1880
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Mast is a 1880 by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This sketch shows a narrow city street with a group of people sitting on benches, chatting under a tall flagpole. The buildings on either side are plain, with some windows open and laundry hanging out. A few people walk in the distance, and the whole scene is drawn in loose, quick lines. The flagpole is the focus—it’s just a pole with a flag hanging limp, but it stands out because of how it’s drawn. The artist used simple lines to show light and shadow, not tiny details. Look up chiaroscuro next to see how artists use light and dark to create depth.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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