The Priest's House, Rouen

1894/1895

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows a narrow alley or street framed by buildings. The perspective leads toward an archway in the lower half of the picture. There is no visible horizon, and the composition focuses vertically on the architectural elements. It features loose, sketch-like brushstrokes conveying texture and detail with an impressionistic quality. The color palette is monochromatic, using varying intensities of black against a light background to create depth and contrast. Close by, a few indistinct figures or objects suggest motion or life within the scene. The nearby architecture is adorned with foliage, adding organic forms to the shapes.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph in black on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 24.1 × 16 cm (9 1/2 × 6 5/16 in.)
    sheet: 33 × 24.2 cm (13 × 9 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8734

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Stratis & Tedeschi 1998, no. 105, ii/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

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.

1963

  • American Artists as Print Makers, Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1963, no. 224.

Bibliography

1896

  • Way, Thomas Robert. Mr. Whistler's Lithographs: The Catalogue. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1896; New York: H. Wunderlich & Co., 1905, no. 74.

1998

  • Stratis, Harriet K., and Martha Tedeschi, eds. The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, vol. 1. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1998, pp. 326-330, no. 105, ii/ii.

Wikidata ID

Q65022154

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