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- Accession Number
- 1954/1.327
- Title
- La Vieille aux Loques
- 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 paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1858
- Object Creation Place
- North America
- American
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
- Inscription
- On the plate, l.r.: Whistler On the plate, l.r.: Imp. Delatre. Rue St. Jacques. 171. Collection (no mark): This set is from the collection of the late Sir F. Seymour Haden's brother.
- Dimensions
- 32.9 cm x 24.5 cm (12 15/16 in. x 9 5/8 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Physical Description
- An old woman in a white cap sits in a cluttered interior. Positioned just inside the doorway, the woman is surrounded by piles of cloth with domestic objects on shelves and walls that gleam in the darkness.
- Subject Matter
- The images of Whistler's French Set reflect the artistic trends current in Paris when Whistler was a student there. "La Vieille aux Loques", with its concern for working class figures, demonstrates Whistler's early orientation towards the work of Courbet. Throughout his career, Whistler mantained an interest in depicting working class and humble subjects; however, the beauty of his depictions elevated such works beyond the gritty realism of early works such as this etching.
- Secondary Keywords
- architectural elements
- architecture
- buildings and the land
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- containers
- containers by form
- figures
- objects
- objects we use
- openings (architectural elements)
- openings and opening components
- openings by form
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- physical activities
- physical activities by general context
