Nocturne

The silhouettes of chimneys and rooftops rise against a dusk sky in this small night scene, one of a famous set of lithographs Whistler printed on grey wrapping paper in 1878 under the same title he gave his best-known river views. Reprinting the plates from this set on chine collé later made the near-abstract image, drained to little more than a skyline and its reflection, widely known. It is a key document of the tonal, “art for art’s sake” manner Whistler championed at the height of his London career.