Exhibition: Sargent: The Watercolours

The first major UK exhibition
of watercolours by the Anglo-American artist, John Singer Sargent (1856- 1925),
since 1918.

A key selection of works from over 30 lenders, including The lady with the umbrella, 1911, on display in the UK for the first time, offer an alternative
perspective on Sargent, demonstrating a technical brilliance and striking
individuality.

‘Sargent: The Watercolours’ brings together nearly 80 works from arguably
Sargent’s greatest period of watercolour production between 1900 and 1918.

Renowned as the leading portraitist of his generation, Sargent mastered the
medium of watercolour during his painting expeditions to Southern Europe
and the Middle East, where he developed a distinctive way of seeing and
composing. Whilst these watercolours have often been dismissed as simple
travel souvenirs, they were an integral part of Sargent’s artistic production.
Arranged thematically, the exhibition will showcase Sargent’s landscapes,
architectural structures and figurative scenes.

The exhibition draws attention to the
most radical aspects of his oeuvre, in particular his use of the close-up to focus attention on a specific motif, his unusual use of perspective and the arresting and dynamic poses of his figures.

The show will also serve as a startling reminder of Sargent’s mastery of the visual complexities of light, the effects of which are present in almost every one of his works.