From views of charming waterside cottages and historic towns to luxury hi-rises, the pastel paintings featured here glorify the beauty in the built environment.
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
While visiting Venice in 1879–80 to make a series of etchings for the Fine Art Society, London, James McNeill Whistler also made almost 100 pastels, including this evocative example of an everyday scene along one of the city’s canals. The title of this picture reflects the musical vocabulary that Whistler used to identify much of his work. The pink “note” is the drapery hung from the balcony at upper left (echoed in the tint of the woman’s dress and some of the bricks on the building’s facade); the brown is the window frame above. One critic described the pastels as “perfect works” for their ability to evoke the essence of the city with only the “slightest sketch.”
