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

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Le Bébé français

Titles

Only one title has been suggested, with varying capitalisation:

  • 'Le bébé français' (1905, Paris). 1
  • 'Le Bébé Français' (1936, University of Glasgow). 2
  • 'Le Bébé français' (1980, YMSM). 3

Description


                    Le Bébé français, The Hunterian
Le Bébé français, The Hunterian

A portrait in circular format, showing the head and shoulders of a sleeping baby with curly brown hair, her head in profile to left. She wears a white blouse with a broad frilled collar, like a ruff.

Sitter

The sleeping child in this painting has not been unidentified, being described only as a 'local baby'. The child was painted in Etretat, Normandy, France.

Comments

Whistler painted several sketches of babies or toddlers, including one of his first oils, The Artist's Niece [YMSM 001], and later studies, Note in Flesh Colour and Grey: Portrait of Miss Dorothy Menpes [YMSM 260] and Portrait of Miss Amy Brandon Thomas [YMSM 392].

Notes:

1: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 47).

2: James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, 1936 (cat. no. 16).

3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 484).

Last updated: 22nd October 2020 by Margaret