Harmony in Green and Rose: The Music Room

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) · 1860-1861

Set in the London home of Whistler's brother-in-law Seymour Haden, this painting was originally titled The Morning Call. The woman reflected in the mirror at the left is Whistler's half sister Deborah Haden. The seated girl is his niece, Annie Haden. The standing woman, Miss Isabella Boott, was connected to the Haden family by marriage. Instead of trying to create a convincing illusion of three-dimensional space, Whistler adopted a color scheme and sharply angled perspective that emphasize the flatness of the picture plane.