Etching and drypoint on antique cream laid paper, 1859. 256x190 mm; 10 1/8x7 1/2 inches, full margins. MacDonald's fifth state (of 6), with the "X"-shaped mark in the plate upper left. Beehive watermark. A superb, richly-inked and early impression with all the fine and delicate details distinct and with the pentimenti from the previous subject on the plate showing in the lower portion.
Just Becquet (1829-1907) was a Parisian sculptor and amateur musician (he is shown here with a cello, lightly etched on the plate) who was an acquaintance of Whistler's during the late 1850s. Kennedy 52; Glasgow 62.
