Purtud, Bed of a Glacier Torrent 1904

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor painting of rocks and water somewhere, sometime. Think of him, squinting, by the side of the torrent, rapidly laying down washes of color, trying to get the light right. I'm always amazed by watercolor—it can be so transparent and luminous, but it can also be overworked and muddy. Here, the water is a milky white, the rocks are cool blues and greys, and the surrounding landscape is a blur of greens and browns. It’s a painting of impressions, of the fleeting moment, with Sargent making rapid decisions about what to include and what to leave out. Look at the way he uses loose washes to suggest form, and the way he contrasts these with more detailed passages. It reminds me of Cezanne, who was also trying to capture the essence of a scene through careful observation and mark-making. Painters are always building on what came before.