Street at Saverne
James McNeill Whistler American
Not on view
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 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."