Whistler, Rex John (1905-1944)

Whistler, Rex John (1905-1944)

English painter who did murals for the Tate Gallery in London and illustrated Gulliver's Travels; Desert Island; etc. He also did stage settings, as for Victoria Regina, by Laurence Housman. white denotes purity, simplicity, and candor; innocence, truth, and hope.

The ancient Druids, and indeed the priests generally of antiquity, used to wear white vestments, as do the clergy of the Established Church of England when they officiate in any sacred service. The Magi also wore white robes.

The head of Osiris, in ancient Egypt, was adorned with a white tiara; all his ornaments were white and his priests were clad in white.

The priests of Jupiter, and the Flamen Dialis of Rome, were clothed in white, and wore white hats. The victims offered to Jupiter wore white. The Roman festivals were marked with white chalk, and at the death of a Caesar the national mourning was white; white horses were sacrificed to the sun, white oxen were selected for sacrifice by the Druids, and white elephants are held sacred in Siam.

The Persians affirm that the divinities are habited in white.