Leaving Constantinople (from Sketchbook) 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent made this sketch in pencil on paper of ‘Leaving Constantinople’ in 1904. It’s like a memory, caught quickly. The graphite is really allowed to be graphite. There's something so beautiful in the economical strokes describing the boat, right? Notice how the masts, and their reflections, almost touch the minarets on the horizon, linking boat and city. I'm thinking about the hand that made it; each line, each smudge is evidence of a decision made in the moment. It’s a fleeting impression, but it says so much with so little. The whole thing reminds me of some of Whistler’s nocturnes, the way he captured the mood of a place with a few simple gestures. It’s like they’re both saying, "Art isn't about showing everything, it's about hinting at what's there." It is about the ambiguity and the many ways of seeing the world.