Mount Athos 1904 (from Sketchbook) 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent sketched Mount Athos in 1904, probably in graphite, straight into her sketchbook. The thing I notice is how the slightness of line feels incredibly direct. There are no erasures that I can see, just this pure, distilled observation. You can sense her looking, really looking, at the way the mountains stack up, the way the buildings cling to the landscape. It's almost like she's tracing the contours of her own perception. Look at the way she renders the little buildings. Each one is a tiny, careful mark, just enough to suggest a volume, a presence. It's not about detail, it's about essence. And that's what makes it so compelling, this feeling of being right there with her, seeing what she saw, feeling what she felt. Sargent's sketches remind me of Agnes Martin's drawings, in that they both show us how simplicity can be a powerful form of expression.