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The Fiddler

Print
1871 (printed and published), ca. 1859 (etched)
Artist/Maker
Whistler (artist)
Place of origin
London (etched)
London (printed and published)

Following the months spent in Wapping at work on his Thames Set etchings, Whistler returned to Paris for a few months towards the end of 1859. There he experimented with and quickly mastered the exacting technique of drypoint. This method of drawing on an unprepared etching plate with a sharp tool allows the artist to create delicate and spontaneous marks which print with a richness unobtainable by conventional etching. Influenced by the portraits of Van Dyck and Rembrandt, Whistler created a group of prints of Bohemian friends such as the flamboyant cellist, Becquet.

Object details

Category
Prints
Object type
Print
Titles
  • The Fiddler (generic title)
  • Becquet (generic title)
  • The Thames Set (series title)
  • Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames, and Other Subjects (series title)
Materials and techniques
Etching on paper
Paper
Printing Ink
Etching (Printing Process)
Brief description
Etching by James Whistler, 'Becquet' or 'The Fiddler' from the Thames Set. Etched ca. 1859, published in 'Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames, and Other Subjects,' London, 1871.
Physical description
Etching by James Whistler, ‘Becquet’ or ‘The Fiddler’ from the Thames Set. Etched ca. 1859. Printed and issued in 1871 as one of the ‘Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames, and Other Subjects,’ by Ellis and Green, 32 King Street, Covent Garden, in editions of one hundred. Portrait of a musician, shown full-face, seated holding a cello between his legs.
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 27cm
  • Plate width: 19.4cm
  • Paper height: 25.7cm
  • Paper width: 21.9cm
Style
Realist
Object history
1871 edition. W.48. K.52, 3rd state.
Subjects depicted
Musicians
Cello
Cellos
Musical Instruments
Summary
Following the months spent in Wapping at work on his Thames Set etchings, Whistler returned to Paris for a few months towards the end of 1859. There he experimented with and quickly mastered the exacting technique of drypoint. This method of drawing on an unprepared etching plate with a sharp tool allows the artist to create delicate and spontaneous marks which print with a richness unobtainable by conventional etching. Influenced by the portraits of Van Dyck and Rembrandt, Whistler created a group of prints of Bohemian friends such as the flamboyant cellist, Becquet.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Wedmore, Frederick. Whistler's Etchings, A Study and a Catalogue. London: Colnaghi & Co, 1899. No.48.
  • Kennedy, Edward G. The Etched Work of Whistler. San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1978. No.52, 3rd state.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
24767:8

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O636214/the-fiddler-print-whistler/
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