Studies for ‘Scots Grey’ 1918

This drawing, Studies for 'Scots Grey' was made by John Singer Sargent, and it's all about capturing a moment, a fleeting impression, in pencil. I can imagine Sargent, charcoal in hand, circling around the horse and soldier, quickly trying to capture their weight and form. He has rendered two takes on a similar scene. The lines feel tentative, searching, as though Sargent is feeling his way through the subject matter. I like the pentimenti – the visible erasures and redrawings – because they reveal his thought process, his willingness to embrace uncertainty and change. It makes me think about the labor involved in being an artist. The guy is down there, checking the horse’s hooves. I wonder if his back hurts, and if Sargent’s did too, drawing him? For me, that’s where the life of the artwork lies: in its ability to spark a conversation, a connection between the artist, the subject, and the viewer. The way it embraces incompleteness, allowing us to project our own experiences and interpretations onto the canvas, or in this case, paper.