April Shower, Venice

Bertha E. Jaques, April Shower, Venice, 1914, etching on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chicago Society of Etchers, 1935.13.490
Bertha E. Jaques, April Shower, Venice, 1914, etching on paper, plate: 5 1⁄4 × 7 7⁄8 in. (13.4 × 20.1 cm) sheet: 7 5⁄8 × 10 1⁄2 in. (19.4 × 26.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chicago Society of Etchers, 1935.13.490
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Artwork Details

Title
April Shower, Venice
Artist
Date
1914
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
plate: 5 1⁄4 × 7 7⁄8 in. (13.4 × 20.1 cm) sheet: 7 5⁄8 × 10 1⁄2 in. (19.4 × 26.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Chicago Society of Etchers
Mediums Description
etching on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Cityscape — Italy — Venice
  • Cityscape — weather — rain
  • Cityscape — season — spring
  • Figure group
Object Number
1935.13.490
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1935.13.490

Artwork Description

"Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times," stated American writer Henry James in 1882, "and of all the cities of the world is the easiest to visit without going there." Perhaps heeding James's warning, many artists turned their attention to its less familiar corners. Here Bertha Jaques explores the fuzzy imprecision of inclement weather, with umbrella-bearing pedestrians passing through an unnamed piazza. Falling rain hides the surrounding structures in a misty haze, with their mushroomlike chimneys serving as the only clue to the Venetian setting. Jaques was a founding member of the Chicago Society of Etchers and an advocate for the unique expressive powers of this medium. The Venetian etchings of James Whistler inspired her printmaking, long before her first visit to Venice in 1912.

Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano, 2021.

Works by this artist (6 items)

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David Smith, Europa and Calf, 1956-1957, bronze/poured and hammered on stone base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1978.30
Europa and Calf
Artist
Date1956-1957
bronze/poured and hammered on stone base
On view
David Smith, Reclining Figure, 1935, iron, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Samuel G. Rose and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.6
Reclining Figure
Artist
Date1935
iron
Not on view
David Smith, Untitled, ca. 1951, ink and tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.104
Untitled
Artist
Dateca. 1951
ink and tempera on paper
Not on view
David Smith, Private Law and Order Leagues (study for medallion, Medals for Dishonor series), ca. 1938-1939, felt-tipped pen and ink (from verso) and pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Olin Dows, 1988.60
Private Law and Order Leagues (study for medallion, Medals…
Artist
Dateca. 1938-1939
felt-tipped pen and ink (from verso) and pen and ink on paper
Not on view

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Reclamation, from the Early Series
Artist
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photomechanical reproduction on paper mounted on paperboard
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