The woman above, Jo Hifferman, was one of the most famous artist’s models ever. She appears in several celebrated paintings by James McNeill Whistler (obviously, she is not his mother), as well as a series of portraits done by Gustave Courbet, among them the one above and three others of a similar pose. The role of the artist’s model is essential to the art, yet is largely unsung. One of the most harrowing stories is of the model for John Edward Millais’ Ophelia (1851-1852), which shows a young woman floating in a small stream where she has supposedly drowned as that character did in Hamlet. The apocryphal tale is that the model spent hours floating in a tub of cold water to capture the appropriate look of poor, dead, Ophelia. Whether true or not, it captures the way that the models often “suffer for art,” holding interminable poses until the body decides, dead or alive, that rigor mortis must set in.
Then there’s seeing what the artist has created. A friend of mine used to model for her artist husband until, as she says, “I got tired of posing long hours only to see my beautiful body turned into some kind of futuristic chair.” Oops! Let me just say right now, as an artist, that we love all artist’s models, whoever you are and wherever you are. You are truly appreciated. However, only a few artist’s models go down in history by name. Yes, there is Victorine Meurent who posed for Manet’s Olympia, and Andrew Wyeth’s Helga, but basically not many are known by name. Jo Hifferman, however, is known by two names, Joanna Hifferman and Jo, la belle irlandaise (Jo, the beautiful Irish woman).
Her career started with James McNeill Whistler, an American who was living in London at the time. For Whistler the first painting was an experiment in painting white on white. Whistler, who was a great lover of music, originally titled the paintings Symphony in White 1 and 2, just as his later paintings of evenings on the Thames were called Nocturnes, another musical reference. Whistler had not yet gotten involved with the Pre-Raphaelites, but they later lauded these paintings as precursors to their own movement, which sought to emphasize the purity and simplicity of art as it was before Raphael. Jo Hifferman was all of 20 and 22 when she posed for these charming, rather virginal paintings.
Then they went to France. Whistler took Jo with him as she had become his mistress, despite the warnings of his family that she was “a loose woman.” Obviously from those paintings, he perhaps did not wish to see her that way. Whistler, himself, had a reputation for being rather contrarian and combative. He often signed his paintings with a butterfly that had a stinger in its tail. While these paintings were looked upon as illustrations in England, in France they were seen as poetic, and in what was to become the spirit of contrarianism of that day, they were exhibited in the 1863 Salon des Refusés, an exhibition of works that had been rejected by the formal Salon.
It was around this time that Whistler began his “frienemy” relationship with French artist, Gustave Courbet, known for promoting realism in art. In fact in the late summer/early autumn of 1864, Whistler and Jo met up with Courbet in the resort town of Trouville on the northern coast of Normandy, where the two artists did seascape painting. It was at this time that Courbet took advantage of having such a lovely model present and began painting a series of portraits of Jo, with her red hair loose, staring into a mirror (see image above). There are four in all, three in museums and one in a private collection. Innocent enough. Jo and Whistler returned to England, but memories of France obviously lingered. In 1866 when Whistler went off on a tour of South America, Jo managed to go back to France and modeled for Courbet. One of the results is below.
This painting, unlike the lovely image in the white dress, caused quite a sensation for different reasons, though it was also Courbet’s first to be shown at the Salon. It was criticized for being provocative, the pose too suggestive, and the disheveled hair was shocking. Just the thing to capture the attention of the public and of the artists of the time who were looking to break the mold of the past. Courbet went on to paint another couple of sensational paintings of Jo. One is called Sommeil or the Sleepers (1866), which shows two naked women sleeping in a bed. One of the sleepers is clearly Jo.
However, even more sensational is a painting done originally for a private client, Khalil-Bey, an Turkish-Egyptian diplomat, which became “the most famous painting that was rarely ever seen,” until it was acquired by the Musée D’orsay, where it now is on display. I shall leave you the link to the Musée’s English-Language information on that painting, so that you can discover it for yourselves. It is Origin of the World (1866). www.musee-orsay.fr And yes, Jo was the model.
The painting above was done long before Courbet’s affair with Jo. However, it conveys the general idea of what happened. Whistler became known in France as the cuckhold lover, and Courbet? Well, he was Courbet, flamboyant, controversial, and just plain French.
Gustave Courbet was as much of a rabble-rouser as Whistler was an art world disrupter. In fact, Courbet’s ultimate downfall was stiring up a crowd of communards during a period called The Commune just after the Franco-Prussian War, 1871. The crowd went to the Place Vendome and tore down the pillar celebrating Napolean’s victories. Once the government was re-established, Courbet was dealt with severely. He was forbidden to ever show his work in France again; he could never return to his home in the Franche-Comté; and he was fined some 360,000 French Francs, monies that were meant to restore the famous column. (The restored version stands today in the Place Vendome, where one finds the Ritz Hotel.) Since he could not pay, nor return to his beloved home, Courbet fled to Switzerland where he lived for a few years more, dying there in 1877.
Whistler had his own problems. Of course, his romantic relationship with Jo came to an end, though the two of them seemed to hold each other in good regard even to the end of their lives. Whistler moved on to paint his famous Nocturnes in the 1870s and ran afoul of British art critic, John Ruskin, who verbally smeared the paintings so badly that Whistler sued for defamation. Whistler won, but the judgement was one farthing, and the court costs bankrupted him. For a while thereafter, Ruskin’s invectives so tarnished the reputation of the paintings that they were not saleable. Now, of course, they are greatly prized, as well they should be. For more on the Nocturnes see this post on ofartandwine.com.
As for Jo, after her romantic relationships with these artists, she still maintained contact with Whistler, befriended his next mistress, and helped to raise a son he had had with a parlor maid. After the 1880s, she was known to have lived in Nice, France, where she sold antiques and brocantes. She came to London for Whistler’s funeral in 1903, revealing herself by lifting her veil to show her red hair then streaked with some gray. She stood by his coffin for over an hour.
So to end this piece on the strange fame of an artist’s model, I send a personal shout out to the most famous artist’s model of the early 2000’s in my old hometown of Avignon, France. Her name is Sylvette. One of the best galleries there even did a show of artists’ sketches of her – 20 Artists and One Model, Sylvette. The invitation had a wonderful photo of her in a customary pose, and we all knew it was her from the curve of her lovely derriere. So here’s to Sylvette and to all the artist’s models, without whom art would be so much duller.
Paintings used are all in public domain.
Information gathered from Taschen publication, Courbet, written by Fabrice Masanés, 2006.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.
Wines of the Franche-Comté.
Let’s not fool ourselves, the Franche-Comté region, home of the very proud Gustave Courbet, produces many of the finest wines in France. Red, white, or rosé, they are among the best. However, they also produce a regional specialty, Vin Jaune. It is made from a Sauvignin grape, though other regions have tried to replicate the wine with Chardonnay grapes. The Sauvignin is a relative of the Gewurtztraminer, and since the Franche-Comté is right on the Swiss border, the influence of the German wines is felt more strongly. The process of making Vin Jaune is one of long duration, taking six years and a few months to mature in oak barrels that give it a lingering taste of almonds. It even comes in a specific type of bottle, shown in the photo above, called a Clavelin, which according to Regions of France – Franche-Comté (regions-of-france.com) is almost as rare as the wine.
Aerial view on the old city and tower of the citadel of Besancon in Bourgogne Franche Comte region in France.
Vin Jaune, however, is not the only yellow wine produced in this region. Vin de Paille, or “straw wine” combines Chardonnay, Sauvignin and Poulsard grapes, which are dried for about two months on open-air racks until they reach 80% dehydration. Then they are pressed and aged in oak casques for two to three years. This labor-intensive process produces a wine with an alcohol content of 15-17%. It is to be served chilled and pairs very well with foie gras. The writer for the article containing information on this wine, as well as several other wines from the Franche-Comte, seems to feel it has “medicinal” properties as well, interfrance.com.
While on the subject of unique alcoholic products made in this mountainous region, I shall digress for a moment to present a special drink. It is not a wine, but a gentian liqueur made from the roots of a mountain flower. One version of it is served in the Hautes Alpes region and is known as génépy. This green liqueur was developed in the middle ages to help people with what they called “le mal des ardents” or a burning sickness. The burning was felt in the extremities, a sensation like having a foot that falls asleep. Normally one can shake off the burning if one gets up and walks around. However, with this sickness, the burning did not stop, because the circulation to the hands and feet was indeed being cut off. It lead to amputations, which were quite common until the mountain people learned from the importation of bread made from wheat that their problem came from eating rye bread. The rye bread had a parasite in it that infected the body and slowly caused circulation problems leading to those amputations. The one thing that they did figure out before learning about the parasite in the rye was that they needed something to keep the blood circulating. They invented a strong liqueur, génépy, to enliven the blood flow. To this day, if you want to give your system a good blast of energy on a cold winter’s night, génépy will do nicely.
Here are pictures of two other mountain liqueurs. The one on the left is a pine liqueur made from pine needles harvested in June. It comes in a wooden bottle and as you can see, it has little stubs of branches that have been cut off of the limb that makes the bottle. The green liqueur is a gentian liqueur made like génépy from the roots of mountain plants.
As has been stated, there are many fine red, white. and rosé wines made in the Franche-Comté. The reds normally are a mixture of grapes with, of course, Pinot Noir as one of the main elements since it is noted for giving a smooth finish. The whites are made from Chardonnay and Sauvignin grapes. The rosés are made from the Poulsard grapes and done in a way that allows it to pair well with charcuterie (cold cut meats). Once again, I refer you to the Interfrance link above for futher information on the food pairings for each of these wines.
Remember that the wine-growing regions of France hold many unusual products with some of the most unusual histories. If you ever visit these areas, including Haute Savoie, and Hautes Alpes, enjoy all the wines, but when the chilly winds blow, go for the génépy.
Since we travel in vicarious ways these days during the pandemic, don’t forget to try out traveling through wine tasting. One great way to do that is to join a wine club. Cellars Wine Club is a fine way to experience the wines of the world and those from here in the U.S. Just click to go directly to cellarswineclub.com
Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.
©marjorie vernelle 2020
Coming soon: Degas Makes Pastel Landscapes Dance, plus Pouilly Fuissé Wine.
We all know about Degas’ great pastels of ballerinas and dancers of various types. What is less well known is that he also did wonderful pastel landscapes, using a variety of techniques, including doing monotypes that were finished with pastels. Come explore these lesser known but equally beautiful works and see how a modern artist follows in that tradition.