In the Generalife1912
A woman sits sketching in the gardens of the Generalife, the summer palace above the Alhambra in Granada, with companions nearby. More about this work
About this work
A woman sits sketching in the gardens of the Generalife, the summer palace above the Alhambra in Granada, with companions nearby. Sargent painted the scene in 1912 on one of the working holidays he took with family and friends, during which he turned increasingly from formal portraiture to watercolour. The sparkling sunlight, rapid washes and touches of wax crayon, which resist the paint and keep the paper white, show his virtuoso command of the medium.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Watercolour
- Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- Graphite
- Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.
John Singer Sargent
American, 1856–1925 · Born in Florence; died in London.
Sargent was born in Florence to American parents and grew up travelling across Europe. He trained in Paris under Carolus-Duran, and the scandal over his portrait Madame X at the 1884 Salon prompted his move to London, where he became the most sought-after society portraitist on both sides of the Atlantic. Around 1907 he largely gave up portrait commissions for watercolours made on his travels and for the murals he painted for the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 15.142.8
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Watercolor
- Department
- The American Wing
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
