The Matterhorn 1870

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent’s watercolor, "The Matterhorn," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's, well, pointy! How do you interpret this work, beyond just being a mountain? Curator: Ah, Sargent's "Matterhorn"! It's so much more than a postcard view, isn't it? Look at how the light dances on the snow, almost dissolving the peak. It’s a feeling, an experience. Sargent wasn't just painting a mountain; he was painting the sublime. Editor: Sublime, huh? So, less about the climb, more about the...shivers? Curator: Precisely! A shiver of awe, of insignificance perhaps. Think about the audacity of trying to capture that immensity with a humble watercolor. It’s a beautiful failure, isn't it? Editor: Beautiful failure, I like that! I'll never look at mountains the same way.