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The Ten Greatest Portraits Ever Painted

Ten immortal masterpieces that tower over all the rest.



7. James Abbott MacNeil Whistler, 1834-1903
Portrait of My Mother:
Arrangement in Gray and Black


     The American Impressionist James Whistler attempted make a statement with his title for this picture: "Arrangement in Gray and Black." However, the world has showered this painting with affection, making it one of the most universally beloved of all works of art. The public created and bestowed its popular designation of Whistler's Mother. Artists viewing the original after long familiarity with reproductions are surprised to see the thinness of the paint film; only the head and hands carry any impasto. The wall and floor are rendered with washes of diluted paint.

     Conceived as a two-dimensional design, and executed in a severe monochrome, the painting nonetheless portrays its human subject with genuine tenderness and emotion. The world has loved the artist's mother more than the painter's "arrangement in gray and black."

Musée d'Orsay, Paris
painting 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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