The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 401
The Little Red Cap
Date
The Little Red Cap dates from the 1890s, probably between 1892 and 1898. 1
A label on the verso – written by Harold Wright (1885-1961) of Colnaghi's, probably with information from Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) – states that it was painted in Paris about 1892.
The Little Red Cap, The Hunterian
La Sylphide, The Hunterian
It is difficult to date, but may date from the later 1890s. Comparable paintings include Harmony in Green and Amber: A Draped Study y488, Rose et vert: Une étude y489, Eve y491, Draped Nude y492, Study of the Nude y493, La Sylphide y494, and Rose and Brown: La Cigale y495. La Sylphide, reproduced above, for instance, is thought to date from between 1896 and 1900.
Images
The Little Red Cap, The Hunterian
La Sylphide, The Hunterian
Subject
Titles
Whistler's original title is not known. Only one title is recorded:
- 'The Little Red Cap' (1973, Colnaghi). 2
- 'The Little Red Cap' (1980, YMSM). 3
Description
The Little Red Cap, The Hunterian
A full-length standing figure of a young woman, in vertical format. She is wearing a transparent one-piece robe, which is gathered in at the neck and tied across and under her small breasts with ribbon, thus creating short sleeves. Much of the material is gathered to the back, falling like a cloak framing her legs, and in colour, white darkening to grey below her knees. Her head is lowered, and partly concealed by bushy brown hair cut in a deep fringe. She wears a pink cap or kerchief on her head. Her left arm is folded across her body, hand to chin, and her right arm hangs relaxed by her side. Her weight rests on her almost hidden left foot, while her right leg crosses in front of the left. Thus the body has a slight twist. The background is dark shadowy shades of brown.
Sitter
The model has not been identified.
Technique
Technique
The Little Red Cap, The Hunterian
The canvas is a very fine open plain weave. The size of the canvas corresponds closely to that of the French 'toile de vingt' (73 x 50cm) and it was probably acquired, as well as painted, in Paris. It appears to have been primed in mid-grey. The canvas appears to have been painted in one session, although the right hand was later rubbed out. 4
The Hunterian website commented:
'This work is best described as a "lay in", where Whistler sketched in the main elements of the composition, but did not take the painting any further. His painterly skill is apparent in the expressive, fluid brushstrokes which capture the subject's easy pose and graceful limbs.' 5
However, 'easy pose' is a slight exaggeration, since this pose would have been hard to keep for long. It is indeed the sweeping brushstrokes that make the painting appear effortless.
Conservation History
It was lined, probably by John Bull in 1980, when the canvas was found to be dry and brittle, and it was probably cleaned, retouched and revarnished at that time. 6
Frame
105.2 x 82.2 x 8.1 cm.
History
Provenance
- 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
- 1958: bequeathed by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.
Exhibitions
It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 401), plate 251, as 'The Little Red Cap'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- Spencer, Robin (ed.), Whistler: A Retrospective, New York, 1989, p. 308, repr. pl. 97.
- Tanida, Hiroyuki, James M. Whistler, Tokyo, 1997, p. 94, repr. pl. 67.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- Young, A. McLaren, Glasgow University's Pictures, Colnaghi, London, 1973 (cat. no. 79) as 'The Little Red Cap'.
- Getscher, Robert H., 'Whistler's Puritanical Nudes', in Zelman, Anita, and Angela De Tolla-Smyth, A Symposium Window on Whistler's World, Held in Conjunction with Drawing Near: Whistler Etchings from the Zelman Collection, 15 September 1984, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Graphic Arts Council; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, American Art Council, Los Angeles, 1984, pp. 91-92 (not exhibited).
- ホイスラー展. Whistler Exhibition in Japan, Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum, Shizuoka, 1986 (cat. no. 26).
- James McNeill Whistler: selected works from the Hunterian Art Gallery, Dixon Gallery, 2004-2005; Taft Museum of Art, 2005; Philbrook Museum of Art, 2005; Boca Raton Museum of Art, 2005-2006; Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 2006; Nevada Museum of Art, 2007; Tyler Museum of Art, 2007 (cat. no. 6), p. 45.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk/#/details/ecatalogue/41291.
- Art UK website at https://artuk.org.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: Dated '1890s' in YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 401).
2: Young, A. McLaren, Glasgow University's Pictures, Colnaghi, London, 1973 (cat. no. 79).
3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 401).
4: Condition report by Clare Meredith, 30 April 2001, Hunterian files.
5: Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.
6: Meredith, 30 April 2001, op. cit.