Verano en la Giudecca
John Singer Sargent captured a lazy summer afternoon in Venice with this breezy watercolor. In the foreground, a gondolier in a wide-brimmed hat seems to be taking a well-deserved nap in his boat, oblivious to the bustling harbor behind him where a massive sailing ship looms. The distant buildings of the Giudecca fade into the hazy heat, rendered with quick, fluid strokes. Sargent, famous for his stiff society portraits, actually considered his loose, spontaneous watercolors like this his true 'holidays' from work, painting them rapidly to capture the fleeting light of his travels.
- Technique
- Watercolor