Artwork
Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris

Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris is an ink print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right in plate: Whistler / 1858; lower right edge in graphite by unknown hand: ma 15818; center left edge in graphite by unknown hand: 4 x 6 1/2 / 14/18; center verso in graphite by unknown hand: 409
About this work
Overview
This print, 'Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris', is an etching and drypoint work on laid paper, created by James McNeill Whistler. It portrays a scene of everyday life among the urban poor in 19th-century Paris.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts two figures in a simple, cluttered interior, likely collecting rags. The scene captures a quiet moment of interaction between the individuals, offering a glimpse into the lives of the poor during that era.
Technique & Style
Whistler employed etching and drypoint techniques to achieve textured details in the setting and expressive renderings of the figures, reflecting the social realities of his time through the visual elements of the work.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.















