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Liverdun, One of the ‘Twelve Etchings from Nature,’ or the ‘French Set’

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artwork Details

Liverdun, One of the ‘Twelve Etchings from Nature,’ or the ‘French Set’
1858
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
etching, printed in black ink on Japan paper, laid down on white wove plate paper
9 3/4 in x 12 3/4 in (24.77 cm x 32.38 cm)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
1954/1.323

Description

Subject Matter:

Most of the etchings from the "French Set" are the result of a walking trip that Whistler took with a fellow student artist in 1858. Some of the plates were drawn back in Paris based on drawings and watercolors that Whistler executed in Alsace and eastern France; others were sketched on site as they walked. This plate is probably from the latter group.

Physical Description:

A street or courtyard fills the middle distance. A handful of figures stand or sit in front of the buildings on the right; only a single cow at the right occupies the open space in the foreground. The low buildings are, on the left side, brightly lit while the structures on the right are in shadow.

Usage Rights:

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