1880
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Balcony is a 1880 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a tall, empty building with three arched windows on the second floor and a balcony running between them. Below, there’s a dark doorway with a small figure standing inside, and two smaller arched windows on either side. The lines are loose and scratchy, like quick pencil strokes, giving the whole scene a sketchy, unfinished feel. The artist used a technique that leaves rough, textured marks—this is called drypoint. It’s not a smooth drawing but more like a print that holds onto the lines of the tool used. Look up etching to see how artists create prints with acid and metal plates.
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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