The Dead Sea 1905

John Singer Sargent made this painting, The Dead Sea, at an unknown date with oil on canvas. The way Sargent's handled the paint is so energetic, you can really sense the process of its making. See how the brushstrokes build up the terrain? It’s like he's sculpting with colour. The surface is thick with paint, each stroke visible and distinct, especially in the foreground. The texture almost mimics the rough, arid landscape he’s depicting, that combination of burnt sienna and ochre. And then the contrast with that serene, almost ethereal, blue of the Dead Sea itself! It's a masterclass in juxtaposing materiality with something more transcendent. Looking at that choppy application of colour, it reminds me of some of Constable's landscapes, that same love of the material, but Sargent brings his own, very modern sensibility. It’s a conversation across time, this ongoing exploration of how paint can capture a world, a feeling.