James McNeill Whistler (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1834 - 1903, London, England)
Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Battersea Reach, about 1872-1878
Oil on canvas, 39.4 x 62.9 cm (15 1/2 x 24 3/4 in.)
This horizontal oil shows a view at night of Battersea Reach along the Thames River in London. The painting is mostly blue and gray in tone. Whistler brushed thinned pigment across the canvas in bold, sweeping strokes, modulating the tone of the blue only slightly to create the subtle gradations that separate river, shore, and sky. On first glance, the image appears murky, but gradually we can distinguish a deeper gray band crossing the canvas from left to right at the center and at the bottom. Specks of orange and yellow in the center mark the position of boasts on the water, to our left of center and north, a clock tower, and to our left of center and south, lights on the shore. In the lower corner to our right, the painting is signed with Whistler’s butterfly signature. The painting is framed with a gilded ribbed frame that almost dwarfs the painting itself.
Yellow Room
Commentary
Whistler was living in Chelsea, across the Thames from Battersea, when he painted this nocturne. He brushed thinned pigment across the canvas in bold, sweeping strokes, modulating the tone of the blue only slightly to create the subtle gradations that separate river, shore, and sky. Specks of orange and yellow mark the position of boats on the water, lights on the shore, and a clock tower in the distance.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 200.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 200.