Titles

Minor variations in title have been suggested:

• 'Blue & Silver – Dieppe' (1897/1899, Whistler). 1
• 'Blue and silver – Dieppe' (1904, Copley Society, Boston). 2
• 'Blue and Silver: Dieppe' (1980, YMSM). 3

'Blue and Silver: Dieppe' is the preferred title, based on Whistler's title, although it seems a little incongruous, the predominant colour being the deep green of the sea, though admittedly under a blue sky.

Description

Bright clouds in a blue sky over a dark green sea: a seascape in horizontal format. There are three sailing boats out at sea, at right. The sea is choppy, with white breaking waves.

Site

Dieppe, France. Whistler spent time in Dieppe between July and September 1897, when he painted Harmony in Blue and Silver: Beaching the Boat, Étretat [YMSM 483], and in 1899, when he probably painted The Sea, Pourville, No. 1 [YMSM 516] and Green and Silver: The Great Sea [YMSM 518].

Comments

The New Britain Museum of American Art website comments:

'Despite its size, Blue and Silver, Dieppe showcases [Whistler's] tendency toward abstraction. The space is divided into bands of color representing sea, sky and clouds. Whistler reduced the entire scene to only a few colors applied to the surface with strong, expressive brushstrokes. The feeling of the landscape on a gray day is conveyed through the color and texture. Whistler was inspired by Japanese prints and other Asian art forms, and the flat bands of color certainly exemplify this influence.' 4