Nocturne

Crossing diagonal drypoint strokes in dark brown ink cut across a sepia sheet, while a faint skyline of spires and masts rests on a calm lagoon near the center. The hazy, low-contrast horizon suggests a Venetian waterfront in the dim light of evening.

Look closer: A faint sailing vessel's mast silhouette rises near the lagoon horizon.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1879–80

Medium

Etching and drypoint; ninth state of nine from the cancelled plate (Glasgow); printed in dark brown ink on fine laid paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3697 × 2607 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917