Santa Maria dei Gesuati, Venice
painter
John Singer Sargent
(Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Date1906
Place MadeItaly, Europe
MediumWatercolor on paper
Dimensions37.9 x 53.7 cm (14 15/16 x 21 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP11s35
eMuseum ID723554
EmbARK ObjectID10881
TMS Source ID147
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentarySargent had a particular interest in the architecture of Venice, and he painted this church, Santa Maria dei Gesuati, many times. By choosing a dramatic perspective from the corner and by cropping its façade, Sargent highlights how this massive baroque church humbles the neighboring houses.
The white marble of the church seems to dissolve in the sunlight, a picturesque effect, achieved by using translucent colors for the monumental columns and pillars. Only a few decorative elements such as the sculptures in the niches and the one visible capital are painted in more opaque colors.
Source: Oliver Tostmann and Anne-Marie Eze, The Inscrutable Eye: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, exhibition on view in the Museum's Fenway Gallery, October 31, 2013–January 20, 2014.
The white marble of the church seems to dissolve in the sunlight, a picturesque effect, achieved by using translucent colors for the monumental columns and pillars. Only a few decorative elements such as the sculptures in the niches and the one visible capital are painted in more opaque colors.
Source: Oliver Tostmann and Anne-Marie Eze, The Inscrutable Eye: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, exhibition on view in the Museum's Fenway Gallery, October 31, 2013–January 20, 2014.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston,1935), p. 69.
David McKibbin. "Sargent's Water-Colours of Venice at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1970), pp. 19-25, fig. 7.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 231-32.
David McKibbin. "Sargent's Water-Colours of Venice at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1970), pp. 19-25, fig. 7.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 231-32.
MarksNotesInscribed in ink (lower right): To Mary Hunter / John S. Sargent
Partial watermark (upper left): MAN 1905 [Full mark: "J WHATMAN 1905" for the papermaker James Whatman]
Partial watermark (upper left): MAN 1905 [Full mark: "J WHATMAN 1905" for the papermaker James Whatman]
ProvenanceNotesGift from John Singer Sargent to the British socialite Mrs. Charles Hunter (Mary Smyth, 1857-1933), London.
Purchased by the art dealer David Croal Thomson (1855–1930) of Barbizon House, London for £750 at auction from the Hunter sale, Christie's, London, 9 July 1920, lot 133.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Daniel H. Farr, Philadephia on 15 October 1920 for $3,850. ("Church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, Venice")
Purchased by the art dealer David Croal Thomson (1855–1930) of Barbizon House, London for £750 at auction from the Hunter sale, Christie's, London, 9 July 1920, lot 133.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Daniel H. Farr, Philadephia on 15 October 1920 for $3,850. ("Church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, Venice")
