John Singer Sargent

{"Id":187,"Name":"John Singer Sargent","Biography":"Living in Western Europe for much of his life, John Singer Sargent became one of the world\u0027s greatest portraitists and muralists of his time. With his virtuoso handling of paint and ingenious compositions, he brilliantly captured his sitter\u0027s character, often focusing on their aristocratic refinement and individual hauteur. As ARC Chairman \u003Ca href=\u0022/articles/2000/Ross_Collection/ross1.asp\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003EFred Ross\u003C/a\u003E notes: \u0022The power of his compositions are legendary, and give his work a wall presence that surpasses most other artists from any period. He is perhaps the most sought after American artist of his time and his major works sell for many millions of dollars in the major auction houses of New York.\u0022\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003ESargent was born in Florence, Italy in 1856 to American ex-patriots. It would not be until age 21 that would he visit America for the first time. Well schooled and fluent in several languages, Sargent moved with ease in European aristocracy. When combined with his artistic training by the famous Parisian portraitist \u003Ca href=\u0022/asp/database/art.asp?aid=2442\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003ECarolus-Duran\u003C/a\u003E [1838-1917], Sargent launched a lifelong career of success after success.\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003EBut his career was not without scandal.\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003EAs early as 1882, Sargent had a great desire to paint the portrait of \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Madame_X.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003EMadame Pierre Gautreau\u003C/a\u003E (1859-1915). Madame Gautreau was an American from New Orleans and moved to Paris with her French mother after the death of her father. Not long after, she married the banker Pierre Gautreau and quickly established herself in Parisian society pages. Madame Gautreau did not commission Sargent. Instead, he was able to obtain an introduction and persuade her to let him paint her portrait. The finished product was exhibited in the Salon of 1884 as \u003Cu\u003EPortrait de Mme ***\u003C/u\u003E, now known as \u003Cu\u003EMadame X\u003C/u\u003E.\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003EThe painting caused a great deal of horror and scandal. The original portrait showed Madame Gautreau with her right shoulder strap erotically slipped over her shoulder. This eroticism, combined with her grave flesh tones, proved too much for conservative critics. Not long after the scandal, Sargent moved to London where he would live for the rest of his life. He kept the \u003Cu\u003EPortrait of Madame X\u003C/u\u003E, and more than twenty years later, he sold it to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.metmuseum.org/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003EMetropolitan Museum of Art\u003C/a\u003E. Writing to the museum\u0027s director \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/10036.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003EEdward Robinson\u003C/a\u003E in 1916, Sargent \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.jssgallery.org/Letters/Letter_Sargent_to_Edward_Robinson_1916.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 class=\u0022link\u0022\u003Ewrote\u003C/a\u003E: \u0022I suppose it is the best thing I have done.\u0022\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003EIn London, Sargent quickly re-established his career as a portraitist, and through the patronage of several key London elites, he was once again able to secure the trust of his aristocratic sitters. The 1890s and early 1900s saw Sargent\u0027s career rise to unprecedented heights through important portrait and mural commissions.\u003CBR\u003E\u003CBR\u003EWhile preparing for a trip to Boston from his London residence, Sargent died quietly in his sleep of a heart attack on April 25, 1925 at the age of sixty-nine.\u003Cp\u003E","Awards":null,"HasAlbums":false,"HasPortraits":true,"HasRelationships":true,"HasArticles":false,"HasDepictedPlaces":true,"HasLetters":true,"HasLibraryItems":true,"HasProducts":true,"HasSignatures":false,"HasVideos":false,"HasMapLocations":true,"TotalArtworks":428}