Old Battersea Bridge
Guide
Adjust the guideNew to it · Medium
Looking for this guide.
From the museum
This print reflects James McNeill Whistler's preservationist instincts along with his interest in picturesque London architecture. Battersea Bridge, within eyesight of Whistler's home in Chelsea and the subject of many of his most celebrated works, was closed to traffic in 1883 and eventually demolished in 1890. By depicting boats and pedestrians freely moving through a wood bridge that is abruptly cut off at the edges, Whistler infused the object with an elegance akin to that found in the works of Utagawa Hiroshige. As early as 1863, Whistler was an avid collector of Japanese objects, and he soon became the most prominent ambassador of japonisme between England and France.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
What did you think?
Save this work’s image and museum information on this device to read without a connection.
Ask about this work
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from what the museum has written about the work, and says so when that does not hold it.
Details
- Maker
- James McNeill Whistler, American, 1834-1903
- Date
- 1879
- Medium
- Etching and drypoint with foul biting in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Plate: 20.3 × 29.6 cm (8 × 11 11/16 in.); Sheet: 25.7 × 40.6 cm (10 1/8 × 16 in.)
- Place of origin
- United States
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · Not on view
- Credit line
- John H. Wrenn Memorial Collection
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
