Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain 1912

John Singer Sargent made this watercolour painting, Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain, with washes of colour. The way Sargent lets the watercolour bloom and settle around the forms gives a sense of place and time. It’s like he’s capturing not just the image, but the very atmosphere of the place. The colour palette is muted, dominated by warm ochres and greys, and they evoke the sun-baked stone of the old architecture, yet these tones give the painting a modern feel. Look closely, and you can see how he’s used these translucent washes to suggest the texture of the stone, the play of light and shadow on its surface. See how the details of the carving emerge and recede, softened by the blurring of the watercolour. The way the washes bleed into each other creates a sense of depth, of the stone itself absorbing the light. You can feel the timelessness of it, the way the past is embedded in the present. It reminds me a little of the work of Cy Twombly, in the way it seems to capture the feeling of antiquity. Ultimately, this painting reminds us that art is not just about representation, it’s about feeling and interpretation.