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

 

Self-Portrait

Composition


                    Self-Portrait, The Hunterian, GLAHA 46373
Self-Portrait, The Hunterian, GLAHA 46373

                    Self-Portrait, The Hunterian, GLAHA 46329
Self-Portrait, The Hunterian, GLAHA 46329

The portrait is closely related to a more highly finished self-portrait that remained in Whistler’s estate, Self-Portrait [YMSM 461]. It is, however, slightly more richly coloured than the other Self-Portrait.


                    Gold and Brown, National Gallery of Art
Gold and Brown, National Gallery of Art

A third self-portrait, Gold and Brown [YMSM 462], was worked on in Paris early in 1898, and Whistler could have been working on both, or all three, at that time.

Technique


                    Self-Portrait, The Hunterian
Self-Portrait, The Hunterian

It was painted thinly on a very fine open weave tabby canvas. The paint is slightly thicker on and around the head. Touches of brown in the background, the thick white of the collar, and red of the lips, bring the portrait to life, although some areas, like Whistler's forehead, and his coat, have been rubbed down a little; this appears to have been part of the artist's habitual technique in the 1890s. There is almost no paint along the lower edge of the canvas.

Conservation History

The canvas has not been lined, and the glossy varnish is a little uneven, but it is in good sound condition. 1

Frame

It is in a Grau-style frame. 2 Size: 58.4 x 37.9 x 3.6 cm.

Notes:

1: Condition report by Clare Meredith, 5 April 2001, Hunterian files.

2: Dr S. L. Parkerson Day, Report on frames, 2017; see also Parkerson 2007 [more] .

Last updated: 2nd November 2020 by Margaret