John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
San Giuseppe di Castello, Venice, about 1903
Watercolor on paper , 30.6 x 45.8 cm (12 1/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
This rectangular, horizontal watercolor painting focuses on two cat-like statues seated on pedestals facing each other and flanking a two-step stone stairway. The painting is done in pale hues of tan and blue with loose brush strokes. To our left is a terrace that is tan colored stone with brown and blue shadowy areas. Continuing to our left a building façade rises with reddish hued columns.
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David McKibbin. "Sargent's Water-Colours of Venice at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1970), pp. 19-25, fig 4.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 229-30.
Elizabeth Anne McCauley et al. Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2004), pp. 257-58, fig. 204.
Object details
Accession number
P3s22
Primary Creator
John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Full title
San Giuseppe di Castello, Venice
Creation Date
about 1903
Provenance
Engagement gift from John Singer Sargent to Helen Henschel (1882–1973), professional singer, and the artist Wolfram Onslow Ford (b. about 1881) in 1904.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner at auction from Anderson Galleries, New York on 6 February 1920 for $3,500, through American artist Louis Kronberg (1872–1965).
Marks
Inscribed and signed in ink (lower left): To Helen Henschel and Wolfram Onslow Ford / John S. Sargent
Inscribed in pencil (verso): 5114; ivory; and an indescipherable inscription
Dimensions
30.6 x 45.8 cm (12 1/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
Display Media
Watercolor on paper
Dimension Notes
Frame: 55 x 70 cm (21 5/8 x 27 9/16 in.)
Web Commentary
The different shades of the water, the brightness of the light and the dense urban architecture of Venice were elements that fascinated Sargent throughout his life. In this drawing, he turns a rather unspectacular neighborhood into a miraculous metaphor for the romantic appeal of Venice. His passion for the city apparently did not extend to its inhabitants: note, how little interest he showed in depicting the figures on the bridge.
Source: Oliver Tostmann and Anne-Marie Eze, The Inscrutable Eye: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, exhibition on view in the Museum's Fenway Gallery, October 31, 2013–January 20, 2014.
Permanent Gallery Location
Blue Room
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 29. (as "Ponte San Trovaso, Venice")David McKibbin. "Sargent's Water-Colours of Venice at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1970), pp. 19-25, fig 4.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 229-30.
Elizabeth Anne McCauley et al. Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2004), pp. 257-58, fig. 204.
Rights and reproductions
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Blue Room
Commentary
The different shades of the water, the brightness of the light and the dense urban architecture of Venice were elements that fascinated Sargent throughout his life. In this drawing, he turns a rather unspectacular neighborhood into a miraculous metaphor for the romantic appeal of Venice. His passion for the city apparently did not extend to its inhabitants: note, how little interest he showed in depicting the figures on the bridge.
Source: Oliver Tostmann and Anne-Marie Eze, The Inscrutable Eye: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, exhibition on view in the Museum's Fenway Gallery, October 31, 2013–January 20, 2014.
Source: Oliver Tostmann and Anne-Marie Eze, The Inscrutable Eye: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, exhibition on view in the Museum's Fenway Gallery, October 31, 2013–January 20, 2014.