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

 

M.1531
Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1898
Collection: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
Accession Number: GLAHA 46272
Medium: chalk
Support: brown paper laid down on card
Size: 7 x 11 1/8" (178 x 282 mm)
Signature: none
Inscription: none

Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan

Composition

Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan, The Hunterian
Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan, The Hunterian
Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian
Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian

This may be a study for Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players [YMSM 496]. Both drawing and oil are unfinished.

Technique

Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan, The Hunterian
Two nudes seated on a sofa, one with a cap and fan, The Hunterian

The drawing is mainly in black chalk, with several outlines on the figures, and patches of diagonal shading, plus a very few white touches.

Conservation History

The paper is fibrous with large bits of wood-stalk and a light horizontal grain. There are some decaying black spots and, above the middle of the sheet, a hole.

Last updated: 9th December 2020 by Margaret