Below Chestnut Street Bridge, Philadelphia
1884
Medium
Etching on ivory wove paper, laid down on ivory card (chine collé)
Dimensions
Plate: 30.2 × 24.8 cm (11 15/16 × 9 13/16 in.); Primary support: 29.6 × 24.1 cm (11 11/16 × 9 1/2 in.); Secondary support: 44.3 × 35.1 cm (17 1/2 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
104117
Art Historical Context
**Below Chestnut Street Bridge, Philadelphia (1884) by Joseph Penn captures a dramatic vista of industrial Philadelphia from beneath one of the city's iconic bridges. Pennell, a leading American printmaker of the late 19th, was renowned for his masterful etchings that celebrated urban architecture and the dynamic energy of modern America. This early work exemplifies his fascination with bridges and waterways, rendered with striking contrasts of light and shadow that evoke the bustling Schuylkill River scene. Executed as an etching on ivory wove paper using the chine collé technique—where a de...
About the Artist
Joseph Pennell · 1857–1926
Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) was born in Philadelphia to Quaker parents and displayed an early aptitude for drawing, finding solace in sketching amid a challenging childhood. He received initial drawing instruction from James R. Lambdin and his first etching lessons from Stephen Ferris in 1879. Pennell attended night classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art before studying at ...