The Japanese Dress |  Library of Congress (FP-XIX-W576, no. 337) | |
| Number: | 371 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching | |
| Size: | 100 x 68 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at right | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 1 | |
| Known impressions: | 2 | |
| Catalogues: | K.337; M.335 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (2) | ||
TECHNIQUE
The Japanese Dress is an etching, drawn with loosely curved and irregular crooked lines, with shadows and texture added in irregular patches of shading and zigzag lines; the pattern of the robe, arms and newspaper are indicated with a wild scrawl, full of movement.
PRINTING
Only two impressions are known (
and ). They are printed in black ink, with surface tone graduated from light at the top to dark at the bottom. This use of surface tone, like the oriental robe, links the etching to Japanese wood-block prints, although the use of the etched line and the actual pose and setting have no equivalents in Asian art. One is printed on cream laid paper (), the other on off-white laid paper, with light plate tone wiped horizontally (). Both are trimmed to the platemark and signed on the tab with a butterfly and 'imp.' to show that Whistler printed them.
and ). They are printed in black ink, with surface tone graduated from light at the top to dark at the bottom. This use of surface tone, like the oriental robe, links the etching to Japanese wood-block prints, although the use of the etched line and the actual pose and setting have no equivalents in Asian art. One is printed on cream laid paper (), the other on off-white laid paper, with light plate tone wiped horizontally (). Both are trimmed to the platemark and signed on the tab with a butterfly and 'imp.' to show that Whistler printed them.