Composition

The drawing is related to the figure at right in The White Symphony: Three Girls [YMSM 087].

Technique

At Sotheby's, London, 14 June 1989 (lot 376) this drawing was mistakenly attributed to Albert Joseph Moore (1841-1893), but the technique and its association with known drawings by Whistler proved without doubt that it was by Whistler.

Nahum described the technique as follows:

'The model was posed to draw attention to the curves of her body, in particular the long curve of her hips. She is subtly counter-balanced, with the body slightly twisting, the weight on her left leg, with movement implicit in the pose.

The figure and parasol were first sketched out with rather angular lines, quite typical of Whistler's work at this time. The highlighting of the body was done carefully, indeed for Whistler, it is highly finished. In many drawings these delicate chalk lines have so faded as to be nearly invisible. This drawing is in particularly good condition, from this point of view, so that the artist's intentions are clear. Whistler was working from a model, and there are signs of him developing and changing the modelling of the body, for example, at her hips. He showed concern for the individual characteristics of the young woman, her curving body, the heavy roundness of her hips, her small feet with their tensed toes, and her face with its gentle, reflective expression.

The drawing is on a dark, fibrous, brown paper with a slight vertical grain, used to good effect to vary the texture, to soften and add variety to the lines. Whistler used the material sensitively and achieved a most satisfying effect.' 1