Santa Sofia
Artist: John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
Original Dimensions: 31 1/2" x 24 1/4"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (1891 (?)) "This oil sketch was probably painted in 1891 when Sargent was studying Byzantine mosaics in preparation for his murals for the Boston Public Library. This is one of two located studies of the interior of Hagia (Santa) Sophia in Constantinople (the other study is in the J. B. Speed Art Museum, Lexington, Kentucky). The church, a monument of Byzantine art, was built between 532 and 537, during the reign of the Emperor Justinian I, and fell into Turkish hands in 1453, subsequently becoming a mosque." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

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