Quiet Canal

1880

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows a narrow canal bordered by Venetian buildings. The rooftops of the buildings line both sides of the waterway. The buildings depict architectural details like balconies and arched doorways. The artwork is in the form of a detailed etching with fine lines showing the texture of the buildings and canal waters. The color palette is sepia, creating contrast between light and shadow. A gondola with a gondolier is gliding along the canal, while another gondola rests against the wall. In the distance, the canal curves, leading the eye into the urban environment where buildings are partly obscured by shading.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and drypoint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 22.86 x 15.24 cm (9 x 6 in.)
    sheet (includes tab with signature): 23.5 x 15.4 cm (9 1/4 x 6 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8550

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 2012, no. 224, state iv/iv

  • Series Title

    Venice, a Series of Twenty-six Etchings

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr Julius Hoffmann, Vienna, (not in Lugt). Lessing Julius Rosenwald [1891-1971], Philadelphia, (Lugt 1760b); gift to National Gallery of Art, 1943.  

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Etchings, Lithographs, Original Drawings, and Autograph Letters by James A. McNeill Whistler, The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1931.

1967

  • What is an Original Print?, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK, 1967.

Bibliography

1910

  • Kennedy, Edward G. The Etched Work of Whistler. New York: Grolier Club, 1910, no. 214, v/v.

2012

  • MacDonald, Margaret F., Grischka Petri, Joanna Meacock.James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné. University of Glasgow on-line website at http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. University of Glasgow, 2012, no. 224, state iv/iv.

Inscriptions

on tab: (butterfly) imp; on verso: c 22615 (underlined) / [ ]xx-

Wikidata ID

Q65021967

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