Lapis Lazuli
artist
James McNeill Whistler
(American, 1834 - 1903)
Date1885-1886
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumChalk and pastel on brown paper
Dimensions13 x 26 cm (5 1/8 x 10 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP25e2
eMuseum ID720807
EmbARK ObjectID10903
TMS Source ID169
Last Updated10/31/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis small pastel depicts a reclining nude wearing a colorful kimono and holding a fan. James McNeil Whistler was a founding member of the Aesthetic movement, exalting “art for art’s sake.” The movement was strongly influenced by Asian, particularly Japanese, artwork. While Whistler and others incorporated Japanese compositional principles into their work, they also used Japanese clothing and objects as props and costumes, divorced from their cultural and artistic context. Whistler’s distinctive butterfly-shaped signature is visible on the back of the sofa.
BibliographyNotesJames McNeill Whistler. 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes,' Second Series. Exh. cat. (London: Dowdeswell Gallery, 1886), no. 42. (entitled "Violet and Blue")
Art Exhibition: Mrs. John L. Gardner, 152 Beacon St., Boston. Exh. cat. (Boston, 1899), p. 8, no. 22. (entitled "Pastel")
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 18. (entitled "Pastel")
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 103. (entitled "Lapis-lazuli")
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 419. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 201. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 19 (6 Jan. 1963), p. 1. (excerpting Morris Carter, pp. 103-05)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 292-93, ill. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Deborah Gribbon. "Mrs. Gardner's Modern Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 15. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Deborah Gribbon. "Whistler's Sketch of an Unfinished Symphony." Fenway Court (1980), p. 26. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Margaret MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raissonné (London, 1995), pp. 397-98, no. 1070. (entitled "Blue and Violet. Lapis Lazuli"; as 1885-1886)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 201, ill. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli"; as 1885-1886)
Kathleen King, "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: James McNeill Whistler," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 July 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/james-mcneill-whistler-walking-stick
Art Exhibition: Mrs. John L. Gardner, 152 Beacon St., Boston. Exh. cat. (Boston, 1899), p. 8, no. 22. (entitled "Pastel")
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 18. (entitled "Pastel")
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 103. (entitled "Lapis-lazuli")
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 419. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 201. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 19 (6 Jan. 1963), p. 1. (excerpting Morris Carter, pp. 103-05)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 292-93, ill. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Deborah Gribbon. "Mrs. Gardner's Modern Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 15. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Deborah Gribbon. "Whistler's Sketch of an Unfinished Symphony." Fenway Court (1980), p. 26. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli")
Margaret MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raissonné (London, 1995), pp. 397-98, no. 1070. (entitled "Blue and Violet. Lapis Lazuli"; as 1885-1886)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 201, ill. (entitled "Lapis Lazuli"; as 1885-1886)
Kathleen King, "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: James McNeill Whistler," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 July 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/james-mcneill-whistler-walking-stick
MarksNotesSigned (on the back of the couch): Whistler's butterfly signature
ProvenanceNotesRemained with the artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) before the 1890s.
Included by James McNeill Whistler in a list of pastels to be sent to David Croal Thomson (1855-1930), a London dealer, for £130, September 1891.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from James McNeill Whistler, Paris for 120 guineas on 25 June 1895.
Included by James McNeill Whistler in a list of pastels to be sent to David Croal Thomson (1855-1930), a London dealer, for £130, September 1891.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from James McNeill Whistler, Paris for 120 guineas on 25 June 1895.
Object/Provenance
