La Mère Gérard, one of the "Twelve Etchings from Nature," or the "French Set" / James McNeill Whistler
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1954/1.319
- Title
- La Mère Gérard, one of the "Twelve Etchings from Nature," or the "French Set"
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- 1834-1903
- Medium and Support
- etching, printed in black ink on Japan paper, laid down on white wove plate paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1858
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
- Inscription
- On the plate, to l. of figure: Whistler.
- On the plate, bottom: Imp. Delatre. Rue St. Jacques. 171.
- Dimensions
- 32.6 cm x 24.7 cm (12 13/16 in. x 9 3/4 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Physical Description
- A woman in hat and half-length jacket stands in bright sunlight in front of a wall. She stands at a slight angle to the viewer, holding a garment in her left hand and possibly a chain in her right hand; she looks up and to the right of the viewer. A dark shadow cast by her body against the wall partly obscures her left side.
- Subject Matter
- La Mere Gérard was a flower-seller outside of the Bal bullier in Paris who was nearly blind and was considered mentally unstable. She was the subject of several early paintings as well as two etchings by Whistler and this depiction, while sharing formal conventions with popular illustration by artists such as Paul Gavarni, is full of close observation and sympathy that prevents the work from falling into stereotype.
- Secondary Keywords
- figures
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by gender
- physical activities
- physical activities by general context
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 911 x 1309
- File Size
- 140 KB
- Record
- 1954/1.319
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.319/1954_1.319.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.319:1954_1.319.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"La Mère Gérard, one of the "Twelve Etchings from Nature," or the "French Set"; James McNeill Whistler." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.319/1954_1.319.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 18, 2024.
