In the Generalife

The painting’s story and details

In the Generalife gardens, three of Sargent’s companions have settled down to work and rest. His sister Emily paints in the centre; the artist Jane de Glehn is on the left, and their Spanish acquaintance Dolores Carmona sits on the right. This watercolour belongs to a series made in Granada in 1912. Sargent includes the people with whom he travelled and painted within the garden landscape.

Emily sits before an easel, her head slightly bent. Her dark clothing stands out sharply against the light surroundings. She produced more than four hundred watercolours despite receiving far fewer opportunities for training than her celebrated brother. Her figure also matters within the family’s history. A woman long known chiefly as Sargent’s sister appears here engaged in artistic work of her own.

The board stands on a folding easel in front of Emily. Its straight edges are clear among the loose patches of foliage and clothing. Portable equipment made it possible to work directly in the garden, choosing a position for its light and convenience. The arrangement of her materials shows how travel became a daily artistic practice.

Dolores Carmona sits on the right, a little away from the easel. Light picks out her hair and face, while dark passages of clothing link her visually with Emily. Sargent places the women at different distances and connects them through alternating areas of light and shade.

Jane de Glehn leans towards Emily as she works. Her broad-brimmed hat forms a large pale oval on the left. Jane was an artist herself and a frequent travelling companion of Sargent. The group therefore belongs to a shared artistic circle. Looking at another person’s work and spending time alongside them form part of the same journey that supplied the watercolour’s subject.

Separate green and blue patches, interspersed with bare paper, describe the foliage. Sargent used watercolour, graphite and wax crayon. Wax resists water-based paint, allowing light passages to remain visible. Variations in the density of the colour suggest sunshine passing through plants. The white paper takes an active part in the image alongside the colour applied to it.

The patterned path occupies a broad foreground and leads towards the seated women. Its pale curves echo folds in their clothing. The Generalife originated as a retreat for Granada’s Nasrid rulers. Water supplied by a channel sustained ornamental gardens, vegetable plots and fruit trees. This shaded place for painting rests on a history of sophisticated cultivation and water management.

By the early twentieth century, European and American artists were visiting the former royal residence. Sargent records a particular episode in this new use of the garden. Grounds established for rulers now provided a place for travelling women to work. Emily’s own watercolours extend the story in another direction, showing their destinations through the eyes of the woman who becomes a subject here.