Prints and Authors in the Time of Manet

Annie Seated

Etching, 1859
Gift of David Keppel in memory of his father, Frederick Keppel, 1914.124

This is one of the first prints that Whistler produced after his return from his trip to Germany and France and the execution of his “French Set” of etchings in 1858. While he was recuperating from a bout of ill health in the home of his stepsister and brother-in-law, artist/physician Seymour Haden, Whistler took advantage of the presence of his young nieces and nephews, using them as models in domestic genre scenes.
The style of this portrait recalls the work of Rembrandt (1606–1669). The Dutch master often concentrated on the face of his subjects while only suggesting the bodies.