Technique

Rose et or: La Napolitaine, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

Whistler painted several portraits of Carmen Rossi (Crimson note: Carmen [YMSM 441], Rose et or: La Napolitaine [YMSM 505], Violet and Rose: Carmen qui rit [YMSM 506], and Harmony in Rose and Green: Carmen [YMSM 507]). Rose et or: La Napolitaine [YMSM 505] is by far the most finished, and rich in colour, and giving Carmen a more imposing appearance than in her other portraits.

The technique employed by Whistler in these late works includes extensive rubbing down of the paint layers, revealing the fine regular weave of the canvas, particularly on and around her face, and enhancing the smooth transition between colours, and between light and dark. By contrast, the glossy texture of her full gathered sleeves was indicated with broad strokes of a square brush in pink over a deep maroon/brown.

Conservation History

Rose et or: La Napolitaine, photograph, 1976

On 17 June 1902 Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit told Pennell that Whistler had asked him to help locate some pictures, possibly including this portrait, and, he said, Whistler 'wanted ... one painting in particular because it was not finished.' 1 Freer mentioned in a letter to Whistler's lawyers regarding a portrait of Carmen, 'The picture when returned was found to be much painted upon which will be also a matter of further consideration.' 2

Rose et or: La Napolitaine was sold by the Farnsworth Museum about 1957, because it was in poor condition and 'unattractive.' 3 However, it has been carefully restored and is in excellent condition.