Laburnums and Battersea

For his early prints, Roussel adapted James McNeill Whistler’s methods to express his own interest in documenting the local scene, and Laburnums and Battersea is a striking example of the older artist’s influence. Roussel developed his plate through multiple states, used a variety of ink colors, and employed selective wiping to suggest differing effects of light, water, and mist. He also chose an upright format and a larger scale than his other prints depicting Chelsea and the Battersea factories on the opposite bank of the Thames River.