Man Shot from a Canon c. 1849 - 1851

Curator: Here we have James Abbott McNeill Whistler's "Man Shot from a Canon," held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s so lively! The energetic lines and pale washes of color give it a wonderful sense of immediate action. Curator: Whistler made this small watercolor sketch to satirize the rise of sensational war imagery in popular media. Editor: I see that now! The composition is cleverly absurd. The cannon is central, but the man's trajectory takes our eye right off the page. Curator: Whistler positions this spectacle within the context of 19th-century visual culture that desensitized audiences to violence. Editor: A sharp critique indeed! And with such a delicate touch. This piece offers a compelling study in contrasts.