The Beggars
1879/1880
Medium
etching and drypoint on laid paper
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8528
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler, renowned American-born artist celebrated for his Aestheticist principles and subtle tonal harmonies, created *The Beggars* his transformative 1879–1880 sojourn in Venice. Amid financial struggles following his infamous libel trial against critic John Ruskin, Wh produced a series of etchings capturing the city's atmospheric decay and everyday life. This print, from his Second Venice Set, poignantly depicts two ragged figures—likely impoverished locals—evoking the gritty underbelly of Venetian society amid its fading grandeur. Whistler's mastery shines in his etching and...
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...