John Singer Sargent, Muddy Alligators

   Just before the 2019 holidays I thought I would gift you something entirely unique and fun, plus a tropical scene to warm our cold day. Our artist is John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and this is his painting, Muddy Alligators. Sargent created it in 1917 in Florida. He is considered an America ex-patriot for he lived throughout Europe and traveled extensively.  His major genre was oil portraits, but late in life he visited the U.S. doing watercolors in Maine and Florida.  Muddy Alligators is part of the permanent collection of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.  It is 13 1/2 x 20 1/2.
    This is a watercolor over  graphite, meaning he started with a pencil drawing.   It would appear most of these reptiles are reasonably sedate, providing ample opportunity for a pencil study.  In the foreground we see shadows from a fence.  Since we are looking slightly downward on the alligators I assume the sun  is behind us and this fence is between us and the alligators, (at least I hope so).  Further, there are few shadows on the reptiles, so not likely the shadows are created by the rear fence. 
    Watercolor is a particularly tricky media, very different from oil.  It is translucent so one color can be applied on top of another once the first has dried.  Working in bright sun allows the paint to dry almost instantly.  The trick is to keep the image fresh and spontaneous looking.  Sargent has definitely mastered his media, for he has a light and fluid hand allowing our imagination to fill in details of the scene around the reptiles, while they are very descriptive.  The color harmony is basically complementary:  blue and orange.   The fence and fence shadows create a rhythm pattern in the foreground and rear creating a subtle frame around the center focus. 
   Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. charguthDecember 16, 2019 at 6:37 PM

    Wow!! This is a surprise. Quite a departure from his portraits. The complexity of this gator group is stunning, especially in watercolor. To see it in reality would be almost scary. How skillful he has made them stand out from the surrounding habitat; they are almost white. He has placed their heads to lead us to the bright sky in the upper right. That is repeated again in the foreground. This is so exciting. Thank you. No, I don't want it hanging in my bedroom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Art Expert On LineDecember 17, 2019 at 8:35 AM

    Funny, Great comments! THANKS!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

Image
   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35".      Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.    The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is...
Read more

Jimmy Baker, "Double Tillman"

Image
   It has been a while since we have looked at a contemporary artist and new work, and this particular image by Jimmy Baker is somewhat different from others of his.   At first glance our painting for this week appears to be a landscape, maybe a setting or rising sun.  Our attention is drawn to the circle just slightly above middle center, and the arches above and swirls of color high light it.  Look at the lower half, the earth.  The light has highlighted rocks or wood chips, but we are unable to distinguish more.   I think this painting allows us to determine for ourselves what to make of it.   Is this a dying earth, or one recovering from tragedy?         Jimmy Baker (1980-) is from Ohio.  He was born here, received his education in Ohio, and is presently and associate professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.  His work has achieved critical acclaim with solo exhibitions in Europe and across t...
Read more

Childe Hassam "The Avenue in Rain"

Image
    I probably should have saved this for the 4th of July, but that is a little far off and this work is among Childe Hassam's finest.      I have known of Childe Hassam (1859 - 1935) for a very long time, but only recently did Wikimedia straighten me out about the correct way to pronounce his first name.  It seems the "e" is silent; and his last name is pronounced as written, with two syllables.        From what I have read, Hassam was a pretty sharp guy, and possibly a little  arrogant.  He created 3,000 some works of art in his career and lived his entire adult life on the proceeds of their sale.  This is quite remarkable.  Most artists, (at least before 1930) had to supplement their income by teaching, commissioned portraits or careers outside the art field.  But Hassam figured out not only how to market his work, but also what subjects would be popular.  Timing is always a big issue, and he wa...
Read more