James McNeill Whistler: entre o mercado e a defesa da Arte

Abstract

In order to observe the impact of an ideology on an artist's demeanor and material reality, this research analyzed a book published in 1892 by the American James McNeill Whistler, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. By taking a position in face of the imposed paradoxes of the "Art autonomy" ideology, the painter elaborated a series of strategies that aimed at ensuring a public image defined within the parameters expected for a free artist, based chiefly on using the press use for divulge his ideas. Follower of the "art for art sake" premises, Whistler sought to prove that the freedom of artists relied on their preeminence over the domain of their production. Based on the debates between art critics of the British press and the artist, it was possible to observe the particularities of intern disputes of the British art field and the solutions found by Whistler to stay within the boundaries demarcating the authenticity of an artist.