The Little Mast

A tall thin mast serving as a waterfront landmark is the most prominent feature of James McNeill Whistler's etching The Little Mast, a casual view of a Venice calle (street). At the lower right, two men sit on the sidewalk near a group of standing children. At left, beyond a pair of dogs, pedestrians cluster in front of the buildings, as well as nearby along a stepped bridge. Inspired by compositions found in Japanese prints, Whistler chose a vantage point at the end of the Via Garibaldi that yielded an off-center placement of the vertical mast, which bisects the expanse of sky evoked by an unprinted expanse of the paper. The ropes linking the mast to the row of buildings on the left further segment the pictorial space into a sail-shaped vignette of the tops of tall ships rising above the bridge. Hovering near the upper right as part of the etched composition is the artist's stylized butterfly signature, resembling the artists' seals marking the Japanese artworks that inspired Whistler throughout his career.

Whistler exhibited a foreigner's curiosity in this open, sunlit plaza on the Via Garibaldi with its daily crowds of local residents. Etching the plate on site, the artist used a minimum of lines to achieve his image, which due to the printmaking process is a mirror image of the scene he observed and drew on the plate. This delicate work contrasts with Whistler's more densely drawn views of shadow-filled narrow canals and passageways, as for example in The Two Doorways (TF 1995.22) and the tonal Nocturne: Palaces (TF 1996.52). The Little Mast is one of the fifty etchings Whistler executed during his stay in Venice from September 1879 to November 1880. Following his return to London, Whistler included it in his exhibition at the Fine Art Society, the London gallery that had commissioned his Venice works, and in the published portfolio titled “Twelve Etchings," known as the “First Venice Set."

Regard sur James Abbott McNeill Whistler (James Abbott McNeill Whistler at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 30, 1994 (on exhibit partial run: September 20–October 30, 1994).

American Treasures: Chase, Whistler, and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.

Modern Harmonies: Whistler Reflects on his Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 31–August 31, 2003.

Wedmore, Sir Frederick, Whistler's Etchings: a Study and a Catalogue, London, 1886 (cat. no. 151).

Mansfield, Howard, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-Points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Chicago, 1909 (cat. no. 182).

Kennedy, Edward Guthrie. The Etched Work of Whistler. Illustrated by reproductions in collotype of the different states of the plates. New York: Grolier Club, 1910. No. 185 iii/iv.

Lochnan, Katharine A. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven, Connecticut and London, England: Art Gallery of Ontario and Yale University Press, 1984. No. 208.