Under the Cypress Trees at Corfu
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
74.9 × 94 cm (29 1/2 × 37 in.)
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
234960
Art Historical Context
John Singer Sargent's *Under the Cypress Trees at Corfu* (1909) captures the artist's late-career fascination with luminous Mediterranean landscapes. By this time, the renowned American expatriate painter—best known for his virtuoso portraits of high society—had shifted toward more spontaneous, plein air works. Sargent vacationed on the Greek island of Corfu that year, drawn to its dramatic cypress groves, crystalline light, and azure waters. This oil on canvas, measuring 74.9 × 94 cm, evokes the island's serene beauty, with tall, shadowy trees framing sunlit expanses in a harmonious blend of ...
About the Artist
John Singer Sargent · 1856–1925
John Singer Sargent, born on January 12, 1856, in Florence to American expatriate parents FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon and medical illustrator, and Mary Newbold Singer, an amateur artist, enjoyed a nomadic childhood across Europe. His mother nurtured his artistic inclinations with sketchbooks and museum visits, while he received early watercolor lessons from German landscape painter Carl We...