Spanish Midday, Aranjuez c. 1912

John Singer Sargent probably made this watercolour, Spanish Midday, while hanging out in Aranjuez, using a loose and flowing technique. He’s really working those greens and whites, isn’t he? Looking at it now, I can almost feel him dabbing and swirling the brush, trying to capture the light filtering through those trees, that shimmering midday haze. I imagine him squinting, trying to find the essential shapes. See how the trees are almost columns of layered blues and greens and how the sun punches through? And then there's the wall, that stark white that is both solid and dissolving in light. It's like he's chasing after an impression, a fleeting moment. It's a dance, a conversation between him, the paint, and the scene. Sargent was always looking at the Old Masters while doing his own thing, and I bet he learned a thing or two from them about seeing and painting light, because, let’s face it, artists are always stealing from each other!