Generalife 1912

Emily Sargent, painted "Generalife" in watercolor on paper. Sargent coaxes pigment into these hazy columns and soft foliage, pulling us into the architecture of a Spanish garden. Her method is one of addition, of watercolor washes gently layering one on top of the other. You can see it in the way the garden, sky, and architecture are built. It's never overworked, but considered, and that makes a huge difference. Take a look at that middle-ground hedge. It's made up of loose, flowing layers of pigment, creating shapes that suggest the depths of the shrubbery. There is a sense of air and light as the colors settle on the page. We see a similar approach with the stairwell. Note the way the light settles and bounces. Sargent understands how to make the most of the material. You could say this piece bears some resemblance to some of the watercolor landscapes of John Singer Sargent, who was the artist's brother. It's a conversation between siblings, maybe? These paintings encourage us to slow down and appreciate the delicate dance between water, pigment, and paper.