Rotherhithe (Wapping)

James Abbot McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)

Etching

Source of image: Pennell & Courbin

Formatting by George P. Landow

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"The year 1859 saw the commencement of the subjects executed in London, The Thames Set. Then he attained the culminating point, as it were, of his art, by the perfection of the technique, the lightness and elasticity of his line and the vivacity of the whole. He was able to make later, renewing himself, works in a different style, perfect of their kind, but nevertheless not surpassing these productions of his debut. One of his finest Thames etchings, Rotherhithe, in which we see two sailors' heads in the foreground, and beyond, ships' masts and the waters of the river, is so perfect in craftsmanship that it suggests a work produced in calm and contemplation. Quite the contrary, Whistler graved his copper in a kind of warehouse that was being repaired. At one moment a brick falling from above, almost on top of him, caused him to turn abruptly, and the hand that was working, wandering, placed perpendicularly on the middle of the plate a long line visible in the engraving." — Theodore Duret, p. 19.

References

Duret, Theodore. Whistler. Trans. Frank Rutter. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1907; London: Grant Richards, 1907.

Pennell, Joseph, and F. Courbin. Concerning the Etchings of Mr. Whistler. 7th ed. New York: Frederick Keppel, [1910?] University of Toronto copy available online from the Internet Archive.

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Last modified 14 January 2012