Sargent spent the autumns of 1908 and 1909 on the Mediterranean islands of Majorca and Corfu where he painted Landscape with Goats, a lively rendering of animals and rich foliage in dappled sunlight.
The work is
typical of the artist's tendancy toward unusual motifs and it demonstrates his ability to endow them with a vigor and drama. Sargent enjoyed painting landscapes such as this one for relaxation when he was on vacation
and away from his taxing career as a portrait painter.
Although once exhibited under the title Syrian Goats, the work is strikingly similar to Olives in Corfu, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Therefore,
it is probable that Landscape with Goats was executed in Cofu. (There is no evidence that Sargent was in Corfu before 1908, making this the earliest possible date for the painting. Richard Ormond, John Singer Sargent,
[New York, 1970] p. 76.) Also, Sargent's Corfu paintings primarily depict olive groves, the type of foliage shown in the Freer canvas.
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