Count Burkhardt

J. M. Whistler

Wood engraving, unsigned, but probably by Joseph Swain

6¼ x 4 inches

Once a Week 7 (27 September 1862): 378.

The illustration represents a poem by ‘E L’ which recounts the life and death of Count Burkhardt. Whistler visualizes a couplet, ‘In Lichtenstein a pale young nun/Looks out wearily in the sun’ (378). The line is typical doggerel, but Whistler converts it into a moment of genuine grief. [Commentary continues below.]

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