Semantics of the peacock image in the art of James Whistler (1834-1903)

Abstract

The paper aims to identify the specific nature and reveal the semantics of the peacock image in the works of the English artist and Aestheticism representative James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) within the context of the Chinoiserie phenomenon. The study focuses on two interconnected works by the artist: the famous “The Peacock Room” and the less widely known, yet deeply symbolic painting “The Gold Scab: Eruption in Frilthy Lucre (The Creditor)”. It was established that Whistler’s works combine Eastern and European perspectives on peacock symbolism, which enabled a comparative and semantic analysis of the peacock image in Chinese and English cultures. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the artist incorporates peacock imagery into the design of “The Peacock Room” as an element of Chinese art, while imbuing the image with English symbolism, weaving personal history into the work’s program, with this idea further developing in the painting “The Gold Scab”. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time in both national and international scholarship, a comprehensive analysis of the peacock image in the context of Orientalism revealed that the peacock, which is a positive symbol of dignity and mercy in China, typically acquires a negative meaning in Whistler’s works, embodying vanity and greed, a characteristic already prevalent in English culture.

Research materials

1. Christie’s Live Auction 2916. Masterpieces of the Enameller’s Art from the Mandel Collection. Lot 3909. 30 May 2012. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5572423?ldp_breadcrumb=back
2. Hawkins M. The eye of the peacock / Public Catalogue Foundation ART UK. 2025. https://artuk.org/discover/curations/the-eye-of-the-peacock
3. Leyland F. To Whistler J. M. October 21, 1876 // The correspondence of James McNeil Whistler. Glasgow University Library. https://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/subject/display/?cid=2570&indexid=960&rs=7
4. Whistler A. To Gamble J. 10th to 11th February 1864 // The correspondence of James McNeil Whistler. Glasgow University Library. https://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/recno/display/?cid=6522
5. Whistler J. A letter to Frances Leyland. 1877 // The correspondence of James McNeil Whistler. Glasgow University Library. https://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/recno/display/?cid=02599
6. Whistler J. M. To Frederick Richards Leyland. October 31, 1876 // The correspondence of James McNeil Whistler. Glasgow University Library. https://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/subject/display/?cid=2575&indexid=960&rs=8

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: October 16, 2025.
• Published: December 1, 2025.

Keywords

• искусство XIX века
• ориентализм в искусстве
• рецептивный механизм в искусстве
• феномен китаемании
• японизм в культуре
• Джеймс Уистлер
• образ павлина
• 19th-century art
• Orientalism in art
• receptive mechanism in art
• Chinoiserie phenomenon
• Japonisme in culture
• James Whistler
• peacock image

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