Nocturne in Blue and Gold; Picture of the Week for 16 March 2012

 Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Whistler's Pier

Between 1871 and 1875, the American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler painted a series of pictures of the river Thames in London. The one which has become the most famous, Nocturne in Blue and Gold, depicts the silhouette of a single pier and small section of the total span of Old Battersea Bridge, against the night sky with faint lights on the distant bank and a few stars just visible. Whistler's idea came from Japanese prints which were just becoming popular amongst artists and collectors.

For its time a highly unconventional image, Whistler's dramatic romanticisation of a commonplace scene stirred up huge criticism of the artist and modern art in general. Criticism of modern art is nothing new, the unconventional is still regularly attacked by the press today. Whistler however is no longer modern and Nocturne in Blue and Gold is one of the more popular paintings in the Tate Gallery's collection, reproductions adorn many homes around the country.  

Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Whistler's Pier is my own interpretation of Whistler's idea, using today's modern medium of digital photography. It came about from a series of photographs I took of Hastings Pier at sunset on 19 Feb 2012.