The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Two breton women knitting probably dates from July or August 1893.

Two breton women knitting, The Hunterian

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1364).

Images

Subject

Titles

The title "Peasant Women knitting" was written on the verso by Harold Wright (1885-1961), possibly at Miss Birnie Philip's suggestion.

Site

Brittany, France.

Sitter

Two breton women knitting, The Hunterian

The women's dress is simple : a black blouse with slightly gathered sleeves, and a pale blue skirt or apron over a grey underskirt. The close fitting black bonnets, which appear to be decorated with ribbons, are not necessarily specific to Brittany.

Technique

Technique

Two breton women knitting, The Hunterian

The extreme wet-on-wet technique, particularly in the background, and the fine pointed brushwork used to fill in some areas, resemble Whistler's experimental work of the early 1880s. The artist's technique was probably affected by the need to work in a hurry. The focus is on the figures, their faces and hands, which were drawn sharply with a fine-pointed brush. The washes have formed rivulet patterns where they overlap.

Conservation History

The paper is slightly darkened at the edges.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death 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, as far as is known, 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. 1364) as 'Two breton women knitting'.

Websites

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