Boboli
ca. 1906
John Singer Sargent
American, born Italy, 1856-1925
American Art
Sargent found this subject in the vast and multifeatured Boboli Gardens, adjacent to the Pitti Palace in Florence. More precisely, he found the sculpture of Igea (an allegory of health) along the steep cypress avenue known as Il Viottolone, planted in 1612 and embellished at regular intervals with classical and Renaissance statuary. Ignoring the dramatic sweep of the avenue down to the sunlit Piazzale dell’Isolotto (Island Pond), Sargent focused on this unassuming sculpture swept by a full-spectrum shower of tinted reflections and shadows. Today the spot remains unchanged, including the cypress trunk that Sargent described with a purple wash.
- Maker/Artist
- Sargent, John Singer
- Classification
- Watercolor
- Formatted Medium
- Translucent and opaque watercolor with graphite underdrawing
- Medium
- translucent, opaque, watercolor, graphite, underdrawing
- Dimensions
- 18 1/8 x 11 7/16in. (46 x 29.1cm) frame: 29 13/16 x 23 7/8 x 1 3/8 in. (75.7 x 60.6 x 3.5 cm)
- Departments
- American Art
- Accession Number
- 09.817
- Credit Line
- Purchased by Special Subscription
- Exhibitions
- John Singer Sargent Watercolors, Curator's Choice: American Watercolor Masters: Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent
- Rights Statement
- No known copyright restrictions
- Museum Location
- This item is not on view
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