Mountains [verso] 1869

John Singer Sargent created this drawing of "Mountains" with graphite on paper. The composition is divided horizontally: the upper register depicts a series of delicate, undulating lines suggesting a distant mountain range; the lower register shows more amorphous, smudged marks that imply the foothills or foreground. The pale tonality and subtle gradations in value evoke a sense of atmospheric perspective. The mountains themselves are not sharply defined but rather suggested through a network of fine lines, almost like a seismographic reading of the landscape's hidden structures. This approach aligns with a semiotic understanding of art where signs – in this case, lines and shading – do not simply represent but also signify deeper, underlying meanings. Sargent destabilizes the conventional landscape by rendering it in such a provisional, almost ethereal manner. The drawing invites us to consider the artwork not as a mimetic representation, but as an exploration of the very act of seeing and interpreting the natural world.