The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 37, no. 4
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 37, no. 4
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 37, no. 4
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THOMAS EAKINS <strong>The</strong> Pathetic Song, about 1881<br />
THOMAS EAKINS John Biglin in a Single Scull, 1873-74<br />
Eakins painted about two dozen watercolors,<br />
mostly in the critical years between<br />
1873 and 1882, when American watercolor<br />
painting was enjoying its greatest<br />
growth. <strong>The</strong> works on these two pages<br />
bracket his major decade <strong>of</strong> activity with<br />
its changing subject matter. Before 1875,<br />
all <strong>of</strong> his watercolors were outdoor scenes,<br />
paint active bodies unhampered by clothing,<br />
amidst bright effects <strong>of</strong> sunlight and<br />
reflection. Watercolor, with its clean<br />
washes and reflecting surface, was well<br />
suited to the haze and sparkle <strong>of</strong> his sunny<br />
river scenes. <strong>The</strong> large scale and delicate<br />
finish <strong>of</strong> John Biglin was <strong>no</strong>t unusual<br />
among watercolorists <strong>of</strong> this period, but<br />
His academic training, or perhaps his<br />
insecurity, demanded such a method, for<br />
John Biglin was one <strong>of</strong> Eakins's debut<br />
entries at the American Watercolor Society's<br />
exhibition in New York in 1874.<br />
After 1875 Eakins turned to warm, dark<br />
interiors dominated by women and old<br />
people. Though more confined by space
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