PRINTS
Whistler, James McNeill
U.S. (1834 - 1903)
Grand' Place, Brussels
1887
Etching on laid paper
8 11/16 x 5 5/8 in. (22.1 x 14.3 cm) plate mark size; 10 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (26.4 x 18.7 cm) sheet size
Stimson Collection, gift of Dorothy Stimson Bullitt
FA 77.166

Whistler's travels in the late 19th century were frequent and, although he was motivated by financial gain, in part by the popularity of tourist views, his work rarely included recognizable landmarks. This view of the central portion of the Hotel des Ducs de Brabant is an exception. He continued to develop new variations on old themes. In this etching he was interested primarily with the play of light and shade over the surface of buildings. As in Venice he set out to distill the essence of form dissolved in light. By drawing "only bones, the skeleton" of architecture, the buildings were reduced to linear fundamentals. Whistler's figures in this work appear as staffage against the expanse of buildings. -- Label copy for James McNeill Whistler: A Dreamer Apart, Reed Gallery, March 27 - June 15, 1990.