En Plein Soleil, 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
- 1954/1.322
- Title
- En Plein Soleil, 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 and drypoint, 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, l.l.: 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
- 24.8 cm x 32.4 cm (9 3/4 in. x 12 3/4 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Physical Description
- Seen slightly from below, a woman is seated in a landscape on a hillock. She is holding a dark, fringed parasol and has a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her face is partly shaded by the parasol; beside her to the left is a pot or container of some kind. Behind her to the right is a lone poplar tree and behind her to the left are some low buildings and indication of a stand of trees. The foreground is uneven, with tufts of grass standing up between the figure and the viewer.
- Subject Matter
- Drawn directly outside, this work shows Whistler's shared interest in "plein air" sketching and painting. Although Whistler abandoned such a straightforward interpretation of nature, which he believed did not involve creativity, he never lost the ability to quickly seize the essentials of form and light of objects he observed. Later, his work sought to distill everyday scenes around him and transform them into a poetic beauty that he found in such subjects.
- Secondary Keywords
- costume
- costume accessories
- costume accessories carried
- grasses
- landscapes
- objects we use
- people and occupations
- plants
- the natural world
- women
- 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
- 1233 x 923
- File Size
- 161 KB
- Record
- 1954/1.322
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.322/1954_1.322.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.322:1954_1.322.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"En Plein Soleil, 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-1.322/1954_1.322.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.