Study: Maud Seated
Medium
Lithotint with scraping and roulette in black ink on ivory wove proofing paper
Dimensions
Image: 26.5 × 18.3 cm (10 7/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Sheet: 29.3 × 22.4 cm (11 9/16 × 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
lithotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
139535
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Whistler frequently depicted his mistresses (and later, his wife), including the early etching Finette (nearby, 1938.1882) and this later lithotint. This subject’s relaxed pose—curled up in a chair, legs draped to the side—demonstrates an easy intimacy completely at odds with the portrait of Whistler’s straight-laced Victorian mother.
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...