John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Persian Artifact with Faience Decoration

Details

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Persian Artifact with Faience Decoration
watercolor and pencil on paper
13 x 9.5/8 in. (33 x 24.4 cm.)

Provenance

Mrs. Hugo Pitman (ne Reine Ormond), niece of the artist.
Gertrude Stein, Paris, France.
David Daniels, New York.

Exhibited

New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, 18th & 19th American Paintings From Private Collections, June-September 1972, no. 66

Sale room notice

Please note this painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonn of the artist's work.

Lot Essay

John Singer Sargent was always attracted to the beautiful and the exotic. Over the course of his career he created works of art that highlighted the inherent beauty of his subject matter. Persian Artifact with Faience Decoration reflects the artist's affinity for an exquisitely decorated ancient vase that he encountered during his extensive travels along the Mediterranean coast. In this watercolor Sargent has taken great care to highlight the subtle beauty of the object--carefully modulated washes are layered so as to suggest the passage of time on the piece of pottery. A soft, evocative light falls from left to right, highlighting the object and suggesting a mysterious, other worldly quality.