American expatriate John Singer Sargent may have downplayed his talent by commenting that “[a] portrait is a picture of a person with something wrong with the mouth,” but in truth, Sargent was one of the foremost portrait painters of his time. Members of high society, major political figures, actresses and writers all let Sargent recreate their image, Sargent having an exceptional talent for capturing facial distinctions and flesh tones, and a marked gift in his choice of color and characteristic pose.
Madame X
Sargent’s 1884 Madame X was a succès de scandale that caused a big stir when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon. The subject was Louisiana-born Virginie Amélie Gautreau, an ambitious young social climber and wife of a wealthy French banker. Madame Gautreau’s conduct and striking appearance were definitely of note among late 19th century Parisian circles, but once Sargent’s portrait was displayed all intrigue turned to outright disapproval.
In this particular work, Sargent’s choice of pose and palette came across as a bit risqué and reinforced perceptions of Madame Pierre Gautreau as a brash, self-centered American. Her profile is haughty, her plunging black neckline reveals too much white flesh, and she seems to be flaunting her sexuality instead of parlaying it discreetly in the preferred Parisian manner. In the long run, however, while the portrait brought about a sharp decline in Virginie's personal stock, Madame X the painting would eventually be considered as one of Sargent’s most notable efforts.
Dr. Pozzi at Home
Before Sargent began his fateful Madame X, he painted the portrait of French gynecologist and surgeon Dr. Samuel-Jean Pozzi. The intelligent and charming Dr. Pozzi had a way with the ladies both professionally and personally, one of his rumored affairs being with actress Sarah Bernhardt. There was further talk that he had been involved with Madame Pierre Gautreau, though no official proof supports the speculation.
Sargent’s 1881 portrait of Dr. Pozzi is lush and resplendent, showing Dr. Pozzi at his home in a relaxed yet regal pose. In his long red robe, with his striking features and elegantly graceful hands, Dr. Pozzi seems almost like a nobleman from the Renaissance; not surprisingly, the painting’s stunning scarlet flair did prompt certain conservative art critics of the day to object to Sargent’s lack of chromatic restraint.
Isabella Stewart Gardner
In 1888, after having ridden out the Madame X incident, Sargent posed another society woman in black—but this time with far less controversial results. Isabella Stewart Gardner was a New Yorker who, through marriage, had become part of Boston’s circles of wealth. Gardner established a cultural salon in Boston and managed to evade the city’s traditional stuffiness; she liked to drink and smoke and surround herself with creative and entertaining individuals. She also collected fine art and objects of beauty, and in 1903 she founded Boston‘s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Sargent’s portrait of Isabella places her in a subdued, almost priestess-type pose, standing before a tapestry like a vanguard of good taste. She seems calmly focused in a black dress that suggests solidity rather than sex, while her perfectly centered presence in the painting indicates that she is a figure of prominent determination.
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose and The Vickers Children
While Sargent was keeping a low profile after the Madame X tempest, he spent some time in a village in Cotswold, England at an artists’ colony. Sargent’s circa 1885 painting of the daughters of illustrator Frederick Barnard is titled Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, that name coming from a song of the day by Joseph Mazzinghi. The girls, Polly and Dolly, aged 7 and 11 respectively, are dressed in fluttery white, playing in a garden that looks like their own special haven. They hold softly glowing Japanese lanterns while all around them flowers bloom and seem to protect their girlish wonder.
Rather than having Polly and Dolly pose in a formal manner, the children simply appear to be enjoying themselves before being called in to get ready for bed. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose is not an official portrait, but like Sargent’s 1884 Garden Study of the Vickers Children, lilies offer a symbolic and protective backdrop, with white being a predominant influence. The Vickers boy wears black, but in this case the dark tone merely provides a contrast for his sister’s white dress, and he still has a white collar peeking out of his sweater. Sargent‘s avoidance of stiff or formal posing in these particular works makes each child seem more real and shyly awkward—and eternally young.
Sources
- American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America – Robert Hughes (Knopf, 1997)
- Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose and John Singer Sargent – The Guardian, UK
