Rotherhithe (aka: Wapping)

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Published in this state in the 'Thames Set'. Diagonal drypoint lines augment the shading across the chest and pipe of the man on the left.

The drypoint varies in strength according to the state of the burr and inking of different impressions; in addition it is possible the drypoint was reinforced when the plate was printed for F. Keppel & Co.

Two men (Mansfield adds, 'of middle age') wearing caps sit smoking long clay pipes, and looking at the viewer. Behind them is the view down the river Thames, with warehouses and docks, and the dome of St Paul's in the distance. Visible between them, in the middle distance, is a beached ship, the mast leaning to left. On the left are the two masts and rigging of a larger vessel, its deck seen from above.

Confusion over the title arises from the etching having been drawn in Rotherhithe on the south side of the Thames - so that the foreground balcony scene is in Rotherhithe - with a view over the river to Wapping on the north bank. There was, incidentally, a similar confusion about the title of the etching 'The Little Rotherhithe' and the painting ,Wapping'.

This impression has the old Albert Roulllier gallery label.