Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Alpine Pool, 1907
    John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
    Oil on canvas

    27 1/2 x 38 in. (69.9 x 96.5 cm)
    Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950 (50.130.15)

    As he often did in his images of the brook at Purtud, Italy, Sargent adopted a close vantage point, ignored the horizon, and directed his gaze downward to the shimmering water and the rocks and foliage along its banks. The results are nearly abstract arrangements of form and color. One critic's description of Sargent's technique evokes this composition: "It is astounding to note the almost magical skill by which the swift touches of his brush build up and express the infinite varieties of the surfaces and substances which he was painting."

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Weinberg, H. Barbara, and Stephanie L. Herdrich. "John Singer Sargent: In The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 57, no. 4 (Spring, 2000).
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  • Alpine Pool, 1907
    John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
    Oil on canvas

    27 1/2 x 38 in. (69.9 x 96.5 cm)
    Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950 (50.130.15)