Simplon Pass

Description

Simplon Pass by John Singer Sargent captures the clear light and rugged textures of an Alpine stream. Painted in 1911, the landscape brings large boulders close to the viewer, surrounding them with moving water and patches of mountain vegetation. Cool blue and violet shadows meet warmer touches of sunlit stone.

Sargent’s varied brushwork leads from the brightly lit foreground toward the shadowed mountain rising beyond. Blue and mauve passages give the distant rock face depth, while the stream adds movement below. The contrast between sunlight and shade makes the clear mountain air almost tangible, balancing the intimacy of nearby stones with the grandeur of the Alpine setting.

Read our guide to giclée prints, browse more John Singer Sargent prints, or explore A Backwater at Calcot Near Reading.