‘The Trial Sermon – number two’, by J. M. Whistler

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The Trial Sermon - 2

J. M. Whistler

Wood engraving by the Dalziels

6 x 4½ inches

Good Words (1862): 649.

The illustration is the second of a pair which, unlike Whistler’s other wood engravings, depicts scenes from a novella (by ‘M. C.’) rather than a poem. This image is a detailed response to the author’s description of Joanna as a ‘slender girl’ with an air of ‘languor’ (652). [Commentary continues below.]

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Whistler recasts the anonymous author’s textual information, turning the character into a static female type, contained in an enclosed space, and immersed in reverie. The image works well as an illustration, but is better understood as one of the abstract portraits in oil, such as The Symphony in White, No. 2.

Bibliography

Good Words (1862).

Created 30 October 2020