John Singer Sargent, American. (1856-1925)
Portrait of a Gentleman
Oil on Canvas
25 x 21 inches
Gordon Clift Horton Collection, Class of 1942
One of the preeminent portraitists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, John Singer Sargent possessed a potent gift for portraying the moods and emotions of his subjects. A story goes that an irritated President Roosevelt turned around to chide the artist during a disagreement as they unsuccessfully surveyed the White House for a location, and Sargent instantly interrupted him to hold and paint his pose. Sargent’s commissioned portraits are consistent with grand manner style, while his other works mingle with movements like Impressionism. His work reflects heavy inspiration from Van Dyck and Velazquez and is characterized by naturalism, intense mark-making, and a strong sense of the energy of the sitter.
Sargent was an expatriate born to wealthy American Parents in Florence, Italy. He traveled far and wide throughout his career and gained international standing as a leading portrait artist in high demand. As a young artist, he took lessons from German landscape painter Carl Welsch and French portraitist Carolus-Duran. He completed thousands of paintings, in both watercolor and oil, as well as countless charcoals and sketches in his prolific career. Though predominantly known for his oil portraits, his watercolors have been gaining traction in recent scholarship. Sargent’s oeuvre has been treated inconsistently in histories of art, with a period where some critics dismissed him as an unexciting traditionalist and, more recently, others hailing him as technically excellent, master-inspired yet contemporary painter.
Portrait of a Gentleman is a fascinating glimpse into Sargent’s method and process of painting portraiture. We see an older man with a faced turned, looking slightly to the side over his gently raised left shoulder. Mottled brown, greens, and grays compose the background and vestments of the figure. Splashes of pink and red brighten the otherwise white and grayed face, suggesting Sargent’s layering as he captured his subjects. The painting shows strong marks and Sargent’s iconic gestural style, giving a sense of immediacy and unfinished thoughts.
Though this work is not what we might traditionally conceive of as a “finished” piece, especially compared to Sargent’s more notable, polished productions, Portrait of a Gentleman shows Sargent’s ability to capture the moods of his sitters with subtle and gestural brushstrokes. The eyes and mouth are defined by precious few marks, yet we can instantly recognize and understand the emotion of the man as we relate to him ourselves.
As the gallery prepares to host its portrait exhibition, the work of John Singer Sargent is a valuable reflection on what it means to portray another person as you see them, in a moment in time, as Sargent does.
Cole Thornton, Class of 2021
Works Cited
Biography of Sargent. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://www.johnsingersargent.org/biography.html