The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
1907
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 71.4 × 56.5 cm (28 1/8 × 22 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- Frascati
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Friends of American Art Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
The year 1907 was a turning point for John Singer Sargent, as he daringly stepped away from his successful career as a portraitist in favor of plein air (outdoor) painting. This lively work aptly captures that moment of transition, combining landscape and portraiture in a composition that speaks to friendship and painterly pursuits while also celebrating color, surface, and fleeting effects of light and movement. The couple is Wilfrid and Jane Emmet de Glehn, professional artists and Sargent’s frequent traveling companions. Although The Fountain has the appearance of spontaneity, Sargent was frequently interrupted by rain as he worked. He thus completed it over several days, requiring his friends to pose at length.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
