Study for "Death and Victory"

John Singer Sargent

1921–22 · Watercolor, graphite, and gouache on off-white wove paper · The American Wing

In 1921, Sargent accepted a commission to paint a pair of mural panels for the stairway of Harvard University’s Widener Memorial Library to commemorate alumni who fought and died in World War I. This watercolor represents the final composition of one of the panels, "Death and Victory." Sargent’s allegorical representation shows a soldier, at center, who clutches the ascendant figure of Victory as he is weighed down by the shrouded figure of Death. This study was designed to fit into an architectural rendering of the library, probably to provide a general impression of how the murals would look in situ.

Artist

John Singer Sargent

Date

1921–22

Medium

Watercolor, graphite, and gouache on off-white wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950