Artwork
Pavement, Cairo
Pavement, Cairo is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist John Singer Sargent. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 48.3 cm in height by 58.4 cm in width. John Singer Sargent applied oil to the stretched support with loose, impressionistic handling to render the sun-drenched street. The composition emphasizes atmospheric light and the interplay of light and shadow across the architectural elements, characteristic of Sargent's cityscape style.
History & Provenance
The NGA curatorial files document the provenance through correspondence from Richard Ormond and a 7 November 1966 letter from W.
Pavement, Cairo was painted by John Singer Sargent in 1891. After the artist's death in 1925, the canvas passed to his sisters, Mrs. Francis Ormond (née Violet Sargent, 1870–1955) and Emily Sargent, who jointly managed his estate. They gave it to Sir Alec Martin (1884–1971) in gratitude for his role in organizing the 1925 Sargent sale at Christie's.
Martin's son, W.A. Martin, operated the London gallery Sutch and Martin, through which the painting was sold in 1966 to Joseph F. McCrindle (1923–2008) of New York. A 1978 conservation invoice refers to the work by the alternate title The Road to Jerusalem. McCrindle gave the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 2006.
The NGA curatorial files document the provenance through correspondence from Richard Ormond and a 7 November 1966 letter from W.A. Martin to McCrindle.
Overview
Pavement, Cairo is an oil on canvas painted in 1891 by John Singer Sargent. The work presents an interior view of a tiled floor beneath an elaborately detailed architectural space, capturing a moment of everyday urban life in the Egyptian capital. It exemplifies Sargent’s habit of recording the visual impressions gathered during his extensive travels across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
Subject & Meaning
The composition focuses on a patterned floor composed of white, brown, green and pink tiles, set within a richly ornamented interior featuring arches and columns. By foregrounding the pavement, Sargent draws attention to the interplay of light on surface and the subtle activity implied by the space, offering a quiet study of a transient, lived environment rather than a grand narrative.
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Artist & collection
Artist
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.
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