Women Approaching c. 1890s

John Singer Sargent made *Women Approaching* with watercolor on paper. The magic here is in the artist’s control of flow. Look at the way Sargent allows the pigment to bloom across the surface, yet somehow maintains control over the representation. It’s a balancing act, between the inherent qualities of the medium—its liquidity, its tendency to pool and stain—and the artist's descriptive intentions. The image captures a sense of fleeting movement and atmosphere. Watercolors have a long association with amateurism and replication, but here, in Sargent’s hands, it is elevated. In its own way, *Women Approaching* embodies a challenge to hierarchy and a desire to escape from traditional ways of seeing. Sargent prompts us to consider what a quick sketch can achieve.