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The Balcony

1879/1880
Etching and drypoint on Asian paper
K.207 (7-8/11)
Bequest of Rosalind Birnie Philip, 1958
Hunterian Art Gallery, GLAHA 46854

A small Renaissance house on a narrow canal in Venice, the Rio de San Pantalon, functions like a theatrical backdrop for a drama. A gondolier salutes a woman emerging from the dark doorway, while above, dainty figures look down from the balcony, which is draped as if for the Venetian carnival.

In the case of The Balcony, Kennedy recorded eleven states but there appear to be at least thirteen; this impression is an intermediary state, between Kennedy's seventh and eighth states.