Accession Number
1954/1.322

Title
En Plein Soleil, 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
1858

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on Japan paper, laid down on white wove plate paper

Dimensions
9 3/4 in x 12 3/4 in (24.77 cm x 32.38 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

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.

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 sprouting up between the figure and the viewer.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Figures
Portraits
bust-length
field
grass
leisure events
parasols (costume accessories)
seated
woman
women (female humans)