John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)

The last great exponent of portrait art in the grand manner, the classical artist John Singer Sargent has inspired generations of Irish portrait artists with his painterly skills, including his classical au premier coup technique - one exact stroke of the brush, with no reworking.

Thanks to his sense of glamour and stylishness, combined with his exquisite brushwork, he became one of the most successful European-based portrait painters, specializing in the portrayal of the aristocratic and the rich, whom he showed at their glittering best in flattering poses.

In many ways, Sargent captured the spirit of the golden age that perished during World War I. (See also: American Art:1750-present).

Street In Venice.

For more information and examples
of European portraiture, see:
19th Century Portraits;
20th Century Portrait Artists;
Pop-Art Portraiture;
Portraits by Picasso;
Self Portraits.

He was born while his parents were visiting Florence, and studied fine art in Rome, Florence and also Paris, where he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Carlos Duran, and first exhibited at the Salon in 1877 at the age of 22. Further study in Spain and Holland gave him a close knowledge of the work of Velazquez and Frans Hals, while the vividness of some of his work reveals the strong influence of French Impressionism.

Portrait of Madame X

Unfortunately, Sargent's early portraits attracted harsh criticism. His 1884 composition, Madame X - a portrait of his fellow-American Virginie Gautreau, a famous society beauty and the wife of a wealthy French banker - caused a scandal, when it was shown at the 1884 Paris Salon. Although unnamed, Gautreau's face was clearly recognizable, and the low-cut dress, the deathly white make-up, the twisted pose of the right arm, and the fact that one of the sitter's dress-straps (subsequently repainted) was suggestively hanging off her shoulder, shocked the public, leading the artist to leave Paris under a cloud. Despite this, Sargent always maintained that the portrait was his finest work.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Moving to Britain, Sargent settled in London, where his portraiture was soon in great demand. He gained numerous commissions from Americans, as well as British clients, of whom the most important was Isabella Stewart Gardner, the founder of a famous arts museum in Boston. She sat for him on at least two occasions, bought over 20 of his paintings and introduced him to many valuable patrons. Sargent also developed a reputation as a masterful painter of children's portraits (eg. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885).

He was made a member of the London Royal Academy in 1897, and later an official British War Artist, completing his famous composition Gassed, based on studies made on the battlefield. See also English Figurative Painting.

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As an artist, Sargent possessed a brilliant oil painting technique, combining assured fluid brushwork, bold compositions, as well as precise matching of tones. His friendship with Claude Monet (1840-1926) and other Impressionist painters helped him to master the replication of light, which remained a constant fascination. His portrait of The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882) is one of the finest ever Impressionist portraits. His range was impressive and included quarter, half and full length formal portraits, as well as more relaxed works set in gardens and landscapes.

As well as portraiture, he also explored genre-painting and murals, although he could not elude the demands of his sitters. The equal (if not superior) to Joshua Reynolds (1723-92) and Thomas Gainsborough (1722-88), John Singer Sargent is as much a painter's painter, as a popular artist of pre-war society, and his work bridges the divide between the Old Masters and Impressionism. His paintings can be seen in the best art museums throughout the world.

For other important American realist painters of the 18th, 19th and 20th century, see: Benjamin West, the "Father of American Painting", John Singleton Copley, noted for his portraits and history paintings; Gilbert Stuart, who painted some 130 portraits of George Washington; Winslow Homer, noted for his pioneer-style seascapes; Thomas Eakins for his outstanding subject-paintings and portraiture; and Edward Hopper the renowned New York genre artist. See also the great landscape painters of the Hudson River School, Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church, the Luminist Missouri frontier artist George Caleb Bingham and the Impressionist Whistler.

• For information about painting in Ireland, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.
• For news about famous painters and sculptors from Ireland, see: Famous Irish Artists.

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