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Sketching on the Giudecca, Venice
John Singer Sargent American
Not on view
Artists Wilfrid (1870–1951) and Jane de Glehn (1873–1961) were on their honeymoon when Sargent painted this watercolor of them in a gondola on the Giudecca canal in Venice. Sargent observed the newlyweds from a separate gondola, the prow of which juts into the lower left corner of the composition, reminding the viewer of the presence of the third, unseen artist. Both gondolas are attached to mooring ropes that run from the bow of the ship and stretch dynamically across the sheet, adding a sense of depth and separation.
Wilfrid, sketchpad in front of him, sits beneath the canopy, while Jane watches her husband work. This beautifully observed motif of a devoted couple is set against a soft-focus view of the canal painted in a muted palette, freely brushed to evoke the suffused Venetian light.
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