John Singer Sargent watercolors / Erica E. Hirshler and Teresa A. Carbone ; introduction by Richard Ormond ; technical essay by Annette Manick and Antoinette Owen ; contributions by Karen A. Sherry, Janet Chen, and Connie H. Choi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925, artist.

Contributor:

Hirshler, Erica E., writer of added commentary.

Carbone, Teresa A., writer of added commentary.

Brooklyn Museum, host institution.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, host institution.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, host institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925--Themes, motives--Exhibitions.

Sargent, John Singer.

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925.

Watercolor painting, American--20th century--Exhibitions.

Watercolor painting, American.

Themes, motives.

Genre:

Exhibition catalogs.

Physical Description:

247 pages : chiefly illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 x 30 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Watercolors

Place of Publication:

Boston, Mass. : MFA Publications ; Brooklyn, N.Y. : Brooklyn Museum, [2012]

Summary:

John Singer Sargent's approach to watercolor was unconventional. Disregarding contemporary aesthetic standards that called for carefully delineated and composed landscapes filled with transparent washes, his confidently bold, dense strokes, loosely defined forms, and unexpected vantage points startled critics and fellow practitioners alike. One reviewer of an exhibition in London proclaimed him "an eagle in a dove-cote"; another called his work "swagger" watercolors. For Sargent, watercolors were not so much about swagger as about a renewed and liberated approach to painting. His vision became more personal and his works began to interconnect as he considered the way one image--often of friends or favorite places--enhanced another.

Sargent chose to participate in only two major watercolor exhibitions in the United States during his lifetime, both at the urging of his friend and co-exhibitor Edward Darley Boit. The first, held in New York and Boston in 1909, was a sensation, and its entire contents was purchased by the Brooklyn Museum. The paintings exhibited in the equally acclaimed second show, in 1912, were scooped up by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. John Singer Sargent Watercolors reunites nearly one hundred works from these two collections for the first time. Together they trace Sargent's path across Europe and the Middle East as he explored the subjects and themes that habitually attracted his attention: sunlight on stone, reclining figures, patterns of light and shadow. Lavishly illustrated and enhanced by biographical and technical essays, this publication introduces readers to the full sweep of Sargent's accomplishments in this medium, in works that delight the eye as well as challenge our understanding of this prodigiously gifted artist.

Contents:

Sargent and watercolor / Richard Ormond

Sargent's watercolors: not for sale / Erica E. Hirshler

In Venice / Erica E. Hirshler

Water craft / Karen A. Sherry

Arrangements in landscape / Janet Chen

In Villa gardens / Teresa A. Carbone

Bedouin encounter / Teresa A. Carbone

Portraits at hand / Teresa A. Carbone

Alpine summers / Janet Chen

Idle hours / Connie H. Choi

Mountain landscapes / Janet Chen

The quarry / Karen A. Sherry

Approaching the modern / Karen A. Sherry

Sunlight on stone / Teresa A. Carbone

Bringing back something fine / Annette Manick and Antoinette Owen.

Notes:

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, Apr. 5-Jul. 28, 2013; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Oct. 13, 2013-Jan. 20, 2014; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Mar. 2-May 26, 2014.

Includes bibliographical references ( pages 234-235) and index.

ISBN:

0878467912

9780878467914

9780878467921

0878467920

OCLC:

829243644

Publisher Number:

99957848010