Sketchbook
1 of 40
Object Label
Regarded as one of the leading portraitists and watercolorists of the Gilded Age, the expatriate John Singer Sargent was also a consummate draftsman. He drew prolifically and precociously from a young age, as evidenced by this sketchbook, which he used while traveling in Germany in 1871–72, at age fifteen. Sargent filled many of the pages with his exercises in copying classical statuary from the famous plaster cast collection of Dresden’s Albertinum museum. The sketches show a variety of approaches, from broad, linear strokes to refined tonal modeling.
Caption
John Singer Sargent (American, born Italy, 1856–1925). Sketchbook, 1871–1872. Graphite, charcoal, watercolor and white chalk on paper, Sketchbook: 9 3/16 x 11 7/8 x 1/2 in. (23.3 x 30.2 x 1.3 cm) Loose sheet - with watercolor of volcano: 3 5/8 x 4 7/8 in. (9.2 x 12.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Bronson Binger, 1996.231. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Sketchbook
Date
1871–1872
Medium
Graphite, charcoal, watercolor and white chalk on paper
Classification
Dimensions
Sketchbook: 9 3/16 x 11 7/8 x 1/2 in. (23.3 x 30.2 x 1.3 cm) Loose sheet - with watercolor of volcano: 3 5/8 x 4 7/8 in. (9.2 x 12.4 cm)
Signatures
Signed on page 1, across top in graphite: "John Sargent 1871." and "John Sargent- / [Mu]nich"
Inscriptions
[see Description]
Markings
Bound sticker affixed to inside front cover, upper left: red sticker printed with, "SCHREIB-MAL & ZEICHNEN / MATERIALIEN / ADRIAN BRUGGER / 2. THEATINER STRASSE, 2 / MUNCHEN" Watermark on pages 1, 10, and 16: "DE CANSON FRERES / VIDALON-LES-ANNONAY"
Credit Line
Gift of Bronson Binger
Accession Number
1996.231
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