The Large Pool
c. 1879
Medium
etching and drypoint on Asian laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 18.8 × 27.8 cm (7 3/8 × 10 15/16 in.) sheet: 28.8 × 38.7 cm (11 5/16 × 15 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8507
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler's *The Large Pool* (c. 1879) invites visitors into the artist's masterful world of subtle tonalities and atmospheric depth. Created as an etching and drypoint on Asian laid paper, this print measures a modest plate size of 18.8 × 27.8 cm, yet it captures expansive tranquility—likely evoking Venice's shimmering waterways during Whistler's sojourn there. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, it exemplifies his classification as a fine print, blending precision with poetic suggestion. Whistler, a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement and champion...
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...