Nocturne, from the "Twelve Etchings" or the "First Venice Set" / James McNeill Whistler
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1954/1.372
- Title
- Nocturne, from the "Twelve Etchings" or the "First Venice Set"
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- 1834-1903
- Medium and Support
- etching and drypoint, printed in warm black ink on laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1879-1880
- Object Creation Place
- North America
- American
- Creation Place 1
- North America
- Creation Place 2
- American
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
- Style/Group/Movement
- Aesthetic Movement
- Inscription
- Signed, in pencil on tab, l.l.: Butterfly monogram Collector's mark on verso, l.r.: J.H.L. LeSecq. Lugt 1336
- Dimensions
- 20.5 cm x 29.3 cm (8 1/16 in. x 11 9/16 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- intaglio print
- Physical Description
- This is a nighttime view of a city on water. Along the horizon can be seen numerous buildings and ships. At center left is a three-masted ship at anchor; along the right side are buildings, incuding domes and a tall tower. Throughout the image, there is an importance given to reflections and the nocturnal setting.
- Subject Matter
- Whistler frequently employed plate tone to evoke the rich humidity of Venice's climate. This image showing a large ship at anchor in the mouth of the Grand Canal conveys the palpable atmosphere of nighttime in Venice.
- Prior to Whistler's adoption of "artistic wiping" of the plates, such use of plate tone would have been the mark of someone not proficient in printing techniques. Whistler varied the inking of this plate, in particular, such that impressions are essentially monoprints. However, use of plate tone became more broadly embraced and the Venice prints became among the most sought after of his etchings.
- Primary Keywords
- cities
- night
- reflections
- san giorgio maggiore
- seascapes
- ships
- venice (inhabited place)
- Secondary Keywords
- scale
- architecture
- associated concepts
- buildings
- buildings and the land
- churches
- earth sciences concepts
- energy and related concepts
- energy-related concepts
- europe (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- italy (nation)
- light-related concepts
- objects we use
- people and culture
- physical sciences concepts
- physics concepts
- places of worship
- scientific concepts
- settlements
- settlements and landscapes
- settlements by form
- study
- transportation vehicles
- vehicles
- veneto (region)
- venezia (province)
- visual works
- visual works by subject type
- watercraft
- watercraft by general type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1067 x 763
- File Size
- 62 KB
- Record
- 1954/1.372
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.372/1954_1.372.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.372:1954_1.372.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Nocturne, from the "Twelve Etchings" or the "First Venice Set"; James McNeill Whistler." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.372/1954_1.372.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 10, 2024.