Street at Saverne, One of the 'Twelve Etchings from Nature,' or the 'French Set'; James McNeill Whistler

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Accession Number
1954/1.326
Title
Street at Saverne, One of the 'Twelve Etchings from Nature,' or the 'French Set'
Artist
James McNeill Whistler
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
1834-1903
Medium and Support
etching, printed in black ink on Japan paper, laid down on white wove plate paper
Object Creation Date
1858
Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
Inscription
On the plate, l.l.: Whistler
Dimensions
26.6 cm x 19.5 cm (10 1/2 in. x 7 11/16 in.)
Century
19th century
Physical Description
In this nighttime view down a street, buildings along the left-hand side of the street are shown in with sharp recession into space. A solitary figure is seen in the shadows on the left-hand side half way down the street. The sky is darkened with parallel horizontal hatching lines. The only source of light is a lantern on the wall of the right side of the street. Dark shadows fall across the buildings on the left side.
Subject Matter
"Street at Saverne" is one of the "French Set" etchings that is based on a watercolor executed during the walking trip that Whistler and Ernest Delannoy made in the summer of 1858. Night views, known as "Nocturnes", became one of Whistler's signature forms and dominate his views along the Thames during the 1870s as well as views in Venice and Amsterdam in the 1880s. The watercolor on which this etching is based is, in fact, a daytime view of Saverne; when making the print Whistler transformed this into a night view, thus becoming his first nocturne.
Primary Keywords
alleys
buildings
walking
window
Secondary Keywords
architecture
buildings and the land
figures
open spaces
open spaces and site elements
open spaces by function
people and occupations
roads
roads by form
streets
streets by form
transportation spaces
Rights
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