Painting of the Week - The Bridge of Sighs by John Singer Sargent

JS Sargent, The Bridge of Sighs, 1904, Brooklyn Museum, NYC
(Image source)

A friend once asked me who was my favourite artist. After a lot of thought and much to both of our surprise, I said John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1923). Why? Put simply, I've never seen a Sargent I didn't like despite his wide-ranging oeuvre. On a more complex level, I am fascinated by his flawless draughtsmanship, his deceptively difficult technique, the way his portraits reflect the sitters' personalities, and the way his paintings never fail to elicit some kind of response from me.

Born in Florence to American parents, Sargent was trained in Paris and spent the bulk of his career travelling the world. Primarily known for his 'society' portraits of women, Sargent also produced thousands of watercolours and sketches. Considering that his career covered the late 19th-early 20th century, his work has been criticised for not reflecting the contemporary Modern movements such as Fauvism and Cubism, although he did paint en plein air.

I was lucky enough to see The Bridge of Sighs in Venice at the Sargent and Venice exhibition in Sept 2007. I remember standing in the dark room staring at the watercolours, utterly amazed that with a few scribbles Sargent had managed to (very) accurately recreate the Venetian light and shadows. They made me want to go outside and buy some of the kitschy watercolours for sale from the many vendors looking to prey on gullible tourists. Or worse, it made me want to pick up my own paints again and get cracking!

When I first went to Venice, a lecturer told me I would love it and that Venice would look like every picture I had ever seen of it. She was right. Although this photo was taken in winter 2004, you can tell everything is pretty much the same - from the dark shadows in the narrow canal to the way light reflects off the greenish tint of the water. I never managed to get a photo of this view in Summer/Autumn light - the crush of tourists on the San Zaccaria bridge was something I didn't want to battle.