Inscription (recto and verso) c. 1910

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Inscription (recto and verso)," undated, from his sketchbook, held at the Harvard Art Museums. It feels like a peek into his personal thoughts, a hurried note on a page. What catches your eye? Curator: It’s less a finished work and more a whisper of a moment, isn't it? I'm drawn to the sheer immediacy of it. The handwritten notes—"Villa Giuliani", "tennis court"—they're fragments of a life lived, little breadcrumbs left for us to ponder. Editor: So, it's like we're in his mind, seeing what he saw? Curator: Precisely! And what does he choose to capture? Places, names, perhaps a reminder? It's the intimacy of a private world made public, and that’s where the magic lies. Now I am going to play tennis! Editor: It is cool to see the artist as someone who also plays tennis!