Palaces in the Night

Following his bankruptcy in 1879, American artist James McNeill Whistler sought refuge in Venice, armed with a contract from the Fine Art Society for a set of 12 etchings. With his model and mistress Maud Franklin, he stayed there for 14 months. The beauty of Venice inspired some of his greatest works: atmospheric oil paintings of Venetian nights, vivid pastels and some of his finest etchings. This illustrated book discusses the whole range of Whistler's Venetian work. The views he chose ranged from quiet canals to Renaissance palaces. He found beauty in intimate scenes of ordinary life, drawing fishermen and bead-stringers at their work. His art and letters from Venice not only cast revealing light on the specific creative process that characterized his practice, but also suggest that the time spent in this city constituted a valuable turning-point in the artist's career, providing the main impetus for the next decade. The volume is a celebration of Whistler's work and an exploration of its inspiration, production and importance.