JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER PRINTS

[58] The Bridge, Santa Marta, 1879–80
Etching and drypoint, signed in pencil with a butterfly and
inscribed imp. printed in warm black ink on antique laid paper,
trimmed to the platemark, leaving a signature tab; published by
Messrs Dowdeswell and Thibaudeau in the Second Venice Set,
1886, in an edition of 42; in the ninth (final) state
11 5/8 x 7 7/8 inches (29.5 x 20 cm)
Reference: Kennedy 204; Glasgow 201
Joseph Pennell described The Bridge as ‘Probably the
finest plate, in its simplicity and directness’ in his Life
of James McNeill Whistler. It was originally intended for
inclusion in the First Venice Set, but was replaced by The
Little Mast, a more conventional view.
The print shows the Ponte de l’Arzere or delle Terese,
seen from the first-floor window of a house on the
Fondamenta Corte Mazor looking along the Rio de
l’Arzere to the Campo di Marte in Santa Marta. From
this high viewpoint Whistler created a striking design,
carefully composed with the bridge spanning the centre
of the picture area. Although there is a crowd beyond
the bridge, the foreground is empty but for the gondolas
and a few figures; the neighbouring buildings and the
fondamente are cut off by the edges of the plate.
The work was first exhibited at The Fine Art Society
in 1880 with the First Venice Set (no.7) before publication
in the Second Venice Set in 1886.
[59] Lagoon: Noon, 1879–80
Etching and drypoint, signed with a butterfly and inscribed
imp., printed in dark-brown ink on laid paper; trimmed to the
platemark by the artist, leaving a signature tab; in the third (final)
state; published by Messrs Dowdeswell and Thibaudeau in the
Second Venice Set, 1886, in an edition of 30
4 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches (12.7 x 20.4 cm)
Reference: Kennedy 216; Glasgow 209
A fine impression with very little tone; the butterfly,
however, usually very faint, is clearly defined in this
impression (Kennedy makes special note that an impression
like this, with the clearly visible butterfly, was in the
collection of John H. Wrenn).
This print, as no.51, was the final work in the 1883
exhibition at The Fine Art Society. The view is taken
from the upper floor of a house near the Casa Jankowitz
looking south-east toward the Public Gardens and across
the water to the Lido. The bridge in the foreground is
the Ponte de la Veneta Marina over the Rio de la Tana
(Glasgow catalogue). It was published as part of the
Second Venice Set in 1886.
james mcneill whistler: prints 91