Accession Number
1993/2.34

Title
Stéphane Mallarmé (No. 1)

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1892

Medium & Support
transfer lithograph on chine collé

Dimensions
12 9/16 x 9 11/16 in. (31.8 x 24.6 cm);12 9/16 x 9 11/16 in. (31.8 x 24.6 cm);19 5/16 x 14 3/8 in. (49 x 36.5 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by Mildred R. Hartsook

Label copy
Stéphane Mallarmé
1892
Transfer lithograph on China paper
Only state (Way 66; Chicago 60)
Gift of Mildred R. Hartsook, 1993/2.34
Whistler executed two lithographs of his good friend, the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898); this one served as the frontispiece to a volume of his poetry, Vers et Prose, published in 1893. Mallarmé himself thought it: “a marvel, the best thing that has ever been done of me,” and people acquainted with him found that the sitter’s essence was captured so perfectly that he could be heard to actually speak. The evanescent quality of the portrait was also remarked upon: “the image exists only as a breath. It is built up by the most rapid pencil strokes. It is an improvisation, and yet one does not improvise so striking a rendering of a human being; it is necessary to have penetrated him profoundly to give him with this intensity of life and character.” Though the image conveys a sense of having beautifully captured Mallarmé’s likeness as if on the fly, it was, in fact, the product of several sittings.
Though it was drawn on smooth transfer paper without a grain, Whistler worked on the thin paper with a leather book cover underneath in order to subtly incorporate the cow grain as part of the image.

Subject matter
Whistler met the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé around 1888 through an introduction from the painter Claude Monet.  Mallarmé translated Whistler’s Ten O’Clock lecture into French, and artist and writer became close friends.  When Mallarmé’s volume Vers et Prose was prepared for publication in 1894, Whistler agreed to provide a lithographic portrait of Mallarmé for the frontispiece of the first edition.  Although the zigzag diagonal shading suggests spontaneity and speed of execution, the portrait was created over several sittings. It was, however, considered by those who knew the writer to be a faithful likeness.

Physical Description
This image is a portrait of a seated man with short hair, mustache and goatee. There is no indication of surroundings, although the sitter must be near a wall, as his figure casts a shadow behind him to the right.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
portrait

Additional Object Classification(s)
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
men (male humans)
portraits