Tiberias 1905 - 1906

Curator: This watercolor, simply titled "Tiberias," was created by John Singer Sargent around 1905 or 1906. Editor: The first word that comes to mind is serenity. The washes of color give the impression of a shimmering, tranquil landscape, perfectly reflected in the water. Curator: Indeed, the fluidity of the medium beautifully captures the reflected light. What might be interesting here is how Sargent employs watercolor, typically associated with studies, for a more finished landscape rendering the spirit of a distant location for western audiences. We must ask ourselves how is the Holy Land framed in this case, Editor: The architectural forms suggest both defensiveness, walls protecting its inner inhabitants, as well as worship, with the two domes perhaps referring to a twin representation of body and mind or temporal authority in perfect balance to spiritual. Is it merely about visual likeness here or is it trying to reveal the very spiritual nature of Tiberias. Curator: Excellent observation. We are of course also viewing a city of layered and complicated religious import, it seems almost an act of visual and perhaps emotional suppression to not give us more obvious, clear identifiers. What about how Sargent may see it as a foreign body to the Western, white-European view point. Editor: I’d agree, he softens any potential clashes of architectural and social elements into something more soothing. The minaret of the mosque and the rounded domes seem to engage with the landscape more than making a distinct religious announcement. By rendering it with the same muted palette as everything else, he somehow takes it beyond sectarianism. Or perhaps erases, simplifies it as we might say today. Curator: And we must ask if it truly captures or more accurately perhaps projects? Editor: Ultimately it speaks of universal experience of landscape that rises above social identity. In it’s attempt to reveal some sort of truth of place it inevitably leaves a series of questions that prompt us towards reevaluation. Curator: It certainly encourages that interplay between observation and imagination. Editor: Yes, art as an agent and instigator, not a simple purveyor.