The Beggars

James McNeill Whistler

1879–80 · Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on heavy ivory wove paper; seventh state of seventeen (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

Throughout his career, Whistler used vertical compositions to explore dark spaces that recede towards distant lights. In Venice, he found a suitable site at the Sotoportego e Corte de le Carozze, a stone passage with a timbered roof giving access to the Campo Santa Margarita. Whistler took great pains with the succession of figures that establish the receding darkness. At the entrance a gaunt woman with a baby, accompanied by a girl, stands and begs. Within the passage, two female water carriers approach a man wearing a cloak and broad-brimmed hat who walks away, his form silhouetted against the light. By choosing recognizable Venetian types, the artist flirted with the visual vocabulary of genre prints, but avoided any emotional connection with his subjects. This print was included in Venice, a Series of Twelve Etchings (the "First Venice Set"), published by the Fine Art Society in December 1880.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1879–80

Medium

Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on heavy ivory wove paper; seventh state of seventeen (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917