Study of a Tree 1871 - 1872

Curator: This is John Singer Sargent's "Study of a Tree," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Stark, isn't it? Almost ghostly, like a memory of a tree rather than a portrait. The charcoal feels very raw. Curator: The raw materiality is key; the charcoal's direct application speaks to Sargent's process. It collapses the distance between artist and subject, highlighting labor and the physical act of creation. Editor: I find it poetic. Look at the way the light falls on the trunk, how the branches reach. It reminds me of grasping hands, searching for something. Curator: It’s interesting that you read it that way. I'm more interested in the mass production of charcoal sticks, the commodification of art supplies that enabled Sargent to create such studies. Editor: Well, for me, it's less about the charcoal itself and more about what Sargent *did* with it. It feels like a secret whisper from the artist himself, a captured moment of awe. Curator: Perhaps. But let's not forget the economic forces that shaped Sargent's artistic practice. Editor: Point taken. But I'll stick with my whispering tree for now. It's far more captivating.