Mrs. Gardner at Fenway Court 1903

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor, ‘Mrs. Gardner at Fenway Court’, with washes of browns, greens, and muted pinks. You can almost see him dabbing and layering the transparent paint, building up the image through a process of addition and intuition. I imagine Sargent, brush in hand, circling around Isabella Stewart Gardner, trying to capture her essence amidst the backdrop of her beloved Fenway Court. Maybe he was thinking about Velazquez while making this; I always think about other painters when I’m painting. Look at the way the strokes of color define the leaves and the way the pinks suggest the blooms of a rose bush. The quick, confident strokes evoke a sense of fleeting moments, like Sargent was trying to catch an impression of a person and a place. This work feels connected to other impressionistic painters, who were all trying to grab hold of the ephemera of life. It’s like they were all in conversation! That’s what painting is; an ongoing conversation across time.