The Piazzetta

1879-1880

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The sketch depicts a bustling square surrounded by grand European architecture. The scene includes a clock tower in the distance and figures in the foreground and background. Details such as towers and domes add to the historical cityscape atmosphere.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and drypoint in black on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Bequest of Julius Garfinckel)

  • Dimensions

    plate: 25.72 × 18.1 cm (10 1/8 × 7 1/8 in.)
    sheet (trimmed to the platemark): 26.35 × 18.42 cm (10 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.421

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 2012, no. 218, state v/ix

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Frederick Keppel & Co., New York); Julius Garfinckel, Washington, DC; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1938; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1952

  • Whistler, Hunter Gallery of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1952

1982

  • Whistler’s World: The Master’s Etchings, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1982, no. 31

1983

  • Sargent's Contemporaries, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1983, no. 28

1990

  • Haden, Whistler, Pennell: Three Master Printmakers in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1990, no. 49, repro

2003

  • Whistler and His Circle in Venice, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2003, p. 87, no. 36, repro

Bibliography

1910

  • Kennedy, Edward G. The Etched Work of Whistler. New York: Grolier Club, 1910, no. 189.

2012

  • MacDonald, Margaret, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock. James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, A Catalogue Raisonné. Scotland: University of Glasgow, 2012, no. 218, v/ix. http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: [the artist's butterfly]; lower left in graphite: [the artist's butterfly] imp

Wikidata ID

Q77012964

You may be interested in

Loading Results