Old Battersea Bridge
Medium
Etching and drypoint with foul biting in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 20.3 × 29.6 cm (8 × 11 11/16 in.); Sheet: 25.7 × 40.6 cm (10 1/8 × 16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13162
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This print reflects James McNeill Whistler's preservationist instincts along with his interest in picturesque London architecture. Battersea Bridge, within eyesight of Whistler's home in Chelsea and the subject of many of his most celebrated works, was closed to traffic in 1883 and eventually demolished in 1890. By depicting boats and pedestrians freely moving through a wood bridge that is abruptly cut off at the edges, Whistler infused the object with an elegance akin to that found in the works...
About the Artist
James McNeill Whistler · 1834–1903
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American-born painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement and pioneer of Tonalism and Japonisme. He revolutionized art by championing "art for art's sake" and treating paintings as visual equivalents of musical compositions, titling works as "arrangements," "harmonies," and "nocturnes" to emphasize formal qualities o...