1884, James McNeill Whistler, Nocturne: Silver and Opal -- Chelsea -- National Museum of Asian Art (Washington)
From the museum label: A suspension bridge floats as a flat gray arc barely discernable through mist and fog. Opened in 1858 and initially named after Queen Victoria, the structure featured a suspended roadbed hanging from four towers adorned with large lamps. Here, the lamps cast no light, and the towers are almost invisible. The bridge was renamed after being deemed unsound, an attempt to distance the queen from any potential calamities. Whistler's elegant title, however, is a subtle reference to the monarch, who was particularly fond of opals.
Link to other paintings from the exhibition Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change.
Link to other Whistler paintings.
1884, James McNeill Whistler, Nocturne: Silver and Opal -- Chelsea -- National Museum of Asian Art (Washington)
From the museum label: A suspension bridge floats as a flat gray arc barely discernable through mist and fog. Opened in 1858 and initially named after Queen Victoria, the structure featured a suspended roadbed hanging from four towers adorned with large lamps. Here, the lamps cast no light, and the towers are almost invisible. The bridge was renamed after being deemed unsound, an attempt to distance the queen from any potential calamities. Whistler's elegant title, however, is a subtle reference to the monarch, who was particularly fond of opals.
Link to other paintings from the exhibition Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change.
Link to other Whistler paintings.