Nude Model, Reclining

By the 1890s, Whistler had tired of the conservative art world of London and had moved to Paris, where he rented an elegant studio. He became preoccupied with capturing the essence of the female form in various states, dancing, posing, sleeping, nude, or draped in translucent fabrics. In Nude Model, Reclining, Whistler used the medium of transfer lithography to convey the immediacy of an informal studio session. During Whistler’s lifetime, this artfully composed image of a sinuous model posing on a rectangular sofa proved to be among his most popular lithographs.