Spanish Midday, Aranjuez c. 1912

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor, Spanish Midday, Aranjuez, with such wet, juicy strokes, you can almost feel the heat shimmering off the page. The paint is thin, transparent in places, allowing the white of the paper to glow through, especially in that wall to the right there. Look closely at how Sargent layers those greens and blues to build up the foliage, capturing the dappled light filtering through the trees. You can see each stroke, each decision, as if he were thinking out loud with his brush. That dark green mass at the top is so expressive, you get a sense of depth and texture. It reminds me of a more subdued version of Constable's cloud studies. Sargent was no doubt aware of the ongoing conversation between painters, and his fluid brushwork puts him in dialogue with artists like Manet and Whistler, who were also exploring the possibilities of capturing fleeting moments with immediacy and flair.