1880, James McNeill Whistler, The Steps [chalk and pastel] -- National Museum of Asian Art (Washington)

From the museum label: In this quiet corner of Venice, women and children appear in relaxed stances. Some string beads or make lace for sale to the tourists crowding the city's sites. The lack of detail at the edges of the sheet creates a frieze of figures; all the excitement is carried by small passages of vibrant color. Whistler wrote to his mother, "The people with their gay gowns and handkerchiefs-and the many tinted buildings for them to lounge against or pose before, seem to exist especially for one's pictures-and to have no other reason for being!" Quaint local motifs, including artisan studios, shops, and market stalls, abounded in Venice. Whistler continued to use these motifs back in London as he advanced his streetscape project.

 

Link to other paintings from the exhibition Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change.

 

Link to other Whistler paintings.

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