James McNeill Whistler - Nocturne. Blue and Gold. Old Battersea Bridge 1875

Nocturne Grey and Silver 1875 Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket 1875 Nocturne. Black and Gold. The Fire Wheel 1875 Nocturne. Blue and Gold. Old Battersea Bridge 1875 Note in Red, The Siesta 1875 St. John the Apostle Evangelist 1875 The Seamstress 1875
Nocturne. Blue and Gold. Old Battersea Bridge 1875

Nocturne. Blue and Gold. Old Battersea Bridge 1875
68x51cm oil/canvas
Tate Britain, London

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From Tate Britain, London:
he central motif is Battersea Bridge, with Chelsea Church and the lights of the newly-built Albert Bridge visible in the distance. There are fireworks in the sky and one rocket ascends as another falls in sparks. Possibly inspired by Hiroshige's woodcut Moonlight at Ryogoko of 1857, which includes a similar tall structure, Whistler intentionally exaggerated the height of the bridge. As the artist himself stated at the Ruskin trial, 'I did not intend to paint a portrait of the bridge, but only a painting of a moonlight scene...My whole scheme was only to bring about a certain harmony of colour' (quoted in Dorment and MacDonald, p.131).