1880
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Fish-Shop, Venice is a 1880 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch is all rough lines and dark shadows. A narrow canal runs through the center, with a fish shop on the right—its shelves packed with stacked boxes. On the left, a building with a small window and a balcony juts out over the water. People stand on a bridge, watching the scene below, while boats drift in the background. The artist used scratching tools to make the lines, creating texture instead of smooth shapes. The whole image feels like a quick sketch, full of movement and life. Next, check out etching to see how artists like this made prints.
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.
See the richer artist page
