La Vieille aux Loques 1858 James McNeill Whistler American After visiting the Rhineland during a summer-fall tour in 1858, Whistler created this image of an elderly woman sorting rags (loques). He here develops a formula to which he would often returnusing an open entrance to frame a receding interior that contains figures and objects. Like "La Mère Gérard" and "La Rétameuse," the artist focuses on an old working woman, dignified but without sentiment. Created late in 1858 this is one of the most complex prints in "Douze eaux-fortes d’après nature" (Twelve Etchings from Nature), the artist's first published set.. La Vieille aux Loques 372783