Page 19 - whistler

Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Whistler

Nocturne in Black and Gold, The Falling Rocket

1875
Oil on panel
23 3/4 x 18 3/8 in. 60.2 x 46.7
Detroit Institute of Arts

KEY TOPICS:

• The painting is of a night scene at Cremorne Gardens in London. (Kleiner)

• The painting is very abstract and not intended to be an exact representation of what he saw.

Whistler described the painting as: “an arrangement of line, form, and color first; . . . The
nocturne in black and gold is a night piece and represents fireworks at Cremorne.” (Kleiner)

• The lighter orange part on the lower left side is the location of where the fireworks were

being set off as there is also black smoke surrounding the area. (Sutherland)

• This was part of a series of nocturnes (or pictures of night scenes) that he painted from
around the world. (Merrill)

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