Toning the Bell
1874
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
101.6 × 76.2 cm (40 × 30 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89626
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Like many artists of his generation, Walter Shirlaw furthered his training in Europe, studying at the Royal Academy in Munich. German instruction focused on a dark, painterly realism and was steeped in an astute understanding of aesthetic traditions. In Toning the Bell, executed during his student years and now considered his best-known work, the artist demonstrated an accomplished Munich style, featuring noble peasants, a limited tonal palette, and strong contrasts of light and dark. Prior to h...
About the Artist
Walter Shirlaw · 1838–1909
Walter Shirlaw (1838–1909) was a Scottish-born American painter and illustrator whose career bridged the genteel tradition of academic figure painting and the emerging ambitions of American art in the Gilded Age. Born in Paisley, Scotland, Shirlaw emigrated to the United States as a child and received his early artistic training in America before traveling to Munich to study at the Royal Academy —...