Olivia
James McNeill Whistler’s introduction to the work of an artist came at an early age, while living in St. Petersburg (Miller). Whistler’s worldly upbringing in Europe augured his cultural awareness and appreciation of the arts for the remainder of his life. The famed artist ultimately grew to be accomplished in many media and fully proficient in an array of styles. Though his paintings decorate the walls of the world’s greatest museums, Whistler had an often forgotten but no less spectacular faculty for printmaking. He assembled a great repertoire of etchings later in life, one that rapidly swelled as a necessity for money grew. Although his study at West Point ultimately concluded in expulsion, Whistler’s first introduction to the work of engravers came while enrolled in the academy when he produced art under the tutelage of Robert W. Weir (Weinberg). Weir’s lessons acknowledged the vast reserves of art in the school’s collection, including instruction in emulating famed engravings (The University of Glasgow). Afterward, Whistler found employment as a draughtsman for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in a job that demanded etchings for topographical maps (The Phillips Collection).
This technical training would later become invaluable but only after Whistler ventured to France in 1855 (Miller). Absorbing the lessons of his professors at the École Imperial et Spéciale de Dessin and the mentorship of Charles Gleyre in his independent teaching atelier, Whistler familiarized himself with the doctrines of the fashionable Beaux-Arts style (Weinberg). But Whistler broke from the path of convention soon after, dabbling in the time’s most avant-garde artistic forms. Paris’s plentiful galleries of art introduced Whistler to the paintings of Dutch and Spanish Baroque artists, and he established a vibrant circle of contemporary artists that similarly venerated Baroque styles (Weinberg). Melding the many techniques garnered in the rich artistic climate of Paris in the mid-19th century, Whistler endeavored to channel his appreciation for new forms into printmaking. The deep shadows, dark mysterious forms, and exaggerated features common in Baroque painting are evident in some of Whistler’s early etchings. The artist produced his first collection of etchings, now known as the French Set, in 1858 (The National Gallery of Australia).
In May 1859, Whistler departed from Paris and established a permanent residence in the bustling city of London (The Fitzwilliam Museum). Living along the banks of the busy river Thames, Whistler experienced daily inspiration for his second set of prints, the Thames Set. His view in 1859, soon after moving to London, is depicted in Old Westminster Bridge, including the remarkable sites of the House of Parliament and the unfinished clock tower, Big Ben (The Fitzwilliam Museum). But the namesake for the print, Old Westminster Bridge monopolizes the etching, stretching across the broad river; it was Whistler’s intent to immortalized the bridge on print given its scheduled demolition (The Fitzwilliam Museum). The artist utilizes sharp contours in his etching, for example to delineate the raft in the foreground. But he also draws upon minimalist lines Whistler to imply shape and texture. With the soft, fluid lines in the sky above, Whistler acknowledges the smog and pollution that appeared in an industrialized London (The Fitzwilliam Museum).
When on the verge of bankruptcy, Whistler was commissioned to produce fifty etchings of the celebrate sites in Venice (Encyclopædia Britannica). Following the exalted J.M.W. Turner’s visits to Venice, visions of the city’s beauty became a popular commodity (The National Gallery of Australia). During his time in London, Whistler had become greatly influenced by the new movements in art, including aestheticism, symbolism, and the increasingly popular Asian styles (Miller). Whistler took these modes of painting with him to Italy, evidencing a new appreciation for the etchings’ subjects in his the First Venice Set. During his time in Venice, the artist predominantly depicted uncommon subject matter, oftentimes etching mysterious canals and nondescript edifices (The Allen Memorial Art Museum). In an eerie work entitled Little Venice, Whistler envisions the etching’s namesake city from another island, across a vast expanse of water. Whistler discards the formal commandments of landscape painting and utilizes simplicity to communicate the essence of the floating town. The style is greatly reminiscent of the Japanese ukiyo-e prints Whistler first encountered in the 1860s (Weinberg). The flat surface, asymmetry, and emphasis on line are indicative of the Asian style (The National Gallery of Australia). Again, the printmaker experiments with blurred lines to produce texture, both with the cloudy sky and with the rippling water. Rather than an elaborately ornamented etching, Whistler emphasizes negative space, creating a mirage of a city hovering between the sea and the sky.
Although celebrated first and foremost as a painter, James McNeill Whistler masterfully produced prints. While evidence of aestheticism and symbolism is undeniable in his work, Whistler similarly avoided conformity. Producing black and white prints in a time when colored lithographs were the vogue, Whistler did not compromise his appreciation of an austere color palette (Encyclopædia Britannica). Amalgamating the flurry of new styles in the later 19th century with inventions of his own, Whistler produced an artistic output that was utterly unique. Although intended for refined audiences that would appreciate the artist’s manipulation of the medium, the etchings embody the artistic revolution of the era in an accessible manner (Miller). Among James McNeill Whistler’s greatest contributions is a fine collection of etchings that commemorate the many homes inhabited during his artistic epoch.
Works Cited
“An Artist Abroad.” 2013. The National Gallery of Australia. 9 April 2013.
<http://nga.gov.au/whistler/>.
“Index of Selected Artists in the Collection.” The Allen Memorial Art Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Whistler_LittleVenice.htm>.
"James McNeill Whistler." 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641961/James-McNeill-Whistler>.
“James McNeill Whistler." The University of Glasgow. 9 April 2013.
< http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk/jmw/>.
“James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903).” The Phillips Collection. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/whistler-bio.htm>.
“London and the Thames.” The Fitzwilliam Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/whistler/london.html>.
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 334.
“Summer Showers.” Brooklyn Museum. 19 November 2012.
< http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/946/Summer_Shower s>
Weinberg, H. Barbara. "James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/whis/hd_whis.htm>.
Images Cited
“Index of Selected Artists in the Collection.” The Allen Memorial Art Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Whistler_LittleVenice.htm>.
“London and the Thames.” The Fitzwilliam Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/whistler/london.html>.
James McNeill Whistler’s introduction to the work of an artist came at an early age, while living in St. Petersburg (Miller). Whistler’s worldly upbringing in Europe augured his cultural awareness and appreciation of the arts for the remainder of his life. The famed artist ultimately grew to be accomplished in many media and fully proficient in an array of styles. Though his paintings decorate the walls of the world’s greatest museums, Whistler had an often forgotten but no less spectacular faculty for printmaking. He assembled a great repertoire of etchings later in life, one that rapidly swelled as a necessity for money grew. Although his study at West Point ultimately concluded in expulsion, Whistler’s first introduction to the work of engravers came while enrolled in the academy when he produced art under the tutelage of Robert W. Weir (Weinberg). Weir’s lessons acknowledged the vast reserves of art in the school’s collection, including instruction in emulating famed engravings (The University of Glasgow). Afterward, Whistler found employment as a draughtsman for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in a job that demanded etchings for topographical maps (The Phillips Collection).
This technical training would later become invaluable but only after Whistler ventured to France in 1855 (Miller). Absorbing the lessons of his professors at the École Imperial et Spéciale de Dessin and the mentorship of Charles Gleyre in his independent teaching atelier, Whistler familiarized himself with the doctrines of the fashionable Beaux-Arts style (Weinberg). But Whistler broke from the path of convention soon after, dabbling in the time’s most avant-garde artistic forms. Paris’s plentiful galleries of art introduced Whistler to the paintings of Dutch and Spanish Baroque artists, and he established a vibrant circle of contemporary artists that similarly venerated Baroque styles (Weinberg). Melding the many techniques garnered in the rich artistic climate of Paris in the mid-19th century, Whistler endeavored to channel his appreciation for new forms into printmaking. The deep shadows, dark mysterious forms, and exaggerated features common in Baroque painting are evident in some of Whistler’s early etchings. The artist produced his first collection of etchings, now known as the French Set, in 1858 (The National Gallery of Australia).
In May 1859, Whistler departed from Paris and established a permanent residence in the bustling city of London (The Fitzwilliam Museum). Living along the banks of the busy river Thames, Whistler experienced daily inspiration for his second set of prints, the Thames Set. His view in 1859, soon after moving to London, is depicted in Old Westminster Bridge, including the remarkable sites of the House of Parliament and the unfinished clock tower, Big Ben (The Fitzwilliam Museum). But the namesake for the print, Old Westminster Bridge monopolizes the etching, stretching across the broad river; it was Whistler’s intent to immortalized the bridge on print given its scheduled demolition (The Fitzwilliam Museum). The artist utilizes sharp contours in his etching, for example to delineate the raft in the foreground. But he also draws upon minimalist lines Whistler to imply shape and texture. With the soft, fluid lines in the sky above, Whistler acknowledges the smog and pollution that appeared in an industrialized London (The Fitzwilliam Museum).
When on the verge of bankruptcy, Whistler was commissioned to produce fifty etchings of the celebrate sites in Venice (Encyclopædia Britannica). Following the exalted J.M.W. Turner’s visits to Venice, visions of the city’s beauty became a popular commodity (The National Gallery of Australia). During his time in London, Whistler had become greatly influenced by the new movements in art, including aestheticism, symbolism, and the increasingly popular Asian styles (Miller). Whistler took these modes of painting with him to Italy, evidencing a new appreciation for the etchings’ subjects in his the First Venice Set. During his time in Venice, the artist predominantly depicted uncommon subject matter, oftentimes etching mysterious canals and nondescript edifices (The Allen Memorial Art Museum). In an eerie work entitled Little Venice, Whistler envisions the etching’s namesake city from another island, across a vast expanse of water. Whistler discards the formal commandments of landscape painting and utilizes simplicity to communicate the essence of the floating town. The style is greatly reminiscent of the Japanese ukiyo-e prints Whistler first encountered in the 1860s (Weinberg). The flat surface, asymmetry, and emphasis on line are indicative of the Asian style (The National Gallery of Australia). Again, the printmaker experiments with blurred lines to produce texture, both with the cloudy sky and with the rippling water. Rather than an elaborately ornamented etching, Whistler emphasizes negative space, creating a mirage of a city hovering between the sea and the sky.
Although celebrated first and foremost as a painter, James McNeill Whistler masterfully produced prints. While evidence of aestheticism and symbolism is undeniable in his work, Whistler similarly avoided conformity. Producing black and white prints in a time when colored lithographs were the vogue, Whistler did not compromise his appreciation of an austere color palette (Encyclopædia Britannica). Amalgamating the flurry of new styles in the later 19th century with inventions of his own, Whistler produced an artistic output that was utterly unique. Although intended for refined audiences that would appreciate the artist’s manipulation of the medium, the etchings embody the artistic revolution of the era in an accessible manner (Miller). Among James McNeill Whistler’s greatest contributions is a fine collection of etchings that commemorate the many homes inhabited during his artistic epoch.
Works Cited
“An Artist Abroad.” 2013. The National Gallery of Australia. 9 April 2013.
<http://nga.gov.au/whistler/>.
“Index of Selected Artists in the Collection.” The Allen Memorial Art Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Whistler_LittleVenice.htm>.
"James McNeill Whistler." 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641961/James-McNeill-Whistler>.
“James McNeill Whistler." The University of Glasgow. 9 April 2013.
< http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk/jmw/>.
“James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903).” The Phillips Collection. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/whistler-bio.htm>.
“London and the Thames.” The Fitzwilliam Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/whistler/london.html>.
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 334.
“Summer Showers.” Brooklyn Museum. 19 November 2012.
< http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/946/Summer_Shower s>
Weinberg, H. Barbara. "James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 9 April 2013.
<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/whis/hd_whis.htm>.
Images Cited
“Index of Selected Artists in the Collection.” The Allen Memorial Art Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Whistler_LittleVenice.htm>.
“London and the Thames.” The Fitzwilliam Museum. 9 April 2013.
< http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/whistler/london.html>.