The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine' dates from about 1892.

Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine', The Hunterian

It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1326).

Images

Subject

Titles

Although catalogued as Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine' it is possible this is not a study but an independent drawing of a model posing for Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine y389.

Sitter

Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine', The Hunterian

Possibly Whistler's sister-in-law Ethel Philip, later Ethel Whibley (1861-1920), as suggested on the inscription by Harold Wright (1885-1961) of Colnaghi's, possibly with information from her younger sister, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958).

Technique

Composition

Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine', The Hunterian

Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine, The Hunterian

This is a drawing of a model posing for Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine y389. The pose is not identical: her hands are closer together and further to her right. In the oil, the model was slightly more turned to the front.

Technique

This is a hurried, forceful sketch, catching the essence of the costume and pose with long, confident lines. It is not certain if this is by James or Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896). The drawing could be a first sketch by Whistler, before he settled on the more frontal pose, or it could be a drawing by Beatrice Whistler, done while Whistler was painting the portrait, from a position just to his right.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death in 1903 and bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1958: bequeathed by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

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. 1326) as 'Study for 'Rose et argent: La Jolie Mutine'.
• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 389).

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk