Sargent - the Master

It was just pointed out to me that today is the birth date of John Singer Sargent, infamous American Impressionist painter. Anyone with an interest in curated art will know his works, but even those without an inkling of art history can appreciate the incredible depth of his work. Over a century before our current AI generated portraits, he was shaking up society with his individual take of what a "classic" capture of a face looked like.

I first stumbled onto him in a framing store on Hennepin Ave that no longer exists. It was his controversial portrait of Madame X that remains the focal point of our foyer in a spotlight on a bright melon wall. It is stunning. The subject was French socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau and was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1884. What made it so provocative at the time were her very pale white shoulders on a bare torso. But amplifying it even more, was that he had painted her right shoulder strap slipping down her arm. People lauded the work, but he was chastised for the indiscretion on a society woman, so the portrait has very obvious markings where the shoulder strap was repainted - aligned on her collarbone to right the wrong. 

One of my many favorite traits of his works is the unmistakable lighting in a Sargent work. They seem to glow. It is both the way he captures sunlight and also the highlights & colors that he uses. The second works that drew me to him were seen at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. There was one called the Birthday Party with a very young child blowing out the candles on a cake. And also in Repose, a lovely female figure sprawled on a big sofa in what appeared layers of taffeta. 

Another unique detail is the attention to texture on background patterns. Fabrics, foliage, wallpaper. He starts with tiny strokes of color and detail - then as the portrait frames out, they become broad splashes of those same shades that then blur. Almost like a filter on an Instagram post.

His claim to fame are his portraits, both in Europe as well as the US, particularly Boston. But he also conquered lovely works in his Venetian and Spanish watercolors. His imprint on the city of Boston are huge murals all over the Public Library as well as other landmarks. Many aren't aware that he also dabbled in sculpture and even some architecture. There are catalogues of his drawings of many of his gay male models, one inspiration being handsome Black model Thomas Eugene McKeller whose figure is manifested in many of his mural works.

This year I was so very fortunate to see huge amounts of his work. A trip to Boston was so rewarding with his massive galleries there at the Isabella Gardener Museum. HIs El Jaleo is a masterpiece in motion and takes up an entire wall in its own room. Then we luckily timed our visit in Washington DC to an extensive showing of his Spanish works. As beautiful as his paintings are in tabletop books (of which I have many), there is nothing like seeing them spring to life in person. The colors, the strokes, the angle of the light and glow of twilight in his garden works, and the expression he captures in every face. He is indeed a Master. If you don't know his incredible legacy, find one of his works in a museum and it will be evident.