The Rialto, from the "Second Venice Set," or the "Twenty-six Etchings" / James McNeill Whistler

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Record Details

Accession Number
1993/2.3
Title
The Rialto, from the "Second Venice Set," or the "Twenty-six Etchings"
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
1834-1903
Object Creation Date
1879-1880
Object Creation Place
North and Central America (continent)
United States (nation)
Creation Place 2
United States (nation)
Inscription
Signed in pencil, on tab: butterfly and "imp"
Dimensions
22.8 cm x 20.9 cm (9 in. x 8 1/4 in.)
Century
19th century
Primary Object Classification
Print
Physical Description
The corner of a massive building with awnings on both sides is seen on the right side; it has arched windows above the street level windows and several stories with balconies above. To the left is a long sloping stairway with awnings projecting above the stairway. In the distance beyond the stairway can be see the tower of a church. Buildings at the far left of the composition are barely indicated. Pediestrians are visible throughout, adjacent to the buildings on either side as well as ascending the stairs.
Subject Matter
Whistler's choice for subjects while in Venice rarely included the major monuments, familiar through the work of artists from Canaletto and Guardi to Turner earlier in the century. Here, the famed Rialto Bridge that crosses the Grand Canal is not shown in its immediately recognizable view spanning the water, but from the side of the bridge, showing the stairs that allow pedestrians to cross the Grand Canal. This disoriented vantage point is further heightened by the elevated position that opens up an undescribed passage at the bottom of the image.
Whistler wrote to his mother from Venice saying how he had "discovered a Venice within Venice that others never seem to have perceived." This etching of Venice's most famous bridge illustrates Whistler's penchant for finding subjects along back canals and in otherwise unexplored views.
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
835 x 1108
File Size
63 KB
Record
1993/2.3
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1993-sl-2.3/1993_2.3.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1993-SL-2.3:1993_2.3.JPG

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"The Rialto, from the "Second Venice Set," or the "Twenty-six Etchings"; James McNeill Whistler." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1993-sl-2.3/1993_2.3.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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