Whistler's etchings "REVEALED" at Davison

By Jenny Saranow
Contributing Writer

Last spring’s seminar on nineteenth-century American-painter etchers has evolved into a full scale exhibition, titled "James McNeill Whistler and the Etching Revival." currently on display in the Davison Art Center (DAC). The show is curated by Aaron Fox ’00 and Katherine Sanderson ’00, two members of the seminar taught by Stephanie Wiles, the curator at DAC.

The exhibition focuses on mid-to-late nineteenth century American, English, and French etchings. The artists whose work is displayed represent a break with the previous works, where etching was solely used as a method of reproduction, similar to the way photographs and xeroxes are used today.

"The reason we include Whistler as the central focus is because he probably more than any other helped tie it all together," Fox said.

Whistler’s works serve as the touchstone for the exhibition. Whistler served as a link between the etching revivals occuring in France, Britain, and America. As an American expatriate living at times in either Paris or London, Whistler not only was strongly influenced by the etchings he saw in France in the 1850s, particularly those of the French Barbizon school, but also played a central role in the English etching revival and greatly influenced later American painter-etchers.

The works displayed demonstrate Whistler’s worldy lifestyle. After settling permanently in London in 1858, Whistler, who gained proficiency with etching through his early work as a map-maker, produced a series of etchings of the rapidly changing harbor along the Thames, in which he experimented with the representation of space. For example, in the etching "Rotherhithe," Whistler portrays two men sitting in a corner balcony overlooking the Thames. The angle formed by the balcony walls causes us to peripherally see the river as if we too were relaxing on the balcony.

Throughout his career, Whistler made many changes to his plates, wiping, resketching, and printing them many times. However, nowhere in his work is this technique more prevalent than in his etchings depicting Venice. In these, Whistler uses the mutuability of the etching process to express the changing nature of the surrounding landscape.

The influence European artists had upon Whistler can also be observed in his work. In "Weary," Whistler portrays his mistress, Joanna Hiffernan. Her luxuriant and reclining pose remind us of the Pre-Raphelites’s work, and in particular that of Rosetti. The looseness of lines and Whistler’s choice of delicate Japanese paper also lend an ethereal quality to the work.

Whistler was also extremely influenced by Rembrandt and Van Dyck. His "Becquet" depicts the French sculpture Becquet whose eyes seem to by examining us in nearly the same manner as one of Rembrandt’s portraits.

Joseph Pennel, a friend of Whistler’s, created many images of Venice that are similar to those of Whistler in subject, style, and title. However, American painter-etchers also demonstrate originality in their works. Pennel’s "Le Puy" depicts a city in the mountanous volcanic region of the Loire Valley. Pennel’s use of drypoint lends a sense of depth and the composition to this fairytale-like landscape that seems to stem only from his imagination.

"The American painter-etchers were friends with Whistler when they worked in Europe. There were especially a lot of Americans in Venice. They learned from observing his work," Fox said.

The exhibition also includes works by Samuel Palmer and other members of the English Old Etching Club, as well as works by Sir Francis Seymour Hayden, Whistler’s brother-in-law and founder of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers.

The Old Etching Club emphasized the use of etching for illustration. For example, Palmer’s "Lonely Tower" illustrates Milton’s "Il Peneroso". In contrast, the Royal Society emphasized original etching. "Kensington Gardens," a view depicting the home of Lord Harrington, testifies to the prevalence of landscapes in Sir Hayden’s work.

The works of many prominent French painter-etchers are also included in the exhibition. The etching movement in France exerted the most influence on the medium. They were attracted to etching for its freedom and ability to capture the effects of light. These French painter-etchers, primarily the Barbizon painters who greatly influenced Whistler, created etchings that focus on landscape subjects. The etchings of Charles Meryon, which portray the Parisian landscape, show a meticulous attention to detail.

"I was particulary impressed with the city-scapes of Charles Meryon. It’s amazing how precise and detailed his etchings are," said Liz Rappaport ’00.

Fox expressed a similar admiration for Meryon.

"I thought his works were the most interesting because they contain the most unique vision. He was fairly obsessive about his work so they possess a great attention to detail, probably part of the reason he eventually went crazy and had to be institutionalized," Fox said.

In the etching "The Gleaners," Jean-Francois Millet depicts three female figures of monumental stature working on a field. In 1857, Millet translated this same subject into a painting that is on display in the Louvre, Paris.

Finally, works of the American etching revival are included in the show. Fox spoke of the reasons behind etching’s migration across the Atlantic.

"Lots of it was through the structures of the clubs. Cadaret, who ran the French Etching Club, really helped move etching to the United States by setting up exhibits in New York and Philadelphia," Fox said. "Also, a lot of these artists worked in all three places. For example, Whistler was an American expatriate who worked in Britain and France, while Sir Francis Seymour Hayden was a British member of the French Etching Club."

Though this country’s etching revival began quite a while after those in Europe, many quality works were produced. From the work included in this exhibition, it is obvious that Whistler served as an inspiration for most of the American painter-etchers. They were fascinated with his control of the medium and with the many changes he made to his plates.

Creating etchings is a lot more difficult than one may think. It is much more involved than simply carving designs into copper and dipping the copper in ink.

"Basically you have a copper plate on which is applied a plain acid-resistant ground such as wax. Then you take the etching needle and draw into the ground in the same manner as you would draw on a piece of paper, yet here the ground is broken through and the copper is exposed," said Stephanie Wiles. "Then the plate is dipped into acid so that the areas of exposed ground are eaten away. When the plate is inked, the ink fills up the eaten away spaces and then a print is made. The nature of the etching process makes it a very flexible medium. It is very easy to go back after a print and make changes to the plate before printing again."

For the artists whose work is displayed, etching served as the medium that left the most room for manipulation. With etchings, they could express the same themes that later would be prevelant in impressionist painting, such as the changing light upon a landscape during different hours of the day or the muteability of life.

"James McNeill Whistler and The Etching Revival" is a wonderful show that gives the viewer a complete picture of etching at the turn of the century. From realistically detailed to imaginative landscapes, we observe many painter-etchers using a manipulative medium in various ways to creatively express their views of the world.

"It really turned out to be a beautiful show and I am very pleased," Wiles said.