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Date 1880
Materials Etching and drypoint - dark brown ink
on oriental paper trimmed to platemark bottom and left sides
Dimensions 30.6 cm x 21.0 cm
Marks Signed on plate with a butterfly at the
upper right; inscribed below plate on right: "pp 15"
Further information GLAHA 46822.
Edward G. Kennedy, The Etched Work of Whistler, New York, The
Grolier Club, 1910 (194, 9th of 9 states).
Note This etching forms part of Whistler’s
'First Venice Set' of etchings. Unlike other artists, Whistler
chose to focus on the narrow backstreets and canals of Venice
rather than the more obvious tourist areas. He was fond of exploring
passageways, where he could focus on contrasts of light and shade.
Look how he used cross-hatched line to show the exposed beams
of the roof. As the beams get further away, the lines become closer
together and more indistinct. In the background you can see women
carrying water and another street with shops and passers by. In
the foreground Whistler drew an old beggar woman with a young
girl, who looks out at the viewer and draws us into the picture.
Notice how Whistler uses the area of shadow behind the figures
to emphasise their presence. However, unlike the work of other
artists, Whistler didn’t turn this into a sentimental genre
scene.
Related works GLAHA 50591, 46612, 46823, 46824,
46825, 46826, 46827.
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