Boboli Gardens 1907

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor, Boboli Gardens, sometime around the turn of the century. Look at how he's built this space from a series of loose, fluid washes. It’s all about the process. I love the way the blue seeps into the ochre of the ground, creating these soft, hazy shadows. It’s not about precision; it's about capturing an impression. The paint application here is transparent, allowing the white of the paper to shine through, giving the whole scene a sense of light and air. See how he suggests the form of the statues and fountains with just a few strokes of the brush, the dark indigo that defines the statues against the lighter sky. It's like he's saying, ‘here’s the essence, the bare minimum you need to see this’. Sargent was known for his portraits, but these landscapes show a different side of him. Maybe you see some of that same process in someone like Cezanne? But really, it’s a reminder that art is a conversation, an exploration, and that there’s always more than one way to see.