The Bridge of Sighs

Sargent used multiple techniques to create light and highlights in this work. The most obvious is the application of white impasto in the gondoliers and figures in the boat. The artist created light by reserving the white paper that forms the top of the arch; a hard line of blue pigment indicates where the wet paint of the sky met the dry, reserved paper. More subtle highlights were created by dry scraping, notably in the tan building beyond the arch and the waterline beneath. The removal of wet paint is evident around the prow of the gondola and in the sky to the right of the arch.