Campo Dei Gesuiti 1902

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor painting of Campo Dei Gesuiti, and it feels like he dashed it off with real speed and confidence. The color palette is all warm yellows and browns, but the way he’s layered them, you can almost feel the sun beating down on the buildings. Watercolour is tricky, you have to be so on it to get it right. Look closely, and you can see how the paint pools and bleeds into the paper, especially in the shadows under the eaves. It’s like he’s not just painting what he sees, but also letting the water do its thing, making it a collaboration between him and the material. This is so Sargent! Like, think of Turner, who was obsessed with capturing light and atmosphere in his paintings. Sargent’s doing something similar here, but with this kind of effortless, throwaway vibe. For him, ambiguity and interpretation are totally part of the game, and that’s what makes his work so fun.