La Marchande de moutarde

1858

Not on view

After visiting Cologne during a summer–fall tour in 1858, Whistler created this image of an elderly mustard vendor who arranges jars within a dim interior, as a young assistant leans against the door jamb. He here establishes a formula to which he would often return—using an open entrance to frame a receding interior containing figures and objects that refer to a particular activity and locale. One of the most complex prints in "Douze eaux-fortes d’après nature" (Twelve Etchings from Nature), Whistler based the composition on drawings and sent an impression to the Paris Salon of 1859. This example belonged to Thomas Winans, a Baltimore friend who financed the artist's move to Paris in 1855; Winans kept the print in an album that descendants gave to the Museum.

Artwork Details

Title: La Marchande de moutarde
Series/Portfolio: French Set ("Douze eau-fortes d'apres Nature" 1858) and Winans Scrapbook
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (American, Lowell, Massachusetts 1834–1903 London)
Date: 1858
Medium: Etching on tan chine on white wove paper (chine collé); third state of five (Glasgow)
Dimensions: Plate: 6 1/4 x 3 7/16 in. (15.8 x 8.8 cm)
Sheet: 7 3/16 x 4 7/16 in. (18.2 x 11.3 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Margaret C. Buell, Helen L. King, and Sybil A. Walk, 1970
Object Number: 1970.121.73
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By James McNeill Whistler

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

The artist's butterfly in an enlarged version with a forked tail

James McNeill Whistler

19th century

Reading, James McNeill Whistler American, Lithograph with scraping; printed in black ink on grayish chine mounted on ivory wove paper; fourth state of four (Chicago) — Reading
James McNeill Whistler
1879

Windsor (Memorial), James McNeill Whistler American, Drypoint; third state of four (Glasgow); printed in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper — Windsor (Memorial)
James McNeill Whistler
1887

Early Morning, James McNeill Whistler American, Lithotint with scraping, on a prepared half-tint ground, printed in black ink on cream wove paper; third state of four (Chicago) — Early Morning
James McNeill Whistler
1878

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.