Olive Trees, Corfu - John Singer Sargent

Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection

American Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"Olive Trees, Corfu" by John Singer Sargent (1909) Watercolor and opaque watercolor with scraping and wax resist over graphite on ivory wove paper.

Commentary

"Olive Trees, Corfu" by John Singer Sargent (1909) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone . Themes to notice include watercolor. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. John Singer Sargent is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: John Singer Sargent American, 1856-1925. The work is cataloged within a United States cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as watercolor, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Watercolor and opaque watercolor with scraping and wax resist over graphite on ivory wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (35.6 × 50.8 cm (14 1/16 × 20 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include watercolor. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14792

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data