Titles

The title is as follows:

• 'Violet and Silver – A Deep Sea' (1894, Grafton Galleries). 1
• 'Violet & Silver. The Deep Sea' (1894, Whistler). 2
• 'Violet and Silver: A Deep Sea' (1980, YMSM). 3
• Violet and Silver - The Deep Sea (2018, AIC). 4

'Violet and Silver: A Deep Sea' is the preferred title, based on the original published title.

Description

A seascape in horizontal format. A deep blue-green sea with a few breaking waves is seen from a low, sea-level viewpoint. The pale green-blue sky darkens to turquoise blue; it is scattered with cream, grey and lilac/grey clouds.

Site

It was probably painted, with Dark Blue and Silver [YMSM 412], on the north coast of Brittany in August 1893. Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926) said Whistler 'a vu se mouvoir la mer, aux côtes de Bretagne, en été, sous des ciels bleu pale, des nuages mauves, des lueurs d'argent.' 5 However, according to the Art Journal, it was painted on the coast of Normandy. 6 Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859-1920) wrote that it was painted off-shore, while the boatman steadied the boat. 7

Comments

The website of the Art Institute of Chicago comments:

'After years of painting seascapes on a significantly smaller scale, Whistler returned briefly to the large-format canvas to capture the effects of a hot summer day on the coast of Brittany. According to the Chicago collector Arthur Jerome Eddy, the artist painted this seascape while boating off the coast as a crewman steadied their vessel. This could account for the unusually broad handling of paint and thick touches of pigment apparent throughout the composition, particularly in the clouds and gently cresting waves.' 8