Studies for "Entering the War" 1920 - 1922

John Singer Sargent made these studies for "Entering the War" with graphite on paper. Look at the way he’s worked, building up tone with simple hatched marks, it reminds me that art making is a process. The paper has a warm tone, you can see it through the graphite lines and smudges. The faces have a wonderful immediacy, as if he’s really trying to capture the essence of each individual. I love the confident lines around the jaw of the figure in the lower left. It feels like Sargent knew exactly where he wanted to go with it, even though the details of the face are less defined. This sheet of studies really resonates with artists like Delacroix who was interested in gesture and movement, and it reminds us that art is like a conversation between different artists across time. It's less about getting it right and more about capturing a feeling, an idea.