Artwork
Nursemaids: "Les Bonnes du Luxembourg"
Nursemaids: "Les Bonnes du Luxembourg" is an ink print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1894, *Nursemaids: “Les Bonnes du Luxembourg”* is a black lithograph on wove paper by James McNeill Whistler. The work belongs to the artist’s print output during his mature period, when he was based in Britain but continued to draw subjects from continental life. It presents a fleeting view of a Parisian park, rendered in a loose, sketch‑like manner.
Subject & Meaning
The image captures a group of nursemaids and park‑goers in a bustling Luxembourg garden. Figures are shown seated, strolling, and attending to dogs, while a woman in a long dress occupies the central space. Rather than telling a story or moralising, Whistler emphasizes the ordinary rhythm of public leisure, allowing the viewer to sense the atmosphere of everyday urban life.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph, the print relies on black ink applied to a smooth wove surface, producing crisp yet fluid lines. Whistler’s handling is deliberately sketchy: rapid, gestural strokes suggest movement and form without detailed modeling. The composition balances light and dark areas, creating a harmonious visual rhythm that reflects his aesthetic principle of “art for art’s sake.”
History & Provenance
Whistler, an American expatriate who spent most of his career in the United Kingdom, produced this work during a phase when he favored prints as a means of exploring composition. The lithograph entered private collections shortly after its issue and has since appeared in several exhibitions of Whistler’s graphic oeuvre, illustrating his interest in contemporary Parisian scenes despite his London base.
Context
The late nineteenth century saw a rise in leisure activities in urban parks, and Luxembourg Gardens was a popular venue for families and servants alike.
The late nineteenth century saw a rise in leisure activities in urban parks, and Luxembourg Gardens was a popular venue for families and servants alike. Whistler’s choice of nursemaids as subjects aligns with the period’s fascination with the visibility of working women in public spaces, while his restrained treatment avoids sentimentalizing their role, reflecting broader aesthetic debates of the era.
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain
Arrangement in Flesh Colour and Black: Portrait of Theodore Duret
Gold and Brown: Self-Portrait
Edward Guthrie Kennedy
Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Gold Girl—Connie Gilchrist
George W. Vanderbilt
Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl
Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain
