Tyrolese Crucifix 1914

John Singer Sargent made this watercolour of a Tyrolese Crucifix, and right away you can see he’s interested in a kind of breezy mark making, not too precious, kind of like he’s thinking out loud. The watercolour paint feels thin and transparent, almost like a stain, except when he wants emphasis, like around the torso of Christ where he’s used thicker paint, and also some white gouache, to pop that figure out of the scene. Look closely and you’ll see the white also picks up on the jagged edges of bark on the tree. The whole image reminds me a little of Emil Nolde, and his religious paintings, which I’m guessing Sargent probably saw. Anyway, with the white paint, Sargent creates a kind of ghostly presence, a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world that stays with you.