# Corte del Paradiso

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1880  
Pastel and black chalk on brown wove paper with fibrous inclusions  
30.1 × 14.9 cm (11 7/8 × 5 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2002.679. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/158382).

## About this work

A narrow Venetian courtyard, the Corte del Paradiso, is evoked with a few lines of black chalk and touches of coloured pastel on brown paper, the bare sheet standing for walls and shadow. During his fourteen months in Venice in 1879–80 Whistler made nearly a hundred pastels like this, seeking out quiet corners rather than famous monuments. Exhibited in London in 1881, they sold well and helped restore his finances after his bankruptcy.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler painted this in 1880, aged 46. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of pastel and black chalk on brown wove paper with fibrous inclusions.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Pastel.** Sticks of almost pure pigment with very little binder. The colour sits on the paper as powder: bright, matte and fragile.
- **Chalk.** Natural black, red and white chalks. Used together on toned paper they could give the warmth of flesh with very little effort, and they were favourites for studies from life.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawing and Watercolor
- Culture: United States
- The artist was 46
- Real size: about 12 × 5½ in (30 × 14 cm). Closest to life size: the 8 × 10 in print.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/340.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/340/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/corte-del-paradiso-aic-158382).