Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain

John Singer Sargent American

Not on view

Sargent translates a monochromatic subject—a carved stone relief—into a dazzling study of saturated golden light on pale stone. The composition was thoroughly planned in a graphite underdrawing, which Sargent then obscured with his seemingly effortless, free application of pigment.
The escutcheon represents the heraldic insignia of Emperor Charles V of Spain. It is located on a fountain on the exterior fortification walls of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, where Sargent painted in 1912.

Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain, John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London), Watercolor and graphite on white wove paper, American

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