Street at Saverne

James McNeill Whistler

1858 · Etching and open bite or sandpaper ground, printed in black ink on blue chine on off-white wove paper (chine collé); third state of four (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

After visiting the Alsatian town of Saverne in the summer of 1858, Whistler produced his first etched Nocturne. Sharp recession heightens the irregular forms of old buildings, with a gas lantern hanging at right casting deep shadows. The choice of blue paper and "artistic" inking, carried out by the leading Parisian printer Auguste Delâtre, enhance the effect. Whistler included this work in his first published set, Douze eaux-fortes d’après nature (Twelve Etchings from Nature), which he always referred to as the "French Set."

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1858

Medium

Etching and open bite or sandpaper ground, printed in black ink on blue chine on off-white wove paper (chine collé); third state of four (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917