St. Paul's Churchyard, London
ca. 1908
20th century
6 1/4 in. x 9 3/4 in. (15.88 cm x 24.77 cm)
Joseph Pennell,
American,
(ca. 1860–1926)
Object Type:
Prints
Creation Place:
North America, United States
Medium and Support:
Etching on paper
Credit Line:
Carleton College Art Collection, gift of Gerard R. Pomerat on behalf of Dr. Charles M. Pomerat
Accession Number:
1998.180
This print of St. Paul's church yard shows Whistler's strong influence on the artist/illustrator. Much like Whistler's Venice Nocturnes, Pennell creates mood with dark messy lines in depicting St. Paul's neoclassical facade. The urban scene is animated through a few gestural lines that render people, a technique mastered by Whistler. Instead of flattening the perspective view, Pennell portrays the recession of space more realistically, honoring the conventions of the tourist print.
Pennelll, with his wife, wrote the first authorized biography of James McNeill Whistler. The two volume "The Life of James McNeill Whistler," published in 1908, was followed by a monograph titled "The Art of Whistler" in 1928.