Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Venus

Titles

Only one title has been suggested:

  • 'Venus' (1908, Pennell). 1
  • 'Venus' (1980, YMSM). 2

Description

It was described by Walford Graham Robertson (1867-1948) as 'a full length figure of Venus, running with wide-flung arms and flying tresses up a beach of golden sand from a sea of pale turquoise.' 3

Sitter

Whistler's model, if he had one, is unknown.

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, adapted from the Greek Aphrodite, and was supposedly born from the sea-foam. Whistler explored the subject implicitly and explicitly in several works including Venus [YMSM 082] and Venus Rising from the Sea [YMSM 093].

Notes:

1: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 2, p. 279.

2: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 548).

3: W. G. Robertson 1931 A [more], p. 193.

Last updated: 1st November 2019 by Margaret