Tyrolese Crucifix 1914

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor of a Tyrolese Crucifix with delicate washes of pale blues and browns. I can imagine him standing there, maybe in the cold, rapidly capturing the light as it hit the figure and the rough-hewn wood of the cross. The paint is thin, almost transparent in places, letting the paper breathe through. See how he’s built up the form of the tree next to the cross with layers of brown and grey, suggesting texture without getting bogged down in detail. There’s a looseness here, a sense of immediacy, that feels different from his more formal portraits. It’s like he’s letting himself respond directly to what he sees, trusting his instincts. And that little flick of white for the loincloth? It's like a burst of light, drawing your eye right in. It reminds me of other painters like Emil Nolde, who used watercolor to capture raw emotion and spiritual intensity. Artists are always looking, learning, and riffing off each other, aren’t they?