The Palaces, One of the ‘Twelve Etchings,’ or the ‘First Venice Set’
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Description
The Palaces, from Twelve Etchings, or the First Venice Set
1879–80
Etching
Third state of three (Kennedy 187)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1955/1.123
To make what is perhaps his sole topographical view of palaces along the Grand Canal, Whistler positioned himself directly across from two historic buildings on Venice’s main artery, the Palazzo Pesaro and the larger Palazzo Sagredo, and depicted a full view of their facades. The Ca’ d’Oro, the best known of Venice’s opulent palazzi fronting on the Grand Canal, was immediately to the right of these buildings, but Whistler has omitted any identifying reference to that landmark. In this print he has not used plate tone to darken the passages of water or sky, thus lending the work a sense of limpid full sunshine.
The Palaces may reflect the influence of frontal, portrait-like photographic views of the monuments of Italy produced by firms such as Frattelli Alinari and readily available in Venice.
Subject Matter:
Whistler rarely drew Venetian buildings directlying facing the facades; that is the case here, however, in his depiction of the Palazzo Giustinian and the Ca' Sagredo located along the Grand Canal. As the Whistler catalogue raisonné states (Glasgow), the site is near the Rialto Bridge and is drawn from the Ponte de Pescaria.
Physical Description:
A series of buildings and gondolas are seen along the edge of a canal. The emphasis on the dark tile roofs is contrasted with the play of window tracery and balconies along the facades of the building.
Usage Rights:
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