# Nocturne

**John La Farge** (American, 1835–1910)  
ca. 1885  
Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on off-white wove paper adhered to wove paper  
8 1/4 x 7 in. (21 x 17.8 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 37.104. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11380).

## About this work

John La Farge painted this in about 1885, aged about 47. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Charcoal.** Burnt willow or vine. It smudges and wipes away easily, which made it the natural tool for working out a composition.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [John La Farge](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-la-farge)

American, 1835–1910; born in New York; died in Providence, Rhode Island

## Facts

- Type: Watercolor
- Culture: American
- The artist was about 47
- Real size: about 8½ × 7 in (21 × 18 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Flowers, Still Life
- Colour: blue
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/844.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/844/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/nocturne-met-11380).