DryStoneGarden

Plants, Stone, California Landscapes

John Singer Sargent’s Carrara Watercolors

One of the reasons I wanted to go to Carrara, I’m not ashamed to admit, is because James Bond had a car chase there. Switchbacks, stone, and big machines, sign me up. Another reason is Edward Burtynsky’s stunning photos. His book, Quarries, features Carrara on the cover and first convinced me that the landscape would be beautiful. But probably the biggest reason is the series of paintings by my favorite watercolorist, John Singer Sargent. I’ve never seen them in person and I’m not sure how many he actually did, but for years I’ve grabbed them off the internet whenever I’ve seen them. They might not be as important as his paintings of Venice and I’m sure I attach more importance to them than most other people, but it’s the world’s greatest watercolorist painting one of the world’s great cultural landscapes. Fantastic.

Titles and dates for most of them can be found at the John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery, along with some pencil studies that are interesting to see. As I understand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I’m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.

Another dozen more are below.

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'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics."], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply", "derstand it, he visited the quarries twice, in 1911 and 1913, the era of dynamite and oxen at the quarries, before the workers had the big machines and the wire saws they use today. I love how many of the paintings show workers carrying ropes up the mountain. The weight of the stone is obvious, but I\u2019m fascinated too by how heavy the ropes would have been and how much effort would have been put into just moving them around. Not an easy place to work.\n\nAnother dozen more are below.\n\nLeave a Reply"]}