The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy
The year 1907 was a turning point for Sargent; the sought-after portraitist stepped away from his successful portraiture career to pursue plein-air landscape painting. This work, depicting his traveling companions and fellow artists Wilfrid and Jane Emmet de Glehn, captures that moment of transition. Combining landscape and portraiture, the composition speaks to friendship and painterly pursuits while also celebrating color, light, and movement.
Colors in this work
Details
- Artist
- John Singer Sargent
- Date
- 1907
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 71.4 × 56.5 cm (28 1/8 × 22 1/4 in.)
- Origin
- Frascati
- Department
- Arts of the Americas
- Holding institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Image provider
- art-institute-chicago
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Friends of American Art Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
-
Group Portrait Both · 97%
Two identifiable people are central to the composition, and the catalog describes the work as combining portraiture with landscape while naming the sitters as Wilfrid and Jane Emmet de Glehn.
-
Water Both · 100%
Falling water from the fountain is a dominant visual element, and water is included in the museum’s subject metadata.
-
Landscapes Both · 98%
The image presents figures within a leafy garden landscape, and the catalog explicitly characterizes the work as combining landscape and portraiture.
-
Light as Subject Both · 95%
The museum description emphasizes color and fleeting effects of light and movement; these qualities are visible in the reflective water, white clothing, foliage, and animated surface.
Styles and Movements
-
Impressionism Both · 99%
The museum catalog lists Impressionism among the work’s styles, while the image shows broken, energetic brushwork, luminous color, and attention to changing outdoor light.
Visual Qualities
-
Bright and Vivid Colors Visual · 90%
High-key whites and pale blues in the clothing and water contrast with vivid greens and warm earth tones throughout the garden.
Medium and Techniques
-
Oil Painting Metadata · 100%
The catalog identifies the medium as oil on canvas.
-
En plein air Both · 100%
The catalog describes the work as plein-air painting, and the image visibly shows a painter working outdoors at an easel.
-
Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Visual · 99%
Loose, directional brushstrokes remain legible across the foliage, garments, fountain, ground, and architectural forms.
Time Periods
-
1900 - 1917 Art Metadata · 99%
The museum dates the work to 1907, placing it within the 1900–1917 period.
Geographic Regions
-
Italian Art Metadata · 94%
The title identifies Frascati, Italy, and the museum lists Frascati as the place of origin.
Source & rights
John Singer Sargent. The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy. The Art Institute of Chicago.
High-resolution sources
- IIIF image service ↗ 1,686 × 2,161 · Art Institute Chicago · Availability not yet probed