Melon Boats
ca. 1908
John Singer Sargent
American, born Italy, 1856-1925
American Art
In Melon Boats, very likely painted in Haifa, Palestine (in present-day Israel), Sargent dramatically cropped the forms of these ordinary work vessels and employed vivid colors and bright white accents to replicate the effects of intense sunlight. He devoted the upper half of the composition to a wide swath of sail, onto which he layered tinted washes to suggest the filtering effect of the cloth.
To learn more about the variety of Sargent’s methods in this work—from blended wet washes to dry brushwork—view the video in the next gallery.
To learn more about the variety of Sargent’s methods in this work—from blended wet washes to dry brushwork—view the video in the next gallery.
- Maker/Artist
- Sargent, John Singer
- Classification
- Watercolor
- Formatted Medium
- Opaque and translucent watercolor with graphite underdrawing
- Medium
- opaque, translucent, watercolor, graphite, underdrawing
- Dimensions
- 14 x 19 15/16 in. (35.6 x 50.7 cm) frame: 23 7/8 x 29 13/16 x 1 3/8 in. (60.6 x 75.7 x 3.5 cm)
- Departments
- American Art
- Accession Number
- 09.829
- Credit Line
- Purchased by Special Subscription
- Exhibitions
- John Singer Sargent Watercolors, Masters of Color and Light: Homer, Sargent and the American Watercolor Movement
- Rights Statement
- No known copyright restrictions
- Museum Location
- This item is not on view
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