Ironically, by including the Western concept of “Nocturne� in the title of his “moonlights,� Whistler succeeded only in obscuring the intention of his works to bridge the gap between East and West – an intention that was already clear from the cross-cultural nature of his artistic style and is expressed symbolically in Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea Bridge. Whistler’s use of the bridge in Nocturne: Blue and Gold can be interpreted as a symbol for the union of Eastern and Western artistic elements in one painting. Though solidly rooted in the Thames, the Battersea Bridge takes on the characteristics of the Japanese bridges shown in Hiroshige’s works. Art scholar Kay Chubbuck explains that Whistler has “elongated the heavy wooden supports of the bridge and arched it to mimic prints by Hiroshige that he owned� (Chubbuck 3). The symbolic elements of Nocturne: Blue and Gold in combination with his use of Japanese styles of painting, illustrate Whistler’s intent to bridge the gap between East and West on canvas. Whistler hoped to make the titles of his “moonlights� an additional symbol of this artistic purpose. However, he ended up employing two separate and unrelated ideas in an attempt to underscore the duality of his influences. The colon in the title seems crucial: a meridian separating and symbolizing two distinctly different artistic motivations. The idea of art as having purely aesthetic value having originated in Japan, Whistler could have said all that he did in including “Nocturne� in the title of the works by simply referencing Japanese artistic theories and styles. Whistler’s “moonlights� make a weaker statement by virtue of the inclusion of “Nocturne� in their title. They have the potential to prove Kipling wrong - to refute the Ballad of the East and West - but this capacity is forestalled by the inclusion of "Nocturne" in their titles.