Artwork
The Title Page for "Douze Eaux Fortes d'après Nature"
The Title Page for "Douze Eaux Fortes d'après Nature" is an ink print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:upper left in plate: Imp. Delâtre. Rue St. Jacques. 171. Paris. Nov. 1858; upper right to center in plate: Douze / Eaux Fortes / d'apres Nature / par / James Whistler; lower center in plate: À / Mon viel Ami Seymour Haden.; lower center edge in graphite by unkonwn hand: Title page
About this work
Whistler etched this in 1858, back when etching meant scratching lines into a metal plate with acid.
You see a loose group of people outdoors watching one seated figure sketch. Whistler etched this in 1858, back when etching meant scratching lines into a metal plate with acid. The scene feels quick and alive, like a snapshot, even though it’s ink on paper.
The plate was tiny. Just eight by six inches. Yet it holds a whole moment, hands moving, heads tilted, light hitting shoulders.
Look up Whistler, James McNeill next.
Overview
This etching, titled 'The Title Page for Douze Eaux Fortes d'après Nature', is a print by James McNeill Whistler, created in 1858 using brown-black ink on laid paper.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a group of figures outdoors, observing a seated individual who is sketching, conveying a sense of dynamic interaction and capturing a fleeting moment.
Technique & Style
Whistler employed a light, sketchy style to convey movement and intimacy, achieved through the etching technique of scratching lines into a metal plate with acid.
Context
The small size of the plate, measuring eight by six inches, belies the complexity of the scene it holds, with multiple figures and a sense of activity.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903) 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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