Scuola di San Rocco 1903

Editor: This watercolor, *Scuola di San Rocco,* by John Singer Sargent, painted in 1903, depicts a Venetian canal. The reflections in the water really capture my eye; they make everything seem so ephemeral, like it could all just dissolve. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Sargent’s Venice—a fever dream of dissolving edges and sun-soaked stone! It's more feeling than fact, isn’t it? Look at how he captures the light shimmering off the water. Almost abstracts the architecture itself. Did you notice the brushstrokes? So loose, so confident. He’s not just painting a building, he’s painting a memory, a sensory experience. Editor: Definitely! I think that memory is beautiful, however idealized. You can practically feel the heat bouncing off those terra cotta walls! Is that his typical approach? Curator: He flirts with orientalism in his compositions from this time, too; playing with our expectations for Western landscapes by highlighting architectural silhouettes, similar to what you see in East Asian landscape painting. His other pieces often highlight something fleeting; here, the immediacy of watercolor and plein-air are perfect vehicles. The blurring of reality...the whisper of impermanence. Doesn't it just make you want to step into that Venetian light, even if just for a moment? Editor: It really does! I never really thought about how much he distorts the traditional landscape format; it gives me a lot to think about. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: My pleasure! It’s these fleeting glimpses that make art—and life—worth savoring, wouldn’t you agree?