James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903

Set in the courtyard of the Ca’ da Mosto near the Rialto Bridge, The Traghetto is the second and more successful version of a subject Whistler considered central to his Venice work. The composition features three slender trees with spreading foliage that dominate the foreground, flanked by a group of men in broad-brimmed hats and a woman holding a child. Whistler reportedly overworked the first version of this plate and had to selectively replicate the details onto a new copper plate. He used this work to demonstrate the way that his new Venetian technique was a natural and logical growth of composition and subject from his earlier ‘Thames Set’ etchings. The plate for this second version eventually became worn, making fine, early impressions of this scene of Venetian light and shade, such as the present impression, highly prized by collectors.