La Belle Dame Paresseuse

Accession Number
1954/1.449

Title
La Belle Dame Paresseuse

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1894

Medium & Support
transfer lithograph on laid paper

Dimensions
12 3/8 x 8 in. (31.3 x 20.2 cm);12 3/8 x 8 in. (31.3 x 20.2 cm);22 1/16 x 18 1/8 in. (56 x 46 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
La Belle Dame Paresseuse
1894
Transfer lithograph
Only state (Way 62; Chicago 98)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.449
Upon seeing the proof of this print, Whistler claimed it was one of his most beautiful: “fair and silvery” and with velvety blacks that rivaled those of drypoint burr, it seemed to him to have the character of a charcoal drawing “more than anything that had ever been printed.” This portrait of Whistler’s wife seated on a couch resting her head on her hand is, in fact, a harbinger of great sorrow. After Beatrix’s diagnosis of cancer in Paris in 1894, Whistler took her to several doctors hoping for a different diagnosis and eventually brought her back to London for her final months. Though the title, which translates as the beautiful lazy woman, implies that the figure is merely idling away her time, this is not the case.

Subject matter
When Whistler married Beatrice Godwin, née Philip, in 1888 he became part of a close family circle that included his wife (who called herself Beatrix), her sisters and her mother. In 1894 Beatrix was diagnosed with cancer; Whistler was devastated. Many of the lithographs he drew of her seem to belie the reality of the situation. "The Beautiful Lazy Lady" is not an image of indolence but of illness. Whistler's portraits of Beatrix are touching and intimate, although their titles may indicate that he had trouble facing the reality of the diagnosis.

Physical Description
A seated female faces towards the viewer. She is leaning back in her chair, her chin resting on her left arm; she holds papers in her right hand that are in her lap.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Figures
figures (representations)
man
men (male humans)
seated
sitting

& Author Notes

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