Toledo 1910

Childe Hassam made this pastel drawing, Toledo, on a small board. Look how the surface seems almost untouched, with the tan board showing through. Hassam’s working with light, impressionistic touches, sketching the facade of a building. The sky is barely a suggestion of blue. The figures by the tree are also just sketched in. I wonder, did he make it in one go? I imagine him standing there in the Spanish sun, squinting, trying to capture the light. Did he keep this as a study for a larger work? Or was he just trying to catch a feeling? I love the pink highlights and the way he suggests the architecture without getting too detailed. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s the impression of a place, a moment.” Painters are always trying to capture something fleeting, aren't they? They hand it down through marks and gestures, one to the other.