Temple of Minerva (from Sketchbook) 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent created this monochrome watercolour of the Temple of Minerva in September 1904. I can imagine Mary, sketchbook in hand, perched somewhere with a view. Maybe she mixed her paints right there, feeling the September sun. Look how lightly she’s touched the paper – like a whisper of grey. I can see the temple sitting proud on its hill, like a little crown. It’s almost as if she was trying to capture the idea of a temple rather than the actual thing itself. There's a sense of reverence, and a quickness, as though she wanted to record a fleeting moment. Artists often do that, you know, riffing off what they see, trying to catch something that’s almost gone. We're all in conversation, pinching ideas from each other across time. That's what keeps us going.