Etching of a misty Venetian canal at night, with pale palace facades reflected in still water beside a dark wall.

Nocturne: Palaces

A soft-toned etching of a Venetian canal at dusk, with tall palace facades on the left fading into haze on the right. Dark vertical strokes suggest reflections across the still water in the foreground, and a small boat sits near the lower left.

Look closer: A small boat with a figure sits near the lower left edge of the canal.

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1879–80
Medium: Etching and drypoint; printed in dark brown ink on drum mounted medium weight ivory laid paper.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Size: 2532 × 3683 px

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Public domain · The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1880).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940

19th century 1870s 1879 etching drypoint brown ink night scene reflection palace nocturne palaces tonalist print venetian canal whistler venice