Skip to main content
The Blind Musicians
The Blind Musicians
The Blind Musicians

The Blind Musicians

Artist (Florence, Italy, 1856 - 1925)
Date1912
Mediumwatercolour on paper
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsSight Size: Height: 39.4 cm, Width: 53 cm
Frame Size: 60.8 x 72.8 x 2.2cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1927 with assistance from Sir James Murray.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG003836
Historic Title
  • Blind Beggars
About MeIn June 1912 John Singer Sargent travelled to Ariès in the French Alps and through September to November was in Spain with his sister Emily and his friends, the painters Wilfred and Jane Emmet von Glehn.

Sargent has illustrated two Spanish musicians seated, one playing a mandolin, the other a guitar. The work appears to be a quick sketch. The pencil lines can still be seen beneath the watercolour paint, which has been applied in loose brushstrokes building up the general form of the two musicians.


More About Me
"Painting a portrait would be quite amusing if one were not forced to talk while working…What a nuisance having to entertain the sitter and to look happy when one feels wretched."