Palazzo Labbia, Venice 1913

John Singer Sargent captured Palazzo Labbia in Venice with watercolors, and you can almost feel the brush dancing across the paper. I imagine Sargent, standing there, maybe a little seasick, rapidly capturing the light as it bounces off the Venetian buildings. See how the strokes aren't overworked? He's not fussing; instead, he's letting the watery paint do its thing. The blues, creams, and browns blend, evoking the city's romantic decay. There’s a real sense of being there. He really knows his art history, so perhaps he was trying to outdo Turner, or maybe he was having a conversation with Whistler, thinking about how to capture atmosphere and light with minimal fuss. What I like about this kind of painting is that it understands the embodied nature of art, and suggests, rather than dictates, meaning. Venice here isn’t a fixed thing, it’s an emotion.