Violet Sleeping

ca. 1907-1908

In this painting of his beloved sister Violet, a later addition to Brooklyn’s holdings, Sargent used faint graphite underdrawing to loosely block in the reclining figure and the support on which her head and arm rest. After applying watercolor washes and opaque white highlights, he drew in graphite on top of the paint to delineate the folds and sleeves of Violet’s blouse. Her eyes, ears, nose, lips, chin, and hands are also defined by graphite marks over the watercolor.