Palmettos 1917

John Singer Sargent made 'Palmettos' using watercolor. Look at the way Sargent's using the brushstrokes here, like he's almost sketching with color, building up these wild, leafy forms. It's like he's right there in the thick of it. The way the brown washes stain the paper creates a grounding earthiness, with sharp hits of viridian green laid on top, suggesting the light flickering through the foliage. There's a wonderful tension between the detail and the blur, that invites you to get lost in the depths of the palmettos. See how the light touches the tips of those leaves, it really makes them zing. It puts me in mind of Cézanne, how he used watercolor to try and capture the atmosphere of a place. Sargent gives you that same sense of immediacy, like he's saying, "This is how it feels, right here, right now." He makes you feel like painting is a living, breathing thing.