Balcony, Amsterdam / James McNeill Whistler

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Record Details

Accession Number
1954/1.405
Title
Balcony, Amsterdam
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
1834-1903
Object Creation Date
1889
Inscription
On the plate. c.r., in window: Butterfly monogram Signed in pencil on tab: Butterfly monogram and imp. Inscribed in pencil, on mount: To Thomas Croft / Butterfly monogram Watermark: Arms of Amsterdam
Dimensions
27 cm x 16.7 cm (10 5/8 in. x 6 9/16 in.)
Century
19th century
Physical Description
A two-story building fronting onto a canal is shown in this print. Three figures are gathered on the second floor balcony while a seated woman and standing man are visible at the water door below the balcony. At the top of the image cloth (laundry?) creates a kind of canopy over the figures on the balcony. Adjacent buildings are only summarily drawn and the emphasis of this image is on the dramatic juxtapositions of the projecting elements, e.g. balcony, laundry, with the shadows cast on other parts of the building and figures and in the reflections in the dark surface of the water.
Subject Matter
To quote the Glasgow catalogue raisonné, "The city of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands. Both The Pierrot [450] and Balcony, Amsterdam were done on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal, then known as Rottenest. The store fronts are part of the back of the Zeedijk, the Balcony, Amsterdam being No. 48 and Pierrot at No. 52."
Although the dramatic portrayal of balconies is also found in Whistler's Venetian etchings, here he is in Rembrandt's environment and it is possible that the Dutch painter's etchings, such as his "Christ Presented to the People" also inspired Whistler.
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
847 x 1409
File Size
180 KB
Record
1954/1.405
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.405/1954_1.405.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.405:1954_1.405.JPG

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Full citation
"Balcony, Amsterdam; James McNeill Whistler." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.405/1954_1.405.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024.
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