Accession Number
1954/1.393

Title
Nocturne: Salute

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1879-1880

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint, printed in dark brown ink on laid paper, trimmed to platem

Dimensions
6 in. x 8 15/16 in. ( 15.2 cm x 22.7 cm )

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
Nocturne: Salute
1879–80
Etching and drypoint
Second state of five (Kennedy 226)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.393
Nocturne: Salute, which was not part of either of the Venice Sets, is even more minimal and understated than the Nocturne from the First Venice Set. The evanescent, almost opalescent, quality of the print, with its brown ink and plate tone at the top and bottom, renders the church of Santa Maria della Salute, a landmark on the Venice lagoon, all but unidentifiable. Whistler once stated that paint should be applied thinly to a canvas, “like breath on the surface of a pane of glass”; this subtle and reductive image along the Grand Canal achieves this effect in a print.
This impression comes from Queen Victoria’s collection at Windsor Castle. It was purchased directly from Whistler, who naturally ensured that the impressions in the royal collection were of outstanding quality; they are considered to be among the very best he printed. Early in the twentieth century, the librarian at Windsor Castle seems to have had little appreciation for Whistler’s prints, and a number of them were put on the market, enabling Margaret Watson Parker to add truly choice impressions to her collection. In an article in November 1906, the New York Times lamented the dispersal of so many outstanding impressions from the royal collection with a description that Whistler himself would have applauded: “A gathering like this impresses the most careless observer with a power in handling of etching very close to that of Rembrandt and a delicacy of touch, a daintiness and charm which Rembrandt did not possess. Whistler is easily the greatest etcher of modern times.”

Subject matter
This is one of Whistler's most evocative and atmospheric etchings. Because it is also one of the most abstract, it was not included in either of the Venice sets. The church of Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana (or customs house) are depicted enveloped in atmospheric mist or fog. A lone gondola is seen at the right side of the image.
This impression is one of a handful that Margaret Watson Parker acquired from the sale in 1906 of some of the Whistlers in the collection of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.

Physical Description
This image shows structures and their reflections in the water, drawn largely through clusters of vertical lines. To the right in the distance are the masts of ships; at the right center is a small boat. More sketchily rendered are buildings or perhaps piers at the left of the image.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
intaglio print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Venice
boats
buildings
cityscapes (representations)
dusk
fog
night
seascapes
study
water