Balcony, Amsterdam / James McNeill Whistler
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1954/1.405
- Title
- Balcony, Amsterdam
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- 1834-1903
- Medium and Support
- etching and drypoint, printed in warm black ink on laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1889
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
- 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
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- 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
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.405:1954_1.405.JPG
Cite this Item
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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 June 16, 2024.