The Patio, Vizcaya

John Singer Sargent's The Patio, Vizcaya (1917) is a watercolor over graphite on ivory wove paper, depicting the patio of the Vizcaya estate in Miami, Florida. Vizcaya was the winter home of James Deering, a wealthy industrialist, and its Italian Renaissance-style gardens and architecture provided Sargent with a wealth of subjects during his visit to Florida in 1917. This watercolor shows the patio with its architectural elements, plantings, and the play of light and shadow. Sargent was one of the finest watercolorists of his generation, and his watercolors from the Vizcaya visit are among the most beautiful works of his later career. The watercolor technique is fluid and confident, the washes capturing the warmth and light of the Florida landscape with extraordinary freshness. The graphite underdrawing provides structure. Sargent's Vizcaya watercolors represent a high point in his engagement with the watercolor medium, demonstrating his ability to capture the essence of a place with economy and brilliance.

Sargent's Vizcaya watercolors are among the finest works of his later career, capturing the beauty of the Florida estate with extraordinary lightness and brilliance.

This watercolor of the patio at Vizcaya captures the warmth and light of the Florida landscape, Sargent's fluid washes and confident handling creating a vision of Mediterranean-inspired beauty in the American subtropics.