The Traghetto #2
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, The Traghetto #2, 1880, etching and drypoint on cream laid paper, Bequest of Winslow B. Ayer, public domain, 35.96
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
The Traghetto #2
- Related Titles
series (original language): First Venice Set
- Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, active England and France, 1834-1903)
- Date
1880
- Medium
etching and drypoint on cream laid paper
- Edition
61 known impressions
- Catalogue Raisonné
Glasgow 233
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
plate: 9 1/2 in x 12 1/8 in; sheet (trimmed to platemark): 9 1/2 in x 12 1/8 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
maker's mark: image of butterfly, printed, left margin, center
maker's mark: image of butterfly, graphite, bottom left
- Collection Area
Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
- Object Type
intaglio print
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Bequest of Winslow B. Ayer
- Accession Number
35.96
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Whistler often began his etchings by focusing on a subject at the center of the composition, then expanding outward. He lavished the most attention and detail on the central motif, fading as he reached the edges of the sheet. This gave his works a sketchy, unfinished appearance that was both praised and condemned by contemporary critics.
This etching depicts the courtyard of the Ca’ da Mosto in the Venice neighborhood of Cannaregio. The dark void of the traghetto, or passageway, contrasts with the sunlit exterior populated by lightly sketched figures at left and right. The falling leaves in the foreground create a spatial tension between depth and surface, dark and light.
- Exhibitions
2017 The Etchings of Whistler and His Circle Portland Art Museum
