Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

 

Nude holding a fan

Description

The title Nude holding a fan could apply to a standing or recumbent nude.

It was described in Le XIX siècle on 30 March 1892 as 'une femme nue, un éventail à la main, d'un dessin vif, mais un peu frivole.' (a nude woman, fan in hand, a lively drawing, but a little frivolous). Le Temps, on the same day, described Whistler's pastels in general terms as 'les Odalisques couchées ... de curieuses symphonies de rose et de bleu' (women lying down, curious symphonies in pink and blue).


                    Rose et Opale, Freer Gallery of Art
Rose et Opale, Freer Gallery of Art

Rose et Opale [M.1231] could fit these descriptions, and may have been the pastel exhibited.

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret