# La Belle Jardinière

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1894  
Transfer lithograph in black, with stumping and scraping, on cream laid paper, laid down on a heavy backing sheet  
Image: 22.3 × 15.8 cm (8 13/16 × 6 1/4 in.); Sheet: 31.4 × 20 cm (12 3/8 × 7 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1917.437. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/73398).

## About this work

James McNeill Whistler made this in 1894, aged 60. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of transfer lithograph in black, with stumping and scraping, on cream laid paper, laid down on a heavy backing sheet.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Lithograph.** Drawn on limestone with a greasy crayon or ink. The stone is kept damp, and the oily printing ink clings only to the drawing. Invented in the 1790s, it let artists print exactly as they drew.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [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: Print
- Culture: United States
- The artist was 60
- Real size: about 8½ × 6 in (22 × 15 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/188.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/188/1920.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
- 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/la-belle-jardiniere-aic-73398).