James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American
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James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American
Creator Name
Title:
Nocturne
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Nocturne
Title
Date:
1878
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1878
Date
Materials:
Lithotint
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Lithotint
Materials
Current Location:
Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA Hammer Museum
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Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA Hammer Museum
Current Location
Address:
Los Angeles, CA 90024
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Los Angeles, CA 90024
Address
Object ID:
1988.9.401
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1988.9.401
Object ID
Provenance:
Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.
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Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.
Provenance
Object Type:
Print
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Print
Object Type
Scope:
Beginning in the early 1870s, Whistler produced a series of Nocturnes depicting the Thames River, which signaled the artist's transition from more realistic modes of representation to a poetic interpretation of nature influenced by orientalists and aesthetic sentiments. In Nocturne, one of a group of lithotints of river subjects, the artist used veils of lithographic ink to create the moody, atmospheric effects achieved in his painted Nocturnes with translucent washes of paint, which he had been unable to produce in etching or drypoint. Drawing inspiration from Japanese prints, Whistler divided the composition of Nocturne into two separate zones, separated by a high horizon line. This emphasizes a two-dimensional abstract pattern and evokes the sensation of atmosphere far more than it describes the subject. The print's composition, tonal variations, and mood anticipate Whistler's views of Venice, in which the artist would return to the more portable medium of etching, using tonal printing to produce effects of mood and atmosphere. Nocturne was one of a group of lithographs intended to be issued in a limited number of proofs. Due to lack of interest, perhaps an indication of the low status of artistic lithography, only a few impressions of Nocturne, including the present print, were published in this manner. In 1887 a later impression of Nocturne was included in the set known as Art Notes, published by Boussod, Valadon, and Company in an edition of one hundred.
cscopp
Beginning in the early 1870s, Whistler produced a series of Nocturnes depicting the Thames River, which signaled the artist's transition from more realistic modes of representation to a poetic interpretation of nature influenced by orientalists and aesthetic sentiments. In Nocturne, one of a group of lithotints of river subjects, the artist used veils of lithographic ink to create the moody, atmospheric effects achieved in his painted Nocturnes with translucent washes of paint, which he had been unable to produce in etching or drypoint. Drawing inspiration from Japanese prints, Whistler divided the composition of Nocturne into two separate zones, separated by a high horizon line. This emphasizes a two-dimensional abstract pattern and evokes the sensation of atmosphere far more than it describes the subject. The print's composition, tonal variations, and mood anticipate Whistler's views of Venice, in which the artist would return to the more portable medium of etching, using tonal printing to produce effects of mood and atmosphere. Nocturne was one of a group of lithographs intended to be issued in a limited number of proofs. Due to lack of interest, perhaps an indication of the low status of artistic lithography, only a few impressions of Nocturne, including the present print, were published in this manner. In 1887 a later impression of Nocturne was included in the set known as Art Notes, published by Boussod, Valadon, and Company in an edition of one hundred.
Scope
Heading:
Notes
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Notes
Heading
Notes:
Catalogue Raisonne: Way 5; Levy 10 i/ii; Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi 8 i/ii
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Catalogue Raisonne: Way 5; Levy 10 i/ii; Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi 8 i/ii
Notes
Notes:
Inscription: Recto, printed butterfly at l.r.; pencil annotations at l.l. ("O.S.L./O.O.O./D") and l.r. ("x Whistler"); Verso, stamp "From C.W. Dowdeswell" near c.; collector's stamp of Otto Gerstenberg ("O-G" with victory symbol) and "82 61245" in pencil at l.l.; annotations in pencil ("W I Nocturne") at c. of lower edge; and Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.
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Inscription: Recto, printed butterfly at l.r.; pencil annotations at l.l. ("O.S.L./O.O.O./D") and l.r. ("x Whistler"); Verso, stamp "From C.W. Dowdeswell" near c.; collector's stamp of Otto Gerstenberg ("O-G" with victory symbol) and "82 61245" in pencil at l.l.; annotations in pencil ("W I Nocturne") at c. of lower edge; and Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.
Notes
Notes:
Provenance: H.S. Theobald (L. I/1376); Otto Gerstenberg (L. I/2785); R.E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles
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Provenance: H.S. Theobald (L. I/1376); Otto Gerstenberg (L. I/2785); R.E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles
