La Vielle aux loques

James McNeill Whistler

1858 · Etching and drypoint; fourth state of four (Glasgow); printed in black ink on off-white laid (simili?) paper · Drawings and Prints

After visiting the Rhineland during a summer–fall tour in 1858, Whistler created this image of an elderly woman sorting rags (loques). He here develops a formula to which he would often return—using an open entrance to frame a receding interior that contains figures and objects. Like "La Mère Gérard" and "La Rétameuse," the artist focuses on an old working woman, dignified but without sentiment. Created late in 1858 this is one of the most complex prints in "Douze eaux-fortes d’après nature" (Twelve Etchings from Nature), the artist's first published set.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1858

Medium

Etching and drypoint; fourth state of four (Glasgow); printed in black ink on off-white laid (simili?) paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1962