id: 121103 accession number: 1941.89 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.89 updated: 2022-04-07 20:11:54.854000 Nocturne, 1878. James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903). Lithograph on chine collé; sheet: 17.1 x 26 cm (6 3/4 x 10 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Charles T. Brooks 1941.89 title: Nocturne title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1878 creation date earliest: 1878 creation date latest: 1878 current location: creditline: Bequest of Charles T. Brooks copyright: --- culture: America, 19th century technique: lithograph on chine collé department: Prints collection: PR - Lithograph type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Way 5 --- CREATORS * James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) - artist --- measurements: Sheet: 17.1 x 26 cm (6 3/4 x 10 1/4 in.) state of the work: only state edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Exhibition of the Month: The Artist, The River and the Sea opening date: 1947-06-02T04:00:00 Exhibition of the Month: The Artist, The River and the Sea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-July 28, 1947). title: Nocturnal Impressions opening date: 1985-02-27T05:00:00 Nocturnal Impressions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-May 12, 1985). title: The View from Afar: Whistler and the Japanese Print opening date: 1988-08-09T04:00:00 The View from Afar: Whistler and the Japanese Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 9-October 16, 1988). title: Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century opening date: 2004-08-15T00:00:00 Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004). title: Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints opening date: 2015-01-25T00:00:00 Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Whistler was the first to borrow musical terms for the titles of his works of art. In 1872, he defined painting as "the exact correlative of music, as vague, as purely emotional, as released from all functions of representation." Whistler’s use of musical terminology was meant to convey the supremacy of color, line, and form over subject matter in his art. The title Nocturne was suggested by the artist’s patron, Frederick Leyland, an enthusiastic amateur pianist who was especially fond of Chopin, whose nocturnes were regarded as the epitome of Romantic mood music—particularly appropriate for Whistler’s moonlit marine views. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.89/1941.89_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.89/1941.89_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1941.89/1941.89_full.tif