Studies for ‘Judgment’ 1903 - 1916

This study of a body, likely made with charcoal, by John Singer Sargent, is all about touch and weight. Can you feel the presence of the artist as he lays down each mark, trying to get it just right? I know what it’s like to draw and draw and draw, trying to get the weight of a limb, the tension in a back just so, that beautiful curve of the trapezius… The hand at the top feels particularly fraught, as though he’s thinking, I need to get this right! There is an urgency here that makes me feel the weight of art history, of all the artists who have come before, grappling with similar problems. I’m always inspired by other artists and how they approach painting – it’s like being in a big conversation across time. And the goal isn’t to arrive at some definitive solution, but to keep the dialogue going.