Question of Finish
Whistler is known for completely restarting works if he was dissatisfied with the way they looked. In oil paintings, this is seen by the thin layers which have been rubbed into the canvas and the lack of clearly visible changes. In pastel drawings, this attitude can be seen in the erased drawings underneath new compositions. At times, he would have turned a page around to draw on the back, ignoring the drawing he had started on the front. Other times, he would turn the page upside down, erase the drawing he disliked, and then draw a new one on the same side of the paper.
This can be seen in several of the drawings studied in this research. For example, in Resting (The Hunterian, GLAHA:46110), a standing figure can be seen erased underneath the drawing of a woman resting in red drapery. In this case, the drawing that was erased was a ‘simple’ drawing in black.
We have also identified other cases, in which a coloured drawing was erased and replaced. This can be seen, for example, in A nude model adjusting her hair (The Hunterian, GLAHA:46188). Underneath this drawing, an upside-down figure with a red cap can be seen. Interestingly, this erased drawing was signed with a butterfly. A signature on a work of art is generally thought to indicate that a work is finished. But why would Whistler erase a ‘finished’ drawing? Perhaps he ran out of paper, or later decided that the drawing was against his liking. We can only speculate as to why Whistler erased this signed drawing, turned the page upside down and started again. It is noteworthy, however, that this happened on more than one occasion. Another work in which a coloured and signed pastel drawing has been erased is in A dancing woman in a pink robe, seen from the back (The Hunterian, GLAHA:46136). Instead of a new pastel drawing being made on top of this erased drawing, a watercolour painting was made.
These large changes that resulted in completely new drawings, or drawings that were abandoned halfway through, raise questions about ‘finish’, in other words, questions about when a work is completed.
Clearly, a signature was not enough for Whistler to consider a work finished. What does that mean for how we perceive his works? Can we still consider a signed work to be ‘finished’? Is there such a thing as a ‘finished’ artwork by Whistler? And what of works that have been signed but in which alterations are clearly visible? The outline of a different arm or head position may remain visible despite an attempt to erase the marks, but the work is signed. The questions that arise from studying the changes made in Whistler’s works are interesting and applicable across the media that he used allowing for a comparison to be made in his working methods across media.