James Abbott McNeill Whistler
American, 1834 - 1903Drouet, 1859
Not on view
Etching and dry-point on paper
Dimensions11 × 7 5/8 in. (27.9 × 19.4 cm)
Image: 8 7/8 × 6 in. (22.5 × 15.2 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Keith Davis, 1981.116
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was a cadet at West Point from 1851 to 1854, yet failed to qualify for the army, and ventured to Europe instead. He studied painting in Paris, but settled in London in 1859 (the year he etched this portrait), introducing the Japanese artistic culture to London, as Paris had already been influenced. Whistler was known for his emphasis on surface, composition, abstract harmonies, and tonal relationships.
Whistler was also a gifted engraver, as one can see in this portrait of the sculptor Charles Drouet. Drouet stands confidently with his arms crossed, with stern facial features and a sense of obstinateness created by his bushy eyebrows, wild hair, thin pointy nose and beard. Unlike his paintings during this period, these etchings by Whistler received considerable praise. Critics went as far as describing Whistler as the Rembrandt of the nineteenth century.
