Details
- Object type
watercolour
- Title
The Music Boat
- Artist/Maker
- Culture/School
Scottish
- Place Associated
Italy, Venice (place depicted)
- Date
about 1894
- Materials
watercolour and pastel on lightweight board
- Dimensions
framed: 946 x 1197 x 30 mm; unframed: 610 mm x 864 mm
- Description
-
Melville first travelled to Venice in February 1894, his visit coinciding with the annual carnival when the canals came alive with lanterns and music boats. He transforms the city into a decorative arrangement of form and colour. The Japanese lanterns remind the viewer of how inspirational Japanese prints were for innovative artists in the 19th century, in radically challenging Western ideas about design. The focus on the bridge and vertical canal posts are very reminiscent of Japanese ukiyo-e prints. The musical reference and nocturnal setting both reference the work of the controversial American artist and aesthete James McNeill Whistler. ‘The Music Boat, Venice’ is technically brilliant, Melville using dabs of colour to merely suggest form, creating an almost abstract pattern. He cleverly exploits the thinness and runs and blots of the watercolour medium to create reflections in the water and suggest the ethereal beauty of the scene.
- Credit Line/Donor
Gifted by Sir William and Lady Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944
- Collection
Burrell Collection: Pictures [Oils, Pastels and Watercolours]
- ID Number
35.650
- Location
In storage