Wakefield, Upper Westgate (1896) was painted by the British artist Louis Hubbard Grimshaw (1870–1944).

And if the name Grimshaw rings a bell, you may think that I made a typo in the name above. The father of Louis was John Atkinson Grimshaw, who is famous for his nostalgic, beautifully lit evening scenes. But several children of John became artists as well, and Louis followed in the footsteps of his father by paintings similar themes.

The painting shows Upper Westgate in Wakefield, and specifically the cathedral in the background here. It seems to be a typical wet fall evening, with luminous gas lights in the shop windows on either side of the street.

And for full disclosure, the painting is a bit wider than I show here, but I have taken the freedom to show the essential parts of the work here, because it comes across better than a landscape image.

 A rainy night in England… Wakefield, Upper Westgate (1896)

Japanese ukiyo-e prints like this View of a Long Bridge across a Lake inspired artists like Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh.

This print by Hiroshige (1797-1858) is part of the Eight Views of Ōmi.

These prints may look a bit cartoon-ish, but have great colors and perspective.

 Japanese ukiyo-e prints like this View of a Long Bridge

How does your perfect Saturday evening look like?

An Evening at Home (1888) by Edward Poynter (1836-1919) is a watercolor, showing this well-off woman having a wonderful night.

It is worth spending some time checking all the amazing details in this work. They raise just as many questions as answers are provided.

The tulips on the table and the hanging daffodils suggest it's Spring. And while you cannot see the fire on the left, the light coming from the fireplace suggests that it's not a very warm spring evening.

The house is further decorated by a Oriental rug and table, as well as a piano on the right. And there is art, paintings, vases, and a beautiful mirror.

And, of course, a basket with cats in the foreground (though hard to see at this resolution).

 How does your perfect Saturday evening look like? An

Cardiff Docks (1894) is wonderful combination of industrialization, light, and smokestacks.

The capital of Wales is painted by the American artist Lionel Walden and on display in the capital of France...

OK, he did live in each of those countries, so it is probably not that surprising.

 Cardiff Docks (1894) is wonderful combination of

A Moonlit Lane (1874) was painted by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), who specialized in capturing the impact of the moonlight on the landscape.

This scene was painted during late Fall, and Grimshaw beautifully captured the atmosphere in this quiet street. It looks like a grandmother and her grandchild, who are making an evening walk. You can feel the quietness in this scene, and Grimshaw paid very careful attention to the details in this work.

 You can feel the quietness! A Moonlit Lane (1874) was

Compared to oil paintings, watercolors can lead to brighter and fresher results.

This evening dinner painted in 1920 by Nicolaas van der Waay is a great example of this brightness and freshness.

 Compared to oil paintings, watercolors can lead to brighter

The Grand Canal at Moonlight shows the magic of Venice before the abundance of artificial gaslights.

It was painted by Friedrich Paul Nerly (1842-1919) who loved to painted city- and seascapes.

 The Grand Canal at Moonlight shows the magic of Venice

How would you describe the mood in this painting?

Street in the Evening, Prague (1875) by Jakub Schikaneder (1855-1924) shows a quiet street on a snowy evening.

Lit up by the gaslights, the 20-year old Schikaneder has captured a nostalgic scene. While the snow is falling down, a few people are walking along the narrow street. And if you have ever walked outside in the snow in a quiet environment, you will recognize how soothing and quiet the sounds are, as the snow absorbs part of the sounds. If you keep looking at this painting, you may hear those squeaking or creaking sounds of footsteps in the snow...

 How would you describe the mood in this painting? Street in

An intriguing impression of the Paris nightlife.

Paris Opera by Night (1891) was painted by the Polish artist Aleksander Gierymski (1850-1901).

In the fall of 1890, Gierminsky got a commission from the wealthy Polish land owner Ignacy Korwin-Milewski (1846-1926) to paint the Paris Opera House. It was a wonderful opportunity for Gierminsky as his works incorporated elements similar to the Impressionist style, even though he had never visited Paris (the epicenter of Impressionism) before.

In Paris, he got a lot of inspiration from the famous Impressionists, and he combined their techniques with his own Realist style, focusing on incorporating the contrasts between light and dark. In this intriguing painting, he concentrates on capturing the diffuse light effects in the Paris evening.

It creates a wonderful impression of Parisian nightlife, and he deliberately ignores finishing the painting in detail to maximize the Impressionist effects. It is as if we take a quick glance at the opera square without focusing on any person or building in particular.

 An intriguing impression of the Paris nightlife. Paris

New York through the eyes of a French painter.

Madison Square was painted by Charles Hoffbauer (1875-1957), a successful French artist with a great art training in Paris. His success as an artist allowed him to travel to New York and capture the city's activities in the twilight, the time between the end of the workday and the beginning of evening entertainment.

He captures Madison Square in the blue glow of twilight. The city of New York always fascinated it, and he already started to paint scenes from New York before he had ever visited the city. He would use images from newspapers to recreate them in an artistic way. But after his success in France, the prizes he won, and the successful sales of his painting, he could finally travel the world and visit the United States and capture the scenes in New York and other cities in person.

 New York through the eyes of a French painter. Madison

Wonderful how a limited range of colors can create such a warm image of these two girls.

Interesting Story (1898) was painted by the Canadian Impressionist Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930), who specialized in painting women and children.

 Wonderful how a limited range of colors can create such a

John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) was specialized in painting city views during the night.

Shipping on the Clyde (1881) shows how good he was in capturing the weather and all the different light sources.

 John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) was specialized in

Blackman Street, Borough, London (1885) was created by the 'Painter of Moonlight,' John Atkinson Grimshaw.

Grimshaw (1836-1895) specialized in painting nocturnal scenes of urban settings, and London was a perfect inspiration for him. Despite the late hour, Grimshaw captures the energy of the city, lit up by gaslights. And we can see the effects of the moonlight, even though the moon is hiding behind the buildings on the top left.

If you look carefully, you can see that the street is filled with people afoot or in carriages. The gaslights and the lights from the shop windows provide a romantic view of this London street at the end of the 19th century.

In the center, we can identify the Church of St. George the Martyr, a building that you can still find today in the historic Borough district of south London. And as a final fun fact, Charles Dickens used this area as the setting for his novel Little Dorit.

 A romantic view of London. Blackman Street, Borough, London

When the sun is gone and the moon rises..

Moonrise (1881) is a wonderful study of light by the Polish painter Stanisław Masłowski (1853-1926).

 When the sun is gone and the moon rises.. Moonrise (1881)

The combination of the gaslights and the rain, creates a romantic and mysterious atmosphere.

Paris at Night (1889) by Charles Courtney Curran captured the latest innovation of gaslights, which suddenly made the streets much safer at night.

 The combination of the gaslights and the rain, creates a

The beach, the moon, and a dog... feels like a great summer night.

Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909) painted Summer Evening on the Beach at Skagen. The Painter and His Wife (1899) in the northernmost point of Denmark, known for its beautiful light.

 The beach, the moon, and a dog... feels like a great summer

The Market Place (1844) by Petrus van Schendel (1806-1870) is a wonderful display of the diffusion of light.

The scene is lit up by several light sources, providing just enough light to make the scene look idyllic and pleasant. There are two bigger lights in the foreground, two smaller ones in the background, there is some faint light from several houses on the left, and, of course, the moonlight which is hiding behind the city hall building on the right.

Despite the time of the day, it is busy on this market in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. On the left, a woman is buying some vegetables, whereas the more popular seller in the right foreground is selling sweets (and a couple of kids are hoping for some of that).

Van Schendel painted many more of these beautiful night scenes. Around the time that he painted this scene, he sold another one of his nightly market scenes to no other than Queen Victoria.

 Such an idyllic market scene. The Market Place (1844) by

Boulevard de la Madeleine is colorful evening scene in Paris

It was painted by the French Post-Impressionist artist Édouard Cortès (1882-1969), also known as the Parisian Poet of Painting.

And you can guess why he got that nickname..

 Boulevard de la Madeleine is colorful evening scene in

Peder Severin Krøyer (1851–1909) was living the dream in 1892! Living near the beach, madly in love with his new wife, and a beautiful dog.

The colors in Summer Evening at Skagen. The Artist's Wife and Dog by the Shore are reflective of his happiness.

 Peder Severin Krøyer (1851–1909) was living the dream in

I can feel that there is some tension in the air.

Nordic Summer Evening was painted by Richard Bergh in 1899/1900 and on display in Göteborgs konstmuseum.

 What is going on here? I can feel that there is some

Midsummer Eve (1908) by Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914) was inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (c. 1596).

Shakespeare's play deals with various miss-matched of lovers on a magical midsummer’s evening. The girl in this painting could be one of the main characters Hermia. Lost in the forest, she is surrounded by the tiny fairies, and she is curious to hear what they have to say. Though the fairies may not be there to help her, as they are quite interested in their own business and like to manipulate the humans they meet.

The painting contains a wonderful amount of detail, something that was typical for Hughes who created extensive studies before working on his paintings.

 What are the fairies saying? Midsummer Eve (1908) by Edward

Evening News—Subway Riders by F. Luis Mora is a scene from New York in 1914.

And while the newspaper has been replaced by our phone, the difference is actually not that big.

 How the world has changed in a century? Evening News—Subway

I am not sure if she is a bit sad or just deep in her thoughts, but I think Evening by the Lake (1901) is a very calming piece.

It was painted by the German artist Max Nonnenbruch (1857-1922).

 I am not sure if she is a bit sad or just deep in her

Venice At Dusk (1883) was painted by the Swedish artist Wilhelm von Gegerfelt (1844-1920).

The sunlight is almost gone, a full moon is out, and the people of Venice are gathering on the water to enjoy the wonderful evening. In the boat in the right foreground are several people playing music, perhaps giving a little free concert.

Von Gegerfelt created a wonderful impression of this evening in Venice. And in the background, it looks to be the silhouette of the double-domed Santa Maria della Salute church in Venice.

 Ciao Venezia! Venice At Dusk (1883) was painted by the

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) could only work for a few minutes each evening on Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885-1886).

For many, many evenings, he put his canvas outside and his models in place for the two to three minutes that he could capture them in the mauvish light of dusk.

The painting shows two girls lighting their lanterns for the evening, while being surrounded by flowers.

 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) could only work for a few

Evening West Rampart Street, Copenhagen (1919) was painted by the Danish artist Paul Gustav Fischer (1860-1934).

Fischer was known as "the city painter" as he specialized in capturing the people, architecture, and moods of cities. He started first by capturing his hometown Copenhagen, but as his fame rose around the turn of the 20th century, he painted cities all over Scandinavia, Germany, and Italy.

In this painting, we do not only see a snapshot of life in Copenhagen 100 years ago (with the tram, car, and the electric street lights. Fischer also captures a mood. We cannot look the people straight in the eye, but it feels like a relatively (but not too) cold winter evening, where people are strolling through the city center. The lights in the distance suggest that some shops may still be open and maybe people are out for some holiday shopping.

 How would you describe the mood in this painting? Evening

Life in London during the end of the 19th century.

Ludgate, Evening (1887) by John O'Connor (1830-1889) provides a wonderful view of the architecture and activities on a London evening.

In the distance, we see the dominant church of St. Paul. But the parts in the foreground provide a better image of London life in 1887. It shows a busy street, with four-storey shops, and many horse carriages of which some serve as a bus.

And then there is a bridge crossing the street. On top of it is a passenger train, and we can recognize the blue steam that it produces.

In essence, it seems to be a contrast between the grandeur from the past (best illustrated by St. Paul's) and the modern developments and the hustle and bustle from a metropolitan that was quickly changing.

And the longer you look at this painting, the more great details you can discover, like the many advertisement, the different kinds of horse carriages, the fashion of the day, etc.