John Singer Sargent: Portrait of a Man

Self Portrait, J. S. Sargent (1907)

    Because portraits are my all time favorite subject matter to create, I am always drawn to the portrait art of fellow artists.  John Singer Sargent is among those whose portraits serve as a lodestone for me.

    Born in Florence, Italy in 1856, John Singer Sargent was the child of American parents.  His father, a doctor, had relocated his family to Europe in the mid 1800s.  What was  meant as a temporary stint, became a permanent situation.  As a result of this decision, Sargent had the privilege of experiencing art and culture throughout Europe. 

    When it became evident, earlier in his life, that Sargent would follow an artistic path, he was sent to study art in Paris.  It was here that he would enroll in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and would fall under the instruction of another portrait artist, Carolus-Duran.  From Carolus-Duran, he learned a realistic painting style using a painterly technique called au premier coup—a style, that he found difficult to shake, during the Impressionism movement. While his later landscape work has been compared to that of Degas and Whistler, his adherence to more solid forms, as in his portraiture style, is evident.

Carolus-Duran, J.S. Sargent (1879)

    Following both the artistic instruction and sensibilities of Carolus-Duran, who had a strong fascination with the work of Spanish painter Velázquez, Sargent traveled to Spain to reproduce the works of the country’s native son.  This sojourn to Spain, would join with the other locales in Sargent’s broad travel itinerary, as he looked to expand his bank of knowledge. 

    One such art holiday, in the summer of 1878, would lead him to polish his portrait skills and surround himself with like minded artists, off the coast of Sorrento, on the small island of Capri.  Upon reaching the island, he was tasked with finding a local model.  

    As fate would have it, he found the perfect muse in Rosina Ferrara.  Rosina would serve, not only as the subject for many of Sargent’s island paintings, but also as a romantic interest.  Throughout the summer months, he would capture the beauty of both the island and Rosina in his pieces.  One of his most notable works was A Capriote, in which Rosina can be viewed in an olive grove, with her arm draped around an olive tree.

A Capriote, J.D. Sargent (1877)

    The summer in Capri fueled Sargent’s interest in exotic people and places, and served to further his travels to other such venues.  By 1883, he had settled in his own studio and began to prove himself as a portrait artist in Paris.  Unfortunately, with the creation of a singular portrait, he found his success in France rather short lived.  

Madame X, J.S. Sargent (1884)

     Sargent’s troubles began when he requested to paint Virginie Avegno Gautreau.  An American living in Paris, Madame Gautreau was a well known socialite, who displayed a distinct artful appearance.  Upon completing her portrait, Sargent displayed the piece in the Salon of 1884.  Here, the work was met with harsh criticism, as she was painted with the right strap of her gown slipping from her shoulder.  Madame Gautreau’s own mother requested that the artist remove the piece. While he refused to do so, he did, eventually, repaint the shoulder strap.  Thirty years later, the artist would sell his masterpiece to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  Upon completing the sale, it was agreed that the museum would conceal the name of the sitter.  Henceforth, the work came to be known as Madame X.

    By 1886, Sargent’s portrait career in Paris began to wane.  Once again, he found himself traveling, as he tested the waters in England.  Unlike his initial success in France, England did not yield a comparable portrait business.  In an effort to regroup, Sargent began producing open-air studies of the English countryside.  His piece, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, a product of this landscape venture, enjoyed great success at the Royal Academy in 1887. 

    Eventually, portrait art found its way into Sargent’s life once again.  Through visits to America in the late 1880s, he acquired his first portrait commissions.  By 1894, his portraiture, which was in high demand, earned him the election as an associate of the Royal Academy.  With such success, his work came to the attention of the aristocracy, providing a new audience for his talent.

    By 1907, Sargent was traveling in Europe, and had decided to semi-retire from portrait commissions—preferring, instead, to revisit landscape painting, which he had enjoyed two decades earlier.  Being a true portrait artist, though, he found his way back to the craft, and completed a war piece in 1919, entitled Gassed—a work which depicted the aftermath of a World War I mustard gas attack.

Gassed, J.S. Sargent (1919)    

      Sargent was considered the premier portrait artist of his time.  With his formal Parisian art education, frequent world travels, and an art piece which caused a scandal, John Singer Sargent experienced a life of which most artists can only dream. Upon his death in 1925, memorial exhibitions of his work were held in Boston, with the Royal Academy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Tate Gallery following in 1926.  Nearly 100 years after his death, admirers still seek his work.

If you would like to learn more about John Singer Sargent and his contribution to the art community, please see my reference links below.

https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/sargent-ferrara-capri-romance/

https://www.mfa.org/news/sargent-bio

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-singer-sargent-475

https://americanart.si.edu/artist/john-singer-sargent-4253

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬