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

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Nude tending a pot of flowers

Composition


                    Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection

                    The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art
The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art

                    Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps, The Hunterian
Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps, The Hunterian

                    Spring, Terra Foundation for American Art
Spring, Terra Foundation for American Art

The recurring theme of a crouching or bending figure tending flowers dates back to the 1860s, in The White Symphony: Three Girls [YMSM 087] and The Three Girls [YMSM 088]. However it recurs frequently in Whistler's work; see, for instance A crouching nude tending a flowering plant [M.1389], Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps [M.1391], and Spring [M.1397].

Technique


                    Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection

The figures and pot stand are drawn with multiple outlines.

Conservation History

The drawings must have been done with the paper folded, since they are not the same way up, the one on right was drawn with the paper at right angles to the first (moved anti-clockwise). The fold and edges are soiled.

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret