The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Venus dates from 1902. ¹

Originally the Pennells said that Whistler was at work on ‘the Venus’ in his studio about May 1902, but later (in 1921) they suggested it was being painted in April 1902. ²

About 1902 Walford Graham Robertson (1867-1948) saw a painting in Whistler’s studio, and compared it to a full-length oil, Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder y203, in size:

'[A] wonderful "rub in" on an even larger scale ... 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. A small version of the design was among the cherished "Projects", but the large picture, as far as it went, was even finer ... the incarnate joy, born of the sunshine and the dancing foam.' ³

Venus, Freer Gallery of Art

The 'small version' may have been the sketch of Venus y082, reproduced above. See also Venus Rising from the Sea y093.

Images

Subject

Titles

Only one title has been suggested:

• 'Venus' (1908, Pennell). ⁴
• 'Venus' (1980, YMSM). ⁵

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.' ⁶

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 y082 and Venus Rising from the Sea y093.

Technique

Technique

Unknown.

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

Unknown.

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 548) as 'Venus'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 2, p. 279.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, p. 408.

Books, General

• Robertson, W. Graham, Time Was: the Reminiscences of W. Graham Robertson, London and New York, 1931, p. 193.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• None.

Journals 1906-Present

• None.

Websites

• None.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.