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Devastated Trees [verso]

John Singer Sargent

1918

graphite

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Early Modern Landscape

Dominant colour

Devastated Trees [verso] is a 1918 graphite by John Singer Sargent, held at National Gallery of Art.

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

About this work

This drawing shows a field of bare trees against a dark sky. The lines are sharp and scratchy. Light hits the trunks in places, leaving others lost in shadow. Sargent drew this near the end of World War I. He spent months in France, sketching battle-scarred landscapes. The trees look like broken bones against the sky. The work feels raw and unfinished. Want to see more like this? Look up Sargent, John Singer.

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