The Steps, Luxembourg Gardens
Medium
Transfer lithograph with stumping, printed in black ink on ivory laid paper; only state (Chicago)
Dimensions
Image: 8 3/16 × 6 3/16 in. (20.8 × 15.7 cm) Sheet: 12 3/8 × 7 3/4 in. (31.4 × 19.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.192
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the heart of Paris's Luxembourg Gardens, James McNeill Whistler captures a serene moment on the stone steps in *The Steps, Luxembourg Gardens* (1893). This transfer lithograph depicts elegant human figures descending amid lush trees and manicured greenery, evoking the leisurely atmosphere of late 19th-century Parisian public life. Whistler, the American-born master of Aestheticism renowned for his tonal harmonies and subtle effects, turned to these gardens—a favorite haunt for artists and intellectuals—for inspiration during his frequent stays in France. Printed in black ink on ivory laid ...
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...