# Street in Saverne

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1858  
etching and open bite or sandpaper ground on laid paper  
plate: 20.9 x 15.8 cm (8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.) sheet: 26.2 x 18.1 cm (10 5/16 x 7 1/8 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2005.99.38. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.133448.html).

## About this work

A narrow street in the Alsatian town of Saverne stretches away at night, its worn house fronts in deep shadow and a single figure in the distance. Whistler etched it in 1858 on a walking tour through France and the Rhineland, and it was published that year in Twelve Etchings from Nature, known as the French Set, his first published series. Made two decades before his famous Nocturnes, it shows how early he was drawn to the effects of darkness, built up here with dense lines and an experimental textured ground.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler made this in 1858, aged 24. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a street scene from a close perspective down a narrow alleyway. The horizon is not visible, with buildings on both sides. The style features detailed etching with fine lines and shading for depth and texture. The color palette is monochromatic with black, gray, and off-white tones. The houses have worn facades, and there is a distant figure. The sky is dark and overcast, enhancing the shadow-filled scene.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Etching.** The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 24
- Real size: about 8 × 6 in (21 × 16 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: topographical, France, Night scene
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1657.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1657/1920.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; 24 × 36 in $108
- 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; 24 × 36 in $258
- 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; 24 × 36 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/street-in-saverne-nga-133448).