Cuisine a Lutzelbourg
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1898.151
Tags
About this artwork
Seymour Haden (1818-1910), London [1]
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s *Cuisine à Lutzelbourg* (1858) captures a intimate glimpse into everyday life, likely depicting a woman preparing a meal in a modest kitchen in the Alsatian village of Lutzelbourg France. Created early in Whistler’s career, this drawing reflects his budding interest in realist scenes of ordinary people and places, influenced by his travels through Europe. Though best known later for his ethereal nocturnes and the mantra “art for art’s sake,” Whistler here demonstrates a keen eye for domestic tranquility, rendered with the precise lines characteristic of his draftsmansh...