Seeing Light
John Singer Sargent
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose
1885–6
Oil on canvas, 174 × 153.7 cm. Tate, London
Two lights meet here: the fading mauve of dusk and the orange glow of paper lanterns.
- Tate notes that a lily or leaves in front of a lantern become back-lit shapes.
- The effect lasted only minutes a day: ten by Sargent's own letter, up to twenty-five by a friend's account.
Concepts
Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain