Print of nude woman reclining with eyes closed
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A nude woman lies on a bed with her head on a pillow at top left. Her head and body face the viewer. Her left arm is bent across her chest. She has closed eyes, long curly hair, and full lips. Her belly is slightly rounded, and she has dark pubic hair. The bedsheets are pulled up around her knees. The shading on the woman suggests dappled light that illuminates her face, arm, and left hip. The lines of the bed and linens are long and sparse in comparison to the more dense, precise lines of the woman’s figure.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2005.286
People
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American (Lowell, MA 1834 - 1903 London, England)
Title
Venus
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1859
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/12074

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint printed in black ink on thin laid Japanese paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 15.2 x 22.6 cm (6 x 8 7/8 in.)
sheet: 22.3 x 29.4 cm (8 3/4 x 11 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: l.l. in image: "Whistler 1859"
  • inscription: recto l.l. in image, ink, etching, signed, in artist's hand: Whistler. / 1859.
  • label: lower sheet margin, graphite: F

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
Glasgow ii/ii
Standard Reference Number
Kennedy 59, Glasgow 60

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Patricia Cornwell
Accession Year
2005
Object Number
2005.286
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • Whistler and Godwin: Artist and Designer, The Fine Art Society, London, 10/15/2001 - 11/22/2001

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu