Nocturne: Furnace

A dark brown etching of a night scene: a glowing rectangular opening in a shadowed wall frames a small standing figure beside a heavy dark shape. Drypoint hatching and soft tone give the sheet a smoky, atmospheric quality, with a smaller lit window at upper left.

Look closer: A small lit window with a figure inside sits in the upper left wall.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1879–80

Medium

Etching and drypoint, printed in dark brown ink on fine ivory laid paper; eleventh state of twelve (Glasgow)

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3685 × 2737 px

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