The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1312
La Sieste
Date
La Sieste probably dates from 1893. It is thought to be related to the lithograph Nude Model, Reclining c073, dating from November 1893, which was drawn in Paris. The two butterfly signatures are in slightly different form, the one at left, on the round arm of the sofa, suggesting a date of 1890/1892, while the one at right is less easy to date but may date from later.
La Sieste, Art Institute of Chicago
The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1312). The entry has been revised.
Images
La Sieste, Art Institute of Chicago
Nude Model, Reclining, lithograph, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Subject
Titles
The title La Sieste, published by Drouot's auction house in 1903, means 'The nap' though obviously it could mean a siesta. The Art Institute of Chicago opted for a descriptive title, 'Reclining Draped Figure'. 1
Sitter
La Sieste, Art Institute of Chicago
It is possible that the model was the first known owner, Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878.
Technique
Composition
La Sieste, Art Institute of Chicago
Nude Model, Reclining, lithograph, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
The pose has been compared to Whistler's lithograph Nude Model, Reclining c073, but it is not very closely related.
Technique
La Sieste, Art Institute of Chicago
It is a drawing in lithographic crayon, with some scarping in the background and on the woman's left shoulder, and stump work that created the soft shading around the face. Numerous alterations to the outlines are apparent, and it was signed twice. It was intended for transfer to a lithographic stone but never transferred nor printed. It is on lithographic paper, papier viennoise, with a granular white-lead coating. 2
History
Provenance
- 1898/1901: probably acquired from Whistler's studio by Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878, Paris;
- 1903: sold at auction, Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot 7) as 'La Sieste'.
- 1924: sold at auction, Drouot, Paris, 27 May 1924 (lot 137) as 'Sommeil';
- 1924: bought from M. Guiot, a Paris dealer, by Walter Stanton Brewster (1872-1954), Chicago, 25 June;
- 1933: given to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Further details are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1313).
Exhibitions
As far as is known, it was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1313) as 'La Sieste'.
- Spink, Nesta R., Harriet K. Stratis, and Martha Tedeschi, The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, (gen. eds, Harriet K. Stratis and Martha Tedeschi), 2 vols., Chicago, 1998, vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', (cat. no. VII), repr. p. 506 as 'Reclining Draped Figure'.
Catalogues 1855-1905
SALE:
- Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot 7, repr.) as 'La Sieste'.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- Hausberg, Meg and Victoria Sancho Lobis, Whistler and Roussel: Linked Visions, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2015, website at https://publications.artic.edu, repr. fig. 13.
Journals 1906-Present
- Stratis, Harriet K., 'Whistler's Printers and Their Transfer Papers: A Technical Study,' in Tedeschi, Martha and Nigel Thorp (eds), The Whistler Review: Studies on James McNeill Whistler and Nineteenth-Century Art, vol. 2, Glasgow, 2003, p. 22, repr. fig. 7.
Websites
- Art Institute of Chicago website at https://www.artic.edu.
- Clarke, Jay A., and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2020, website (cat. no. 33) as 'Reclining Draped Figure'.
Notes:
1: Spink 1998 [more], vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', (cat. no. VII); Clarke, Jay A., and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2020, website (cat. no. 33).
2: See Spink 1998 [more], vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', (cat. no. VII); Stephanie L. Strother, 'Cat. 33 Reclining Draped Figure, 1893: Curatorial Entry,' in Clarke, Jay A., and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2020, website (cat. no. 33).