1858
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris is a 1858 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a dim, cluttered room with rough walls and a tiled floor. A single window lets in little light, revealing a pile of rags in the corner. The lines are scratchy and uneven, like quick scribbles—no smooth shapes here. The artist used a sharp tool to carve into the metal plate, leaving dark lines that catch the light. This method is called drypoint. Next, look up drypoint to see how artists make prints this way.
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
