Fumette, Standing |  New York Public Library (MEZAP) | |
| Number: | 59 | |
| Date: | 1859 | |
| Medium: | drypoint | |
| Size: | 350 x 221 mm | |
| Signed: | 'Whistler.' at lower right (2) | |
| Inscribed: | '1859.' at lower right (2) | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 2 | |
| Known impressions: | 7 | |
| Catalogues: | K.56; M.56; T.61; W.50 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (7) | ||
KEYWORD
cancelled plate, model, portrait, woman standing.
TITLE
There are several minor variations in the title, some giving the model's name or her name and pose, but mostly changes in punctuation, as follows:
'Fumette' (1870s, Whistler). 1
'Fumette' (1874, Pall Mall Gallery).. 2
'Female Figure' (1874, Ralph Thomas, Jr (1840-1876)). 3
'Study of a Female Figure' (1874, James Anderson Rose (1819-1890)). 4
'Fumette' (1881, Union League Club). 5
'Fumette Standing' (1886, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 6
'Fumette, Standing' (1909, Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)). 7
'Fumette - Standing' (1903/1935, possibly Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958)). 8
Mansfield's title, 'Fumette, Standing', has been chosen, in order to distinguish this portrait from the earlier etching, Fumette 012.
'Fumette' (1870s, Whistler). 1
'Fumette' (1874, Pall Mall Gallery).. 2
'Female Figure' (1874, Ralph Thomas, Jr (1840-1876)). 3
'Study of a Female Figure' (1874, James Anderson Rose (1819-1890)). 4
'Fumette' (1881, Union League Club). 5
'Fumette Standing' (1886, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 6
'Fumette, Standing' (1909, Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)). 7
'Fumette - Standing' (1903/1935, possibly Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958)). 8
Mansfield's title, 'Fumette, Standing', has been chosen, in order to distinguish this portrait from the earlier etching, Fumette 012.
1: Written on .
2: London Pall Mall 1874 (cat. no. 42)
3: Thomas 1874[more] (cat. no. 61).
4: Liverpool 1874 (cat. no. 523).
5: New York 1881 (cat. no. 71).
6: Wedmore 1886 A[more] (cat. no. 50).
7: Mansfield 1909[more] (cat. no. 56).
8: Envelope containing copper plate, Hunterian Art Gallery.
DESCRIPTION
A young woman stands turning to the right, looking at the viewer. Her dark hair is pinned back either side of her forehead and falls loosely down her back. She has a short, close fitting bodice with a small collar close round her neck, and a narrow waist. Her long skirt is covered with an apron. Her right arm, in a puffed sleeve, is by her side, with her hand thrust into a pocket on her apron.
SITTER
Eloise ('Fumette') (fl. 1840-1858). She posed for Fumette 012 (reproduced above), Fumette's Bent Head 058 and Venus 060. The apron she wears in Fumette, Standing suggests she is a worker.
DISCUSSION
The lines have tremendous strength and vigour, and contrast with the fine detail of Whistler's early portrait, Fumette 012, and the rougher, loosely drawn close-up, Fumette's Bent Head 058. It is one of two striking full-length portraits of Parisian women, with Finette 061. Lochnan mentions that Whistler gave these figures 'monumentality by selecting a low vantage point and emphasizing the richness of their costume'. 9 The costume worn by Fumette, with its puffed sleeves, close-fitting bodice, narrow waist and full skirt (with no crinoline) is not unusual for the period. A similar costume is seen in a slightly later drawing ('Woman wearing a dress with puffed sleeves') 10 and paintings including A White Note y044.
9: Lochnan 1984[more], p. 104.
10: The Valparaiso Notebook m0340, p. 27.