Accession Number
1954/1.373

Title
The Little Mast, One of the 'Twelve Etchings,' or the 'First Venice Set'

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1879-1880

Medium & Support
etching, printed in brown ink on laid paper, trimmed to platemark

Dimensions
10 1/2 in. x 7 3/8 in. ( 26.7 cm x 18.8 cm )

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Subject matter
Whistler was always finding interesting sites away from the large public spaces. This piazza, near the Casa Jankowitz, where Whistler lived in 1880, was in the Castello area of Venice. The vertical division of the composition provided by the mast, as well as the very vertical format of the etching, alludes to Whistler's interest in Japanese art.

Physical Description
An open piazza that borders the water is dominated by a mast just to the right of center. In the foreground there is a group of figures, as well as in front of the buildings that form the perimeter of the square. In the distance is a pedestrian bridge as well as the masts of ships in the water.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Venice
buildings
piazzas (squares)
pole
ships
stair
streetscapes
water