Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain
John Singer Sargent
1912 · Watercolor and graphite on white wove paper · The American Wing
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.
- Artist
- John Singer Sargent
- Date
- 1912
- Medium
- Watercolor and graphite on white wove paper
- Culture
- American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1915
