Landscape with Goats

Maker(s)
Artist: John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Historical period(s)
ca. 1909
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
H x W: 56 x 71.2 cm (22 1/16 x 28 1/16 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1913.46a-c
On View Location
Freer Gallery 10: A Perfect Harmony
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Oil painting

Keywords
goat, landscape, United States
Provenance

To 1913
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, to 1913 [1]

From 1913 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from M. Knoedler & Co. on June 7, 1913 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] According to Provenance Note 1 in the object record. See also, Voucher No. 3, June 1913, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

M. Knoedler & Co. (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Sargent spent the autumns of 1908 and 1909 on the Mediterranean islands of Majorca and Corfu where he painted Landscape with Goats, a lively rendering of animals and rich foliage in dappled sunlight.


The work is typical of the artist's tendancy toward unusual motifs and it demonstrates his ability to endow them with a vigor and drama. Sargent enjoyed painting landscapes such as this one for relaxation when he was on vacation and away from his taxing career as a portrait painter.


Although once exhibited under the title Syrian Goats, the work is strikingly similar to Olives in Corfu, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Therefore, it is probable that Landscape with Goats was executed in Cofu. (There is no evidence that Sargent was in Corfu before 1908, making this the earliest possible date for the painting. Richard Ormond, John Singer Sargent, [New York, 1970] p. 76.)  Also, Sargent's Corfu paintings primarily depict olive groves, the type of foliage shown in the Freer canvas.

Published References
  • Charles Merrill Mount. The Works of John Singer Sargent in Washington. vol. 49 Washington. p. 474.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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