La ronda de noche, por Rembrandt van Rijn

Nocturne painting is a term coined by James Abbott McNeill Whistler to describe a painting style that depicts scenes evocative of the night or subjects as they appear in a veil of light, in twilight, or in the absence of direct light. In a broader usage, the term has come to refer to any painting of a night scene, or night-piece, such as

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

's '' The Night Watch''. Whistler used the term within the title of his works to represent paintings with a "dreamy, pensive mood" by applying a musical name. He also titled (and retitled) works using other terms associated with music, such as a "symphony", "harmony", "study" or "arrangement", to emphasize the tonal qualities and the composition and to de-emphasize the narrative content. The use of the term "nocturne" can be associated with the

Tonalism Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often domina ...

movement of the American of the late 19th century and early 20th century which is "characterized by soft, diffused light, muted tones and hazy outlined objects, all of which imbue the works with a strong sense of mood." Along with winter scenes, nocturnes were a common Tonalist theme. Frederic Remington used the term as well for his nocturne scenes of the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Rembrandt’s nocturnes

In northern Europe, the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

produced one of the greatest artists of all time. The first artist to paint scenes on a regular basis in the nocturne mode was Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669). Many of his portraits were also painted using a nocturne method. As in ''The Mill'' (1645), most of his landscapes were painted to evoke a sense of the nocturne, which could be expressed in either a calm or stormy manner.

Night scenes by Rembrandt

file:Rembrandt Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee.jpg, ''Christ In The Storm On The Sea Of Galilee'', 1633, depicts a nocturne scene evoking a sense of danger File:Rembrandt - Christ and the Woman of Samaria - WGA19110.jpg, ''Christ and the Woman of Samaria'', 1659, File:Rembrandt - De Poolse ruiter, c.1655 (Frick Collection).jpg, '' The Polish Rider'', 1655,

Nocturnes by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

“Nocturne” was a term that was normally applied to certain types of musical compositions before James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), inspired by the language of music, began using the word within the titles of many of his works, such as ''Nocturne in Blue and Silver'' (1871), in the collection of the Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom. Image:Whistler James Nocturne in Blue and Gold Valparaiso Bay 1866.jpg, ''Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay'', 1866 Image:James Abbot McNeill Whistler 010.jpg, ''Nocturne in Gray and Gold'', Westminster Bridge, c. 1871-1874 Image:Whistler James Nocturne Trafalgar Square Chelsea Snow 1876.jpg, ''Nocturne Trafalgar Square Chelsea Snow,'' 1876 Image:James Abbot McNeill Whistler 011.jpg, ''Nocturne in Pink and Grey, Portrait of Lady Meux,'' 1881-1882

Frederic Remington’s nocturnes

Frederic Remington (1861-1909) is so identified for his nocturne scenes of the

that they were celebrated in 2003-2004 with an exhibition, ''Frederic Remington: The Color of Night'', co-organized and shown in turn by the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, Washington, D.C., and the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The exhibition also generated a colorful book of the same title and travelled to the Denver Art Museum in Denver, Colorado. Remington painted many of his nocturnes in the last years of his life, when he was transitioning from a career as an

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

to that of a fine artist and had chosen Impressionism as the style in which he worked at the time. One example of his work i
''The Stampede'' (also known as ''The Stampede by Lightning'', 1908).

Nocturnes by Frederic Remington

The paintings pictured in the gallery below are in order of date completed, left to right: Image:Remington-prettymother.jpg, ''Pretty Mother of the Night—White Otter is No Longer a Boy'' c. 1900, private collection Image:Remington-endofday.jpg, ''The End of the Day'' c. 1904,

Frederic Remington Art Museum The Frederic Remington Art Museum is an art museum in Ogdensburg, New York, that focuses on the work of Frederic Remington. History The building currently housing the museum was built in 1810 by David Parish. Although he only lived in the home un ...

, Ogdensburg, New York Image:Shotgun hospitality.jpg, ''Shotgun Hospitality'' 1908,

Hood Museum of Art The Hood Museum of Art is owned and operated by Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth dates to 1772, making the collection among the o ...

, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire Image:The Hunters' Supper.jpg, ''The Hunters' Supper'' c. 1909,

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Image:FredericRemington-Moonlight_Wolf_c1909.jpg, ''Moonlight Wolf'' c. 1909, Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts Hiawatha - Eakins

Night scenes by American Impressionists and other American Realists

* Thomas Cole (1801–1848), ''Moonlight'' (1833–34) * George Inness (1825-1894), ''Pool in the Woods'', 1892, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts * John Henry Twachtman (1853-1902), ''Canal Venice'' c. 1878, private collection *John Henry Twachtman (1853–1902), ''L'Etang'' c. 1884, private collection *

Albert Pinkham Ryder Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his eccentric personality. While his art shared an emphasis on subtle variations of ...

(1847–1917), ''Death on a Pale Horse'' (The Race Track) c. 1910, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio * Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939), ''Rough Riding Rancheros'' c. 1933 * Edward Hopper (1882-1967), ''

Nighthawks A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird. Nighthawk(s) or Night Hawk(s) may also refer to: * ''Nighthawks'' (painting), by Edward Hopper, 1942 Books and comics * ''Nighthawk'' (novel), a 2017 novel by Clive Cussler * ''Night Hawk'' (comics), a British ...

'', 1942,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, Chicago, Illinois

Night scenes by
American Impressionists American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose b ...
and American Realists

File:Sargent John Singer Spanish Dancer.jpg,

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

, ''Spanish Dancer,'' 1879–1880,

The Hispanic Society of America The Hispanic Society of America operates a museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain and Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America, the Spanish East Indies, and Portuguese India. Despite the name, it ...

, New York File:Childe Hassam - Winter, Midnight (1894).jpg, Childe Hassam, ''Winter, Midnight'', 1894 File:Willard Metcalf May Night.png,

Willard Metcalf Willard Leroy Metcalf (July 1, 1858March 9, 1925) was an American painter born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later attended Académie Julian, Paris. After early figure-painting and ill ...

, ''May Night'' 1906, Corcoran Gallery of Art File:Julien Alden Weir The Bridge Nocturne aka Nocturne Queensboro Bridge.jpg,

J. Alden Weir Julian Alden Weir (August 30, 1852 – December 8, 1919) was an American impressionist painter and member of the Cos Cob Art Colony near Greenwich, Connecticut. Weir was also one of the founding members of "The Ten", a loosely allied group of ...

, ''The Bridge Nocturne aka Nocturne Queensboro Bridge,'' 1910, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Night scenes by artists of other movements

Other artists who also created nocturne scenes are: * Jacob van Ruisdael (1628–1682), ''Landscape with Church'' (circa 1660)] *Jacob van Ruisdael, :file:Jacob Isaaksz. van Ruisdael 009.jpg, ''Landscape'' (circa 1665) *

Augustus Leopold Egg Augustus Leopold Egg Royal Academy, RA (2 May 1816, in London – 26 March 1863, in Algiers) was a British Victorian artist, and member of The Clique (art group), The Clique best known for his modern triptych ''Past and Present (paintings), Past ...

(1816–1863), ''Past and Present Number Three'' (circa 1853)] * John LaFarge, John LaFarge (1835-1920), ''The Lady of Shalott'' (1862) *

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

(1834–1917), ''Interior'' (nicknamed ''The Rape'') (1868–69), Philadelphia Museum of Art * Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), ''

Starry Night Over the Rhone Starry may refer to: * ''Starry'' (The Killjoys album), 1994 * Starry (Purr Machine album) *Donn A. Starry (1925–2011), United States Army general *Starry Lee Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974 in British Hong Kong) is a ...

'' (1888)