Long Lagoon1880
A long, low line of buildings and the masts of distant ships stretch across the horizon, mirrored in a broad expanse of still water that fills most of the sheet. More about this work
About this work
A long, low line of buildings and the masts of distant ships stretch across the horizon, mirrored in a broad expanse of still water that fills most of the sheet. Whistler etched The Long Lagoon in 1880 during his stay in Venice, and he used the plate to explore how little needed to be drawn: a few delicate lines and reflections suggest an entire city floating between water and sky. Printed on Asian paper, with its soft surface and warm colour, it has a hazy, luminous effect.
Written by Ochre Editions.
What you’re looking at
The image shows a landscape with a waterscape. The horizon separates the water and the sky. In the distance, there are buildings, structures, and ships with tall masts. Close to us, there are reflections of the ships and structures in the water with fine brushstrokes. The style is impressionistic with thin lines conveying details. The color palette is monochromatic with sepia tones.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
How it was made
- Drypoint
- Lines scratched straight into the plate with a needle throw up a ridge of metal, the burr, which holds ink and prints a soft, furred line. The burr wears down, so early impressions are the richest.
- Etching
- The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
- Laid paper
- Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1943.3.8536
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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