Rotherhithe
James Abbot McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
Signed and dated “1859”
Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on wove paper
10 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches (27.2 x 19.9 cm) sheet 12 7/8 x 9 7/8 inches (32.9 x 25 cm)
This is the sixth (final) state, aside from the edition published in A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects, (the Thames Set) published by Ellis & Green in 1871.
Source: Whistler on the Thames.
See commentary below
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Commentary by Gordon Cooke
Rotherhithe was made the year after the other Thames dockside subjects, using a vertical format as with W. Jones, Lime-Burner, varying the treatment and extending his vocabulary. It was done from the balcony of the Angel Inn, Cherry Gardens, according to Joseph and Elizabeth Pennell, and Howard Mansfield, from which Whistler also painted Wapping (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) and The Thames in Ice (Freer Gallery of Art).
The painting Wapping and the etching Rotherhithe are closely related, and in a letter to Fantin-Latour written in 1861, Whistler described the difficulties of painting a busy river:
‘Now through the window you can see the whole Thames! The background is like an etching – and was unbelievably difficult! The sky for example is very truly and splendidly painted – there is a corner which can be seen through the window panes which is excellent! – Much nearer there is a row of large boats one of which is unloading coal and right by the window the mast and yellow sail of a lighter and just by the head of the girl … there is the bowsprit of another large boat, the ropes and pulleys of which go across the whole picture … There are also many small boats and buildings which I cannot put into the sketch … I assure you that I have never attempted such a difficult subject – it will certainly be said that it is not finished – because as the boats leave I have only just time to put in their shades of colour … and for those who are in the habit of making their seascapes at home and painting models and toys for warships my real boats will not appear finished’ [Translated from the French in the Glasgow Catalogue raisonné]
The pub is actually in Bermondsey, adjacent to Rotherhithe, but it was given the title ‘Wapping’ when it was published in the Thames Set by Ellis & Green in 1871. Wapping is on the far (north) bank, and the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral may be seen at the left edge of the plate, through the ship’s rigging. As in Black Lion Wharf, the scene appears correctly, so the plate must have been etched in reverse.
An impression was exhibited the Royal Academy of Arts in 1862 (923), and it was also shown at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1862 and at the Paris Salon in 1863 (2758). The subject was published in A Series of Sixteen The subject was published in A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects, (the Thames Set) (no. 5). The plate was sold by F. Keppel & Co. to Charles Lang Freer in 1896 and is now in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art.
Bibliography
Kennedy, Edward G. The Etched Work of Whistler. New York: 1910. No. 66.
MacDonald, Margaret F. Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock. James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné. No. 70. University of Glasgow, 2011. Web.
Whistler on the Thames. London: The Fine Art Society, 2013. No. 9, pp. 32-32.
Last modified 22 May 2014