UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

canal, forge, furnace, gondola, nocturne, smith, worker.

There are two main variations on the title, as follows:


'Furnace Nocturne' (1882, Whistler). 1
'Furnace Nocturne' (1883, F.A.S.). 2
'Nocturne Furnace' (1884, Whistler). 3
'The Furnace Nocturne' (1886?, Whistler). 4
'Furnace Nocturne' (1886, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 5
'Nocturne: Furnace' (1909, Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)). 6


The variations can be interpreted to mean either that there is more than one furnace subject (as there is) and that this is the only 'Nocturne', or, that this is a Nocturne (which it is) and the sub-heading is 'Furnace'. The second version, 'Nocturne: Furnace', as suggested by Mansfield and later cataloguers, has been accepted, as being consistent with other titles such as Nocturne: Palaces [200] and Nocturne: Salute [203].

A view across a narrow canal to a square open doorway in a stone wall, drawn parallel to the edges of the copper plate. To left of the door is a lit window, with a face looking out. Below, on the canal, is the prow of a gondola. There are reflections in the canal from the gondola and the lower part of the wall. The doorway opens into a workroom with a furnace at left, throwing a bright glow over the smith standing in front of it, to right. The room has a window at the back, wooden rafters across the ceiling, and possibly another furnace, unlit, or machinery at right.

Venice, Italy. The precise site has not been established.

Prints showing forges, furnaces and smithies are divided between interiors (The Forge [86], The Little Forge, Liverpool [141], Murano - Glass Furnace [205], The Smithy [239]) and exterior views (Nocturne: Furnace, The Two Doorways [221], and Flaming Forge [490]). Later images of forges include lithographs (The Tyresmith [c036], The Master Smith [c120], The Blacksmith [c127] and The Forge, Passage du Dragon [c102]), drawings (r.: The Forge; v.: Smiths, Ajaccio [m1679]) and an oil, The Little Forge, Lyme Regis [y442].