Accession Number
1954/1.342

Title
Finette

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1859

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on laid Japan tissue

Dimensions
13 7/8 in. x 9 3/16 in. ( 35.3 cm x 23.3 cm )

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
Finette
1859
Etching and drypoint on Japan tissue
Third state of ten (Kennedy 58)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.342
This large print is notable for its rich use of drypoint, particularly to depict the figure’s dark dress. Finette, described as “very elegant,” was a can-can dancer at the
bal Bullier; here she is shown standing in her apartment.
The full-length treatment recalls the etched portraits of Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641). In 1857, Whistler had visited an enormous and influential exhibition in Manchester, where he encountered the striking aristocratic portrait etchings by this Flemish painter and printmaker; their combination of delicacy of features and bold contrast of light and dark inspired him to attempt similar effects in his own prints. This impression is an early state out of a total of ten; later states develop the Parisian skyline outside the window and the group of objects that form a small still life to the right of the figure. The rich blacks of the drypoint and the delicate lines that describe Finette’s features meant that comparatively few impressions could be taken from the plate; pristine early-state impressions such as this one were difficult to find, and Whistler reportedly guarded them jealously.

Subject matter
Finette was a famous dancer who performed at the Bal bullier in Paris and is reported to have brought the can-can to France. She was quite a celebrity at the time Whistler made this drypoint and she sat for a number of photographers of the day as well. The interior is her apartment in Montmartre. In later states of the plate, Whister further describes the still life on the table behind the figure as well as the view out the window.

Physical Description
A woman in a dark dress stands in an interior beside a window at left. Her left hand hangs at her side while her right hand, positioned in front of her waist, holds a cigar or cigarette. She wears a dark hat and has long curling hair; her head is inclined at an angle to the right.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Figures
girl
interiors
standing
window
woman
women (female humans)