My favourite painting is Arrangement in Grey and Black No.

1, best known under its

colloquial name Whistler's Mother. It is a painting of a great personality, as well as
austere like few portraits, and therefore of a strange magnetism. Sometimes it
reminds me the sadness of my grandmother when she was struggling with depression.

Its painter, James McNeill Whistler, used a variety of techniques. For instance, his
mother’s darkly coloured dress is painted thinly, while his treatment of her hands and
face with areas of pink and yellow is luminous, showing his care in building up colours
to illuminate and animate his subject

This nineteenth-century masterpiece is absolutely breathtaking. It is without doubt my

favourite painting in the world and no one should miss if they are visiting France.