The Cock and the Pump
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Description
Subject Matter:
This scene of a village square is of the Cattle Market in Sandwich, Kent. Whistler's interest in shopfronts and figures in urban settings is here converted to a village setting with deep perspectival recession, the group of girls at the lower left completing the diagonal angle of the street and bringing that diagonal to the front of the composition.
Physical Description:
An open public space dominates the foreground of the image. In that space are several groups of children, particularly at the lower left of the image, a rooster at the lower right, and a water pump at the far side of the square just before the fence. Beyond is a street that recedes into the distance; on either side of the street are picturesque older buildings that face onto the square with banks of windows, overhangs, and steeply pitched rooflines.
Usage Rights:
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