James McNeill Whistler Off the Dutch coast

Date c.1883-1884
Materials Watercolour on wove paper.
Dimensions 14.6 cm x 25.0 cm
Marks None
Further information GLAHA 46091.
Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1995 (940).

Note Whistler frequently chose to paint from unusual angles. This small watercolour has a very low view point, making us feel very close to the waves. Using this technique, Whistler succeeded in conveying something of the scale of the sea. Through the broken brushwork and textured nature of the paper, he suggested the choppiness of the waves and the liveliness of the clouds. The dark grey colour of the sea and sky give a sense of the chill of the weather. This watercolour gives an authentic impression of life at sea, and was probably painted on board a small boat. The surface is spattered with sea-spray, which blends in with the brush strokes. The watercolour with its criss-crossing waves, also shows how much Whistler enjoyed painting patterns in nature. Notice the windmill on the land in the distance, which marks the country as Holland.