Accession Number
1950/1.202

Title
La Vieille aux Loques (One of the "Twelve Etchings from Nature," or the "French Set")

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1856-1858

Medium & Support
etching, printed in black ink on on laid paper

Dimensions
8 7/16 in. x 6 1/8 in. ( 21.5 cm x 15.5 cm )

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

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.

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.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
doorways
interior views
seated
seated figures
working class