movement artists.