Simplon Pass; The Tease
1911
John Singer Sargent, famous for his stiff formal portraits, let his hair down with this breezy watercolor from 1911. Two women lounge in the grass, bathed in dappled sunlight, with one playfully holding a green parasol over them. The loose, energetic brushstrokes capture a fleeting moment of summer leisure, showing how Sargent used watercolor to escape the constraints of his high-society oil commissions. It feels like a candid snapshot of a lazy afternoon in the Alps, full of light and air.
- Technique
- Watercolor
Views: 1