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Clouds [verso]

John Singer Sargent

1871

graphite

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Clouds [verso] is a 1871 graphite by John Singer Sargent, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: John Singer Sargent
When & what style?: 1871 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

You see a soft pencil sketch of a cloudy sky over flat land, with a clear horizon line and thick clouds that look heavy with rain. The ground is nearly empty, just a hint of terrain beneath the vast sky. Sargent made this during his early years, practicing how light and weather change a scene. He often sketched outdoors, trying to catch how clouds move and how shadows fall in real time. This small drawing shows him focused on nature, not people. Even though it’s simple, you can feel the mood of an approaching storm. Look next at the technique: chiaroscuro.