Following bankruptcy in 1879, Whistler received a commission to produce twelve etchings in Venice, his time there extending beyond the initial commission to just over a year, producing many etchings and pastels. Only three oil paintings, produced largely from memory in the evenings, survive from this period. This unconventional view of St. Mark’s includes the clocktower, Torre' del Orologio, on the left while the southernmost portal of St. Mark's is cut off at the right. The intense points of white light are gas lamps. Whistler once observed that this work was the best of his nocturnes.




Nocturne: Blue and Gold, St Mark's Venice
oil on canvas • 44.5 x 59.7 cm