The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Venus dates from about 1898.

Venus, The Hunterian

It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1523).

Images

Subject

Description

Venus, The Hunterian

The goddess Venus (the Greek Aphrodite, and Cyrian Astarte) was said to have sprung from the foam of the sea near the island of Cythera. Although the title was never associated with this drawing during Whistler's lifetime it is undoubtedly correct.

Technique

Composition

Venus, The Hunterian

This may have been one of several studies for a large oil painting, Venus y548, which was described by Walford Graham Robertson (1867-1948) as in Whistler's studio in 1902, but is no longer extant: 'an oil painting of a full length figure of Venus, running with wide-flung arms and flying tresses up a beach of golden sand from a sea of pale turquoise'. ¹

Technique

The drawing appears to be unfinished. The face is a wreck, but the hair was neatly shaded with short diagonal lines, and reiterated lines conveyed the fluttering robes. The disturbed fibres of the paper go in all directions, adding to the ethereal effect of the figure.

Conservation History

The paper has flecks of wood-stalk and a fine vertical grain is visible on less worked on areas - the sky, sea, and beach. The paper has been slightly rubbed and there are traces of gilt from an old mount. There has been some paper loss at left, just under the fluttering robe.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1935: given by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

• 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 133) as 'Vénus.'

By the terms of Miss Philip's gift, this work cannot be exhibited in another venue.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1523) as 'Venus'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 133) as 'Vénus.'

Books, General

• Robertson, W. Graham, Time Was: the Reminiscences of W. Graham Robertson, London and New York, 1931, p. 193.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Aquarellen, Pastels, Teekingen, Etsen, Lithographien en een Schilderij door James McNeill Whistler, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1906 (cat. no. 21) as 'Venus'.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.