1859
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Bibi Valentin is a 1859 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
James McNeill Whistler’s 1859 etching shows a small child sitting on a chair. The child’s big eyes and tilted head feel quiet and real. Light and shadow play softly on the paper. Whistler used drypoint here. He scratched lines into the metal plate to create fuzzy, delicate edges. That detail makes the child’s face feel especially tender. Look at how the background stays almost blank. That lets the child stand out. Try this next: Whistler, James McNeill
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
See the richer artist page
