John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) was primarily known as a portrait artist and painted many prominent people of his day. These brought him a good living and continued commissions as people saw his work and desired to have their portraits done. He was born to American parents in Italy and travelled most of Europe before ever coming to America in 1876. 

He studied in Paris with Carolus-Duran and painted his teacher’s portrait in 1879 (now at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.)

He met Isabella Stewart Gardner in London in 1886 and painted her portrait in 1888. Although it wasn’t on display in her lifetime, it is now hanging in the Gothic Room, which was the site of Sargent’s studio when he became the first artist-in-residence in 1903 at the Gardner museum.

In 1882 Sargent painted El Jaleo, inspired by his trip to Spain in 1879. It is the centerpiece of the Spanish Cloister also at the Gardner museum. Mrs. Gardner and Sargent were close friends for nearly 40 years and she collected many of his paintings.

In 1890 he accepted a commission from the Boston Public Library to do a series of murals called the Triumph of Religion. He painted the panels in London and travelled to Boston to oversee the installation several times from 1895 to 1919. Although one of Sargent’s biographers called the project a disaster, I humbly disagree. At the time I saw it (2007) much had been done in the way of restoration and the paintings are overwhelming as you gaze around the gallery.

 

To see an overview of the gallery, click here. You can also see larger views of the work on other pages of the Boston Public Library’s Central location. In the week we were there I must have gone there at least three times. If you’re ever in Boston, visit this wonderful resource in Copley Square. (Hopefully one day soon it will be open for visitors again.)