James McNeill Whistler

La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine

© Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Date1863-1864
Materials Oil on canvas
Dimensions 199.9 cm x 116.0 cm
Marks Signed and dated at upper left: “Whistler 1864 –“
Further information Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. www.asia.si.edu/
Andrew McLaren Young, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1980 (50, plate 34).

Note This painting hung above the fireplace in Frederick Leyland’s dining room in London, a room later transformed by Whistler into the Peacock Room in order to harmonise with this painting. A woman is shown standing on an oriental rug, wearing a kimono and holding a Japanese fan. Behind her are an oriental screen with a delicate bird and flower design, a tall ceramic pot and a fan on the wall. Whistler was among the earliest collectors of oriental goods and he often included these in his paintings. The pose of the model with the accentuated curve of her back is similar to that of figures portrayed in Japanese prints and on oriental ceramics. However, this is basically a fancy dress picture: Whistler made no attempt to copy the Japanese style of painting. The model Christine Spartali is obviously European in her features.

Related works GLAHA 46070, 46071; YMSM 178.