# Green and Blue: The Dancer

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
c. 1893  
Watercolor and opaque watercolor over traces of black chalk on brown wove paper laid down on card  
27.5 × 18.3 cm (10 7/8 × 7 1/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1988.219. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111164).

## About this work

A young dancer in a long, sheer dress is set down in pale washes of watercolour and opaque colour on brown paper, her form emerging from the warm tone of the sheet. In the 1890s Whistler made many small studies of models in flowing, transparent drapery, recalling the ancient terracotta figurines from Tanagra that were then much admired. As the title suggests, he thought of such pictures as harmonies of colour, like pieces of music, rather than as portraits or stories.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler painted this in about 1893, aged about 54. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

Pale watercolor drawing of young dancer in long sheer dress.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Chalk.** Natural black, red and white chalks. Used together on toned paper they could give the warmth of flesh with very little effort, and they were favourites for studies from life.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawing and Watercolor
- Culture: United States
- The artist was about 54
- Real size: about 11 × 7 in (27 × 18 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: women, dancers
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/277.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/277/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/green-and-blue-the-dancer-aic-111164).