Flower Market, Brussels
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1903.247
Tags
About this artwork
Whistler etchings are identified by "G" numbers as assigned in "James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonne," by Margaret F. McDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock (University of Glasgow, 2012), http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. This print is G339 state 2 of 2.
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler created this delicate etching of Brussels’s bustling flower market in 1887, late in a career spent moving between America and Europe. An American expatriate who settled in London, Whistler was celebrated for transforming ordinary city scenes into refined compositions. The print captures the lively commerce of the Belgian capital—stalls, architecture, and flower sellers—while reflecting the artist’s lifelong interest in urban vitality and everyday beauty. As an etching, the work demonstrates Whistler’s mastery of the medium. He produced hundreds of prints, often issuing ...