John Singer Sargent or The Man Who Painted “Madame X”
In a brief discussion the other
day about the Salon de Paris, I happened to mention the name John Singer
Sargent and an 1884 scandal involving a “Madame X.” A short while after that, I
realized that I really didn’t know much about Mr. Sargent or his art and
decided to learn a bit more. I thought I would share what I found with you.
John Singer Sargent (January 12,
1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American artist who was regarded as the leading
portrait artist of his time, particularly for his portrayals of Edwardian
luxury. Over nine hundred oil paintings and more than two thousand watercolors,
as well as a myriad of sketches and charcoal drawings were produced during his
artistic career — sizeable by anyone’s standard. From the start, his work was
characterized by a remarkable technical facility; in particular, his ability to
draw using a brush. His work was in keeping with the accepted (and somewhat
restrictive) manner of rendering portraits at the time but later in life he
moved away from those limitations and devoted much of his time to creating
murals and working en plein air.
His father, FitzWilliam was a
successful eye surgeon in Philadelphia; however, when John’s older sister died
at the age of two and his mother suffered a breakdown, the couple decided to
leave the tragedy behind went abroad. Although their stated home became Paris,
the couple moved around Europe following the seasons — a rather nomadic life
that took them all around France, to Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. John was
actually born in Florence, Tuscany. For the rest of their lives, the couple, two
well-off vagabonds living on an inheritance and savings, led a quiet life, generally
avoiding European society and Americans, except for friends from the world of
art.
At the young age of thirteen,
John’s mother noted that her son “sketches quite nicely and has a remarkably
quick and correct eye. If we could afford to give him really good lessons, he
would soon be quite a little artist.” It was in that same year that the boy did
in fact receive some watercolor lessons from one Carl Welsch, a German
landscape painter. Not only did he show talent as an artist but he was also
quite literate and worldly, with more than a little knowledge of music and
literature, as well as a fluency in French, Italian, and German. By age
seventeen, John was described as “willful, curious, determined and strong.” It
is also said that he was shy, generous and modest. As a budding artist, he was
familiar with many of the masters from first-hand observation. As he said in
1874, “I have learned in Venice to admire Tintoretto immensely and to consider
him perhaps only second to Michelangelo and Titan.”
John attended the Academy of
Florence but things did not go well, primarily because the school was in the process
of reorganization; so it was back to Paris where he studied with Carolus Duran,
a young, extremely popular portrait artist noted for both bold artistic
techniques and his modern methods of teaching. Later that year, John passed the
arduous examination which was required to gain admission to the École des Beaux-Arts, the premier art school in France,
where he studied drawing — classes that also included both anatomy and
perspective. He also spent much of his time practicing drawing in museums as
well as in a studio which he shared with James Carroll Beckwith [(September 23,
1852 – October 24, 1917), an American landscape, portrait and genre painter
whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very
early twentieth century as a respected figure in American art.] and additional
lessons from Léon Bonnat.
As noted, Duran was a progressive and dispensed with traditional academic
approaches to art, approaches which required careful drawing and underpainting.
Duran taught the alla prima method
working directly on a canvas with a loaded brush, relying on proper placement
of tones of paint. This same method allowed for spontaneous flourishes of color
which were not dependent on any under-drawing. Sargent took to this approach
like a duck takes to water. As Julian Alden Weir noted, Sargent was “one of the
most talented fellows I have ever come across; his drawings are like the old
masters and his color is equally fine.” John was both popular and admired and
it was through a friendship with Paul César Helleu, that he was able to meet
some of the greats of his time, such as Degas, Rodin, Monet, and even Whistler.
Fanny Watts (1877)
Although Sargent was most enthusiastic over landscapes and not portraiture,
Duran finally influenced him to follow that path; portraits being perhaps the
best way to promote one’s art career and exhibiting in the Salon — not to
mention gaining commissions and thus a livelihood. His first major portrait was
of a friend, Fanny Watts, in 1877 which was also his first work exhibited at
the Salon — immediately drawing the attention of public and judges alike. His
second submission to the Salon was “Oyster Gatherers of Cancale,” a painting in
an impressionistic style. He made two copies of this painting and sent one to
the United States — both received more than favorable reviews.
In 1879 Sargent produced a portrait of Duran which met with wide public
approval at the Salon and marked the path that his mature work would follow.
American writer Henry James wrote of Sargent that the artist offered “the
slightly uncanny spectacle of a talent which on the very threshold of its
career has nothing more to learn.” Sargent then left Duran’s tutelage and
traveled to Spain where he studied the painting techniques of Velazques and
where he obtained ideas for future works. He also found himself captivated by
Spanish music and dance, reawakening his own talent for music and providing the
visual expression found in his work “El Jaleo” (1882). From that point on,
music and not just painting played a significant part in his social life and as
an accompanist to various amateur and professional musicians, as well becoming
an advocate of contemporary composers such as Gabriel Fauré.
"El Jaleo" (1882)
After Spain he went to Italy and then returned to Paris where he received
numerous commissions for portraits, and his career was thus firmly established,
giving him both fame and the ability to pick and choose who sat for him, and to
very set high prices. He worked with a high degree of stamina and concentration,
almost workman-like, which became one of his trademarks for the next quarter of
a century.
The best of Sargent’s portraits show the distinct individuality and
personality of the sitters, perhaps only matched at the time by Velazques, as
seen in “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” (1882). One of his most exhibited
portraits of that period was “The Lady with the Rose” (1882) – a portrait of
Charlotte Burckhardt who was both a close friend of Sargent’s and a possible
romantic interest as well.
"The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (1882)
"The Lady with the Rose" (1882)
It’s interesting how things turn out sometimes — Sargent’s most controversial
work, “Portrait of Madame X” a portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau rendered in
1884, was his most controversial work and now is regarded as one of his best,
not to mention the artist’s own personal favorite: “I suppose it is the best
thing I have ever done.” When it was first unveiled at the 1984 Salon, it
stirred such a negative reaction that it drove Sargent to move London. His
self-confidence had led him to attempt an experiment in portraiture which
seemed to backfire. The portrait had not been commissioned by her; but instead,
he had pursued her for a chance to paint the lady. He wrote to a mutual friend
somewhat egotistically, “I have a great desire to paint her portrait and have
reason to think that she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose
this homage to her beauty…you might tell her that I am a man of prodigious
talent.”
When she at last agreed, it took
Sargent over a year to complete the painting, whose first version portrayed a
now famous plunging neckline, white-powdered skin, an arrogantly cocked head,
and an off-the shoulder dress strap which gave a daring and sensual effect. Ultimately
Sargent changed the strap to assuage some of the controversy but — too late! Almost
as quickly as lightning, his French commissions ceased. Gravely disappointed,
he even contemplated giving up painting for a second career in music. French poet and historical novelist Judith Gautier, the
daughter of Théophile Gautier, wrote of the exhibition of “Madame X”: “Is it a
woman? A chimera (a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of
Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal), the figure of a unicorn rearing as on a heraldic coat
of arms, or perhaps the work of some oriental decorative artist to whom the
human form is forbidden and who, wishing to be reminded of woman, has drown the
delicious arabesque? No, it is none of these things, but rather the precise image
of a modern woman scrupulously drawn by a painter who is a master of his art.”
Prior to the “Madame X” scandal, Sargent had painted exotic beauties such
as Rosina Ferrara of Capri and Spanish model Carmela Bertagna, but those had
never been widely exhibited in public. As for “Madame X,” he kept “her”
prominently displayed in his London Studio until it was sold to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916.
English critics were at first rather cold to Sargent, citing his “clever
Frenchified” techniques; one reviewer calling his technique “hard” and “almost metallic”
with “no taste in expression, air or modelling.” Eventually, with the help of
that same critic, he began to gain English admiration.
By 1900 Sargent was at his peak of fame. Although still only in his
forties, he began to travel more and to devote less time to painting. In 1907,
at the age of fifty-one, he officially closed his studio, stating “Painting a
portrait would be quite amusing if one were not forced to talk while
working…What a nuisance having to entertain the sitter and to look happy when
one feels wretched. In that same year, he also painted his own modest, serious
self-portrait — his last portrait. Instead, he pursued architectural and
landscape subjects.
As Sargent wearied of portraiture he pursued
architectural and landscapes subjects instead; however, his fame remained
remarkable — he even turned down a knighthood. He made numerous visits to the
United States including an extended stay form 1915 until 1917, during which he
produced some very grand portraits, including one of John D. Rockefeller. But
not so soon later, Sargent found himself relegated more and more to the
category of a “master of the past.” Modernism was in and trends such as Cubism
and Futurism pushed him aside
In 1922 Sargent
co-founded New York City's Grand Central Art Galleries along with Edmund
Greacen and Walter Clark, participating in the gallery and its academy until
his death in 1925 in England of heart disease.
