Nocturne (By Night)

Art Historical Context

**Nocturne (By Night)**, created by French artist Paul Edouard Crébassa in 1895, captures the moody allure of evening through the medium of lithography in blue-black ink on delicate china paper. Measuring 38.8 x 28.9 cm, this print exemplifies the late 19th-century fascination with nocturnes—poetic depictions of night that evoke mystery and atmosphere, much like those popularized by James McNeill Whistler. Crébassa's choice of lithography, a technique pioneered in the 1790s that allows for rich tonal gradations through greasy crayon on stone, lends the work a velvety depth, with the thin china paper enhancing subtle nuances in shadow and light. As a fine art print from the fin-de-siècle era, *Nocturne* reflects the growing prestige of lithography among European artists, bridging painting and graphic reproduction. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-E department, it entered the collection through the generous gift of the Virginia and Ira Jackson Collection, in memory of Virginia H. Jackson. This intimate sheet invites visitors to appreciate how Crébassa masterfully rendered twilight's enigma, offering a window into the sensory world of 1890s Paris and the enduring appeal of night scenes in art.