Studies of a Soldier Drinking, for Gassed (recto)

1918

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Studies of a Soldier Drinking, for Gassed (recto) is a 1918 by John Singer Sargent, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: John Singer Sargent
When & what style?: 1918
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a quick, loose sketch of a soldier tilting his head back to drink from a canteen. This is one of many small studies Sargent made for a huge war painting called *Gassed*. He watched real soldiers do this exact motion on the battlefield in France. The final painting shows rows of wounded men, but here you get just one quiet moment—no blood, no bombs, just thirst. Look up *The Cleveland Museum of Art* to see more of Sargent’s war sketches.

The story of this work

Overview

In 1919, Sargent exhibited a large painting at the Royal Academy of Art in London called Gassed. The Dressing Station at Le Bac and on the Doullers-Arras Road. The British War Memorial Committee had commissioned the work from him as a way of honoring the sacrifices of World War I. The subject was based on a scene the artist actually witnessed during his visit to battlefields in France in 1918. This drawing is a study for one of the soldiers in the painting, which now hangs in the Imperial War Museum in London.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Belle Époque and Edwardian-era luxury.

See the richer artist page