# Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea

- By: James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)
- Date: 1893
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 50.2 × 73.3 cm (19 3/4 × 28 7/8 in.)
- Culture: Brittany
- Credit line: Gift of Clara Margaret Lynch in memory of John A. Lynch
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/84088)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/5f663d6c-0121-a8ca-e875-896d9857a3f3/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

After years of painting seascapes on a significantly smaller scale, James McNeill Whistler returned briefly to a large-format canvas to capture a hot summer day on the water near Brittany, France. The artist likely painted this seascape while boating off the coast as a crewman steadied their vessel. This could account for the unusually broad handling of paint and thick touches of pigment apparent throughout the composition, particularly in the clouds and gently cresting waves. Here, Whistler demonstrated his enduring passion for the myriad relationships of color offered by the ever-changing sea.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0