Garden of Gethsemane, 1904 (from Sketchbook) 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent made this pencil drawing, "Garden of Gethsemane" in 1904, probably in a sketchbook. Look at the way the forms are built up with hatching, little lines accumulating to make volumes! You can almost feel Sargent thinking through the space. The quality of the marks suggests she wasn't trying to make a perfect picture. It's like she's wrestling with the paper, trying to capture something essential about the place. Notice that dark patch of scribbled lines in the center, pulling forward against the lighter lines of the trees that surround it. The density of the marks create a palpable sense of depth. This drawing reminds me of the landscape drawings of Van Gogh, where every line feels charged with emotion, so that even a simple sketch becomes a powerful expression. Art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask, the searching, the feeling.