The White Shaft - Antibes

Print

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The Art & History Museums of Maitland

In "The White Shaft, Antibes," J. André Smith depicts the medieval Grimaldi Tower rising above a quiet square in the old town of Antibes, France: The etching by J. Andre Smith depicts a quaint European town square characterized by an intriguing mix of medieval and Renaissance architectural elements. The focal point is a stone tower with simple, narrow windows, suggesting its function as a bell tower or watchtower. Surrounding the tower are various buildings with steeply pitched roofs and ornate facades, some adorned with wrought-iron balconies. In the foreground, a few townfolk are engaged in daily activities, while a leafless tree stands to the right.
In "The White Shaft, Antibes," J. André Smith depicts the medieval Grimaldi Tower rising above a quiet square in the old town of Antibes, France

The etching by J. Andre Smith depicts a quaint European town square characterized by an intriguing mix of medieval and Renaissance architectural elements. The focal point is a stone tower with simple, narrow windows, suggesting its function as a bell tower or watchtower. Surrounding the tower are various buildings with steeply pitched roofs and ornate facades, some adorned with wrought-iron balconies. In the foreground, a few townfolk are engaged in daily activities, while a leafless tree stands to the right.

Name/Title

The White Shaft - Antibes

Entry/Object ID

1992.051.098

Description

In The White Shaft, Antibes, André Smith takes the Grimaldi Tower in the old town of Antibes as his central subject. The tall stone tower rises like a pale shaft through the middle of the composition, its blocks of masonry carefully outlined and a single bell hanging in the arched opening near its top, where small plants sprout from the weathered stone. At its base, a small shrine holds a statue of a saint above a fountain, and a street lamp stands nearby. Around the square, everyday life carries on: a woman tends plants on a terrace at left beside a café table, figures rest in the shade, an elderly woman with a cane makes her way across the paving stones, and at right a figure stands with a child near a bare tree and a cart. Behind the tower, rooftops, chimneys and a smaller bell tower crowd together, and a church façade with a round window and pediment closes the view at right. Birds circle overhead, and lightly outlined clouds drift through the open sky. Smith's crisp line work and the contrast between the bright tower and the shaded buildings around it give the scene a calm, sunlit Mediterranean character.

Type of Print

Etching

Artwork Details

Medium

Paper

Subject Place

City

Antibes

Country

France

Region

Western Europe

Continent

Europe

Collection

Smith Collection (MAA)

Acquisition

Accession

1992.051

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Purchased by the Museum for the Permanent Collection

Made/Created

Artist

J. André Smith

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

BC

Transcription

Andre Smith

Material/Technique

Pencil