The Lime-Burner

While in London, Whistler explored the gritty world of the working man. The laborer depicted here heated chalk in kilns to make lime, the chief ingredient of mortar and plaster. The casual air of this limeburner belies the danger of his task, which included occupational hazards such as blindness and severe burns.

Whistler leads us deep into this image by alternating light areas with dark passages of dense lines. He frequently constructed picture space in his etchings this way. It recalls Dutch paintings of interiors from the 1600s.