UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

building, chapel, landscape.

An unidentified etching was listed by both Whistler and his wife as follows:

'Chapelle on the Hill Loches (French Plates)' (1887/1888, Whistler). 1
('Chapelle on the Hill Loches' (1890/1892, Beatrice Whistler (1857-1896)) . 2

The title was recorded by Whistler shortly after the Whistlers' return from honeymoon in the Loire valley. It was corroborated by Whistler's wife a year or two later when she was stocktaking. 'Chapelle' is French for 'chapel'. 'Chapel on the Hill, Loches' is the preferred title.

It is assumed that the scene indicates a hill and at least some part of a chapel!

Loches is in the Loire valley, France. The Chateau de Loches stands on a hill and contains a chapel - the Chapelle d'Anne de Bretagne - however, it is not known if this was the subject of the missing etching.

Another possibility is that the 'Chapel on the hill' was the small almost cylindrical 12th century chapel in the forest of Loches modelled on the Sacred Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and decorated with frescoes. About 800m to the east is the Chartreuse du Liget to which the chapel was attached. The monumental 18th century entrance to the latter was etched by Whistler in Gateway, Chartreuse, near Loches [421], reproduced here:

Since both Whistler and his wife included 'Gateway - Chartreux, Loches' in the same list as 'Chapelle on the Hill Loches' they can not be one and the same.

It is not known why Chapel on the Hill, Loches was not printed, or if printed, the proofs were destroyed. It is possible that on his wife's death in 1896 Whistler destroyed some works associated with her.