Under Old Battersea Bridge
1879Etching and drypoint on laid paper (watermark 'IH')
K.176 (3/3)
Purchased, 1973
Hunterian Art Gallery, GLAHA 46792
Whistler's etchings reveal a surprising range of techniques. Here he started by etching the outlines of a single span of Battersea Bridge. Then, in this rare third and final state, he emphasized the bridge by spattering acid over that area. The foul biting was no accident, but was manipulated to produce dramatic shading, contrasting with the fine drypoint lines of the suspension bridge and church in the distance.
This print was later published, in a limited edition of about twelve, in a set of Cancelled Etchings by the Fine Art Society in 1879.