Violet Sleeping 1908

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor, Violet Sleeping, with loose, flowing strokes, awash in violet, brown, and white hues. You can almost see the water bleeding into the paper, like the woman's dream bleeding into reality. I can imagine Sargent moving quickly, capturing the fleeting moment of peaceful repose before it disappears. What was she dreaming, I wonder? The soft washes of color suggest a dreamscape both comforting and melancholic. The texture of the watercolor paper peeks through, reminding us of the physical act of painting, the dance between the artist, the water, and the pigment. Look at how Sargent uses quick strokes to define the folds of her dress. It's like he's whispering secrets with each brushstroke. Sargent, like many painters, builds on the work of others. Maybe he was looking at the old masters, thinking about Titian or Velázquez, as he tried to capture the luminosity of light on the sleeping woman's face. This painting is a small part of a much larger conversation between artists across time, inspiring one another to see the world in new ways.