House of the Swan, Brussels |  Art Institute of Chicago (1934.637) | |
| Number: | 337 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching | |
| Size: | 178 x 66 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at lower centre | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 1 | |
| Known impressions: | 2 | |
| Catalogues: | K.363; M.360 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (2) | ||
TECHNIQUE
The plate for House of the Swan, Brussels was executed in pure etching. The subject was drawn with rather fussy short broken lines, capturing the complexity of the architectural details, and creating a decorative and flat composition, but actually lacking precise detail, except in the doorway. There, fine, densely worked cross-hatching created deep shadows and provides a point of focus.
PRINTING
Only two impressions of House of the Swan, Brussels have been located, although sales records suggest more were printed. One was printed in black ink on off-white laid paper with an illegible watermark (
). It is trimmed to the platemark on three sides, leaving a wide margin at the bottom, where it is signed with Whistler's butterfly and 'imp' to show that he printed it; however, it would appear that whoever was trimming the print did not complete the job. Another impression was printed in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper (). Again it was not fully trimmed to the platemark.
). It is trimmed to the platemark on three sides, leaving a wide margin at the bottom, where it is signed with Whistler's butterfly and 'imp' to show that he printed it; however, it would appear that whoever was trimming the print did not complete the job. Another impression was printed in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper (). Again it was not fully trimmed to the platemark.