Whittredge, Worthington
(b. 1820
d. 1910)
Worthington Whittredge sketchbook of a trip down the Rhine River, 1849
One of the earliest sketchbooks in the Archives of American Art is by Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910) from his trip on the Rhine in 1849. Whittredge, a Cincinnati landscape painter, was traveling by boat to the Düsseldorf Academy, where he would begin his formal art training. Each day he surveyed his surroundings for potential subjects. Cologne and Bonn did not interest him, but Drachenfels appealed to his romantic sensibilities. In his autobiography he wrote:
My first landing was Drachenfels. Guide-book in hand and constantly watching for the 'castle crag of Drachenfels,'...I got off the boat as soon as possible and walked back and ascended the peak where I expected to meet the 'peasant girls with deep blue eyes' which Byron had intimated were there to be found.
Although the pleasant girls left something to be desired, the landscape appealed to him:
...as the sun was rising over the 'Seven Hills' I looked out my window with the Rhine at my back, and saw a picture. It was but a moment, but I made some memoranda, and in the following winter painted a large picture of this subject for my Cincinnati friend, Mr. William Groesbeck.*
Whittredge's sketchbook includes his "memoranda" of the Seven Hills and Drachenfels, as well as views of St. Boar, Rheinfels, Nonnenwerth, and other points of interest along the river. They are quick, lively sketches that outline the features of the landscapes with panoramas that span two pages. Whittredge's sketchbook is typical for a nineteenth-century American artist who studied abroad. It served as a repository of ideas, a place to develop his powers of observation, and a graphic memento of his grand tour.
* John I. H. Baur, ed., The Autobiography of Worthington Whittredge 1820-1910 (New York: Arno Press, 1969), p. 20.
[Worthington Whittredge sketchbook of a trip down the Rhine River], 1849 / Worthington Whittredge, artist. Sketchbook : 1 v. : various media ; 15 x 24 cm. Worthington Whittredge papers. Archives of American Art.
63 p. Graphite, ink, and ink wash. Whitredge kept this sketchbook during his trip down the Rhine River to Düsseldorf, Germany in 1849. On the first page there are smudged notes on color. The last page is inscribed: "J. W. Whitredge United States America," "Katrina Kemp/Margarita Claris/Drachenfels Aug. 20th" and "1849 Brussels Aug 4th," and illegible doodles. There are 19 blank pages. 21 pages have sketches on their versos. Most of the sketchbook contains images of the Rhine River valley, including architectural ruins; views of the river and hillsides; a valley between two mountains identified as "St. Goar"; six figures on a pier identified as "Pier St. Goar"; a study of a man next to four birds on a rocky ledge; panoramic landscapes identified as "the seven mountains and Drachenfels," and "near the seven mountains/ Island of nonnensworth [sic];" a drawing of a barn with a cart in front of it and a figure at the side doorway; sketches of vegetation and trees; a man under an umbrella sketching a landscape; a marsh-like setting with two figures walking on a path; two people in a boat with the forest behind them, with the inscription: "light-blue sky with dark foliage;" and sketches of cows and horses.
Condition: Both front and back covers are intact, but worn and dirty. Pages are in very good condition, with only a few bent corners.
My first landing was Drachenfels. Guide-book in hand and constantly watching for the 'castle crag of Drachenfels,'...I got off the boat as soon as possible and walked back and ascended the peak where I expected to meet the 'peasant girls with deep blue eyes' which Byron had intimated were there to be found.
Although the pleasant girls left something to be desired, the landscape appealed to him:
...as the sun was rising over the 'Seven Hills' I looked out my window with the Rhine at my back, and saw a picture. It was but a moment, but I made some memoranda, and in the following winter painted a large picture of this subject for my Cincinnati friend, Mr. William Groesbeck.*
Whittredge's sketchbook includes his "memoranda" of the Seven Hills and Drachenfels, as well as views of St. Boar, Rheinfels, Nonnenwerth, and other points of interest along the river. They are quick, lively sketches that outline the features of the landscapes with panoramas that span two pages. Whittredge's sketchbook is typical for a nineteenth-century American artist who studied abroad. It served as a repository of ideas, a place to develop his powers of observation, and a graphic memento of his grand tour.
* John I. H. Baur, ed., The Autobiography of Worthington Whittredge 1820-1910 (New York: Arno Press, 1969), p. 20.
[Worthington Whittredge sketchbook of a trip down the Rhine River], 1849 / Worthington Whittredge, artist. Sketchbook : 1 v. : various media ; 15 x 24 cm. Worthington Whittredge papers. Archives of American Art.
63 p. Graphite, ink, and ink wash. Whitredge kept this sketchbook during his trip down the Rhine River to Düsseldorf, Germany in 1849. On the first page there are smudged notes on color. The last page is inscribed: "J. W. Whitredge United States America," "Katrina Kemp/Margarita Claris/Drachenfels Aug. 20th" and "1849 Brussels Aug 4th," and illegible doodles. There are 19 blank pages. 21 pages have sketches on their versos. Most of the sketchbook contains images of the Rhine River valley, including architectural ruins; views of the river and hillsides; a valley between two mountains identified as "St. Goar"; six figures on a pier identified as "Pier St. Goar"; a study of a man next to four birds on a rocky ledge; panoramic landscapes identified as "the seven mountains and Drachenfels," and "near the seven mountains/ Island of nonnensworth [sic];" a drawing of a barn with a cart in front of it and a figure at the side doorway; sketches of vegetation and trees; a man under an umbrella sketching a landscape; a marsh-like setting with two figures walking on a path; two people in a boat with the forest behind them, with the inscription: "light-blue sky with dark foliage;" and sketches of cows and horses.
Condition: Both front and back covers are intact, but worn and dirty. Pages are in very good condition, with only a few bent corners.
Forms Part of: Worthington Whittredge papers