Vesuvius 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent made this watercolor painting, Vesuvius, sometime in the 19th century. The way Sargent lays down the washes of grey and black is so atmospheric, so intuitive. It’s like she’s letting the water do the work, guiding it but not controlling it. You can almost feel the dampness in the air, the weight of the volcano looming over the town. I love the little village nestled at the foot of Vesuvius, it’s rendered with such economy. Just a few strokes, a few blocks of white, and suddenly there’s a whole world there. I think Sargent really understands the power of suggestion. She’s not trying to give us a photograph. Instead, she’s trying to give us a feeling, an impression, of being in that place, in that moment. There's something about this that reminds me of the way Turner approached his landscapes. Both artists used watercolor to capture not just the appearance of a place, but its emotional resonance. Ultimately, art is about opening up new ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world.