John Singer Sargent

While American artist, John Singer Sargent, exhibited an extraordinary talent in several artistic areas, he was primarily recognized throughout the majority of his career for his portrait work, eventually earning the moniker of “leading portrait painter of his generation”. The characteristic feel of Edwardian Era luxury is one of the essential qualities setting this artist’s portraits apart from others of his generation, though his later works would begin to exhibit a break from what Sargent deemed the “restrictions” of portraiture, favoring more en plein air techniques and hinting of Impressionism.

The son of American expatriates, John Singer Sargent was born in Florence in 1856. His parents had fled America in an attempt to escape the memories they suffered as a result of the death of a child. After several years, they would decide to remain in Europe; forfeiting their American wealth in favor of a simple and fairly nomadic lifestyle. It is due to this lifestyle, in large part, that Sargent would forego a traditional education, though between his mother and father’s efforts, he approached adulthood fluent in multiple languages and well versed in music, art and literature. His parents were both very skilled artistically, and so Sargent’s interest in drawing and painting was encouraged early on.

In 1874, Sargent gained entrance – on his first attempt – to France’s premier art school, Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Here he studied under gifted portrait artist, Carolus-Duran, whose influence would greatly shape Sargent’s own legendary portrait painting style. In 1877 Sargent was selected by Carolus-Duran, along with fellow artist and friend, James Carroll Beckwith to collaborate on a mural for Palais du Luxembourg. During this period, Sargent would also study under Leon Bonnat; a French artist whose techniques were heavily influenced by Diego Velazquez. Sargent would later turn to studying the works of Velazquez quite intently and with growing admiration.

Sargent entered his first Salon exhibition in 1877 with a portrait of personal friend, Fanny Watts, to favorable reviews. He would garner further acceptance with his next entry, The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale; a work highlighting Sargent’s impressionistic side, a second copy of which also gained favor for the artist in America. By 1880, Sargent was exhibiting regularly in the Paris Salon, but it was the Madame X scandal of 1884 that brought the artist an excess of fame, though not of the type that he sought.

Portrait of Madame X is by far John Singer Sargent’s most recognized work and, in the opinion of many, his crowning achievement as a portrait artist. This painting features the portrait of beautiful Parisian socialite, Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau. The daring sensuality inherent in the deeply contrasting elements, combined with the subject’s seeming arrogant and detached demeanor in the pose, was taken as offensive by observers. The unveiling of this portrait met with shock and criticism, which resulted in a sharp decline in portrait commissions for Sargent. It is believed that this incident, in part, prompted the artist’s later move to London. Madame X graced the wall of his London studio until 1916, when it was sold and transferred to its current home; New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1907, John Singer Sargent painted a self-portrait. This effort was to be his last in the style for which he had made such a name for himself as a portrait artist. From that point on, Sargent traded in his studio time for his preference of open air painting, focusing once again on landscape art and a more impressionistic style.