Whittle, E.

Gender:

Male

Date and place of birth:

Unknown

Date and place of death:

Unknown

Worked:

(fl) c 1830-1850

Known places of work:

London

Known techniques:

Cut paper

Known materials:

Black paper

Frames:

Papier-mache & maple

Signature:

Not recorded

Introduction:

Whittle’s work is well regarded for its fine and accurate portrayal of contemporary dress, particularly that of women and children. He was an accomplished profilist who appears to have taken care over his compositions.

No fixed place of work for Whittle has been recorded. Trade label evidence places him in London and Dun, near Berwick. Some examples of his work now reside in American collections and place the artist in the United States in the 1840s, though it is unclear exactly where. Whittle cut from paper and worked at bust-and full-length, though at around seven inches his full-length pieces were rather small. Two trade labels in total are known, simply stencilled. Bust-length pieces were typically framed in papier-mache, full-length in maple.

Overall, Whittle has been praised for his depiction of contemporary dress, especially of women and children. He was particularly skilled at rendering women’s caps of the Babet style, which show very fine shading. Groups of children playing are drawn with a sympathetic composition and accurate eye, indicating the wide collars fashionable for boys and adding toys and flowers to the piece. He appears to have taken less trouble with portraits of men, and some sitters’ hair appears quite crude. Detail was typically added in gold paint and thinned pigment for shading. Bust-line terminations, when used, are slightly concave and sloping. Overall E Whittle is well regarded today, despite the relative scarcity of his work.