Mother and Daughter [La Mère Malade]
![Mother and Daughter [La Mère Malade] by James McNeill Whistler](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/aic/thumb/mother-and-daughter-la-mre-malade-aic-139593.webp)
Medium
Transfer lithograph in black with stumping, on grayish ivory China paper
Dimensions
Image: 18.7 × 15.8 cm (7 3/8 × 6 1/4 in.); Sheet: 30.7 × 24.9 cm (12 1/8 × 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
transfer lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
139593
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler, the renowned American-born artist celebrated for his Aestheticist principles and masterful use of tone and harmony, created *Mother and Daughter [Laère Malade]* in 1897. This transfer lithograph captures a tender yet poignant moment between a mother and child, with the French subtitle "The Sick Mother" evoking of vulnerability and familial bonds. Produced late in Whistler's career, it exemplifies his shift toward innovative printmaking, where he explored subtle gradations of light and shadow to evoke mood over literal detail. The medium—a transfer lithograph in black i...
About the Artist
James McNeill Whistler · 1834–1903
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American-born painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement and pioneer of Tonalism and Japonisme. He revolutionized art by championing "art for art's sake" and treating paintings as visual equivalents of musical compositions, titling works as "arrangements," "harmonies," and "nocturnes" to emphasize formal qualities o...