Americans in Paris: John Singer Sargent and Madame X

Based in part on a Shady Ladies lecture by Edith de Belleville with historian Andrew Lear.

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is best known as a portrait painter of the rich and famous, a profession he apparently hated. (Eventually, the artist reverted to sketches which could be completed in one sitting.) In his lifetime, Sargent created some 900 oil paintings and 2000 watercolors, plus drawings.

Born to expatriate Americans living at the time in Florence, Italy, the boy’s nascent talent was recognized by his mother at 13. He “sketches quite nicely, and has a remarkably quick and correct eye,” she wrote. Mrs. Sargent registered her son for art lessons. John grew up cultured and multi-lingual, though a terrible (academic) student and willful personality. The family lived on a small inheritance, savings, and his father’s teaching fees.

Left: Fanny Watts (Miss. Frances Sherborne Ridley Watts) 1877 and, Right: Carolus Duran 1879 (the small red dot is a Legion of Honor) by John Singer Sargent (Both Public Domain)

When John was 18, the Sargents moved to Paris, where they have lived earlier. He began his studies with the painter Carolus Duran, noted for depictions of high society. Duran’s atelier was progressive, eschewing the traditional approach of drawing and underpainting in favor of “alla prima,” working directly on canvas with oils. The method was espoused by Diego Velázquez.

In 1874, Sargent entered the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. Perfect French likely opened as many doors as talent. That same year, having been shunned by the Paris Salon (official annual exhibition of the Academie – the greatest art event in the Western world), Impressionists mounted their own exhibition. Introduced by Duran and new friend/fellow painter Paul Cesar Helleu, many were Sargent’s friends, many contributed influence. (Helleu, though barely known in the U.S., became the character Elstir in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Later in life, he would paint the ceiling of Grand Central Station.)

Impressionist influence: Left- Femme a l’ombrelle by Claude Monet 1886 (Public Domain. Right- Morning Walk by John Singer Sargent 1888 (Public Domain under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)

Childhood friend Fanny Watts and Duran were Sargent’s first lauded portraits. A classicist, his work secured a place at the Salon. The artist was gaining traction. He visited Spain to study Velázquez. By the time he returned, commissions started coming. He was able to move from bohemian Montparnasse (on a street where Camille Claudel before and Ernest Hemmingway after him would live) to the Right Bank’s Les Batignolles. Sargent became friends with such as musician Gabriel Fauré (the former was an excellent pianist) and Oscar Wilde (who with his new bride visited the painter’s Paris studio). It’s conjectured that he may have been the inspiration for the artist in Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

Unlike his commissioned work, Sargent pursued beautiful Madame Pierre Gautreau to act as model. The young American was what was then called “a professional beauty.” Proud to have his wife immortalized, her husband agreed. The portrait caused a scandal. In its original form (we have a photograph) one of Madame’s shoulder straps had dropped down. (As the corset was made of whalebone, her dress never could’ve fallen.)

John Singer Sargent Self Portrait 1892 (Public Domain)

Compounded (emphasized) by excess powder, the pose was thought too provocative. (Madame pinched her ears making them red to provide contrast.) So much criticism ensued that Sargent went back into the work repainting the second strap properly on his model’s shoulder. The damage had been done, however. Her family refused it. From then on, as an unrecognized work, the portrait would be called “Madame X.” Its creator would come to think of it as the best he’d ever done. (Madame X is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

Commissions disappeared. The artist moved to England. Curiously, the British thought he was too contemporary, too “French.” Still, talent will out and success came. Sargent traveled widely to Morocco, Spain, Egypt, painting evocative watercolors, not portraits. He taught at The Royal Academy of Art. (Duncan Grant of The Bloomsbury Group was a student.) A trip to New York garnered over 20 important commissions, including portraits of Isabella Stuart Gardner in whose Boston museum much of his work is now exhibited. He returned to London.

Left: Photograph of the original Madame X, Right: The finished painting (Both Public Domain)

Unlike many important portraitists, Sargent handled every aspect of the work himself beginning with preparation. The artist was even involved with choosing location – sometimes the subject’s home, often his studio, and wardrobe. He generally scheduled eight to ten sittings, talking amiably while he worked, occasionally breaking to play piano.

Wearying of the genre in 1907, Sargent greatly turned to landscapes. He also and with great pleasure executed murals for several public buildings in Boston. When accused of not keeping up with the times, the artist responded, “Ingres, Raphael and El Greco, these are now my admirations, these are what I like.” Sargent co-founded New York’s  Grand Central Art Galleries and The Grand Central School of Art in which he participated. Returning to London, he died of heart disease at his Chelsea home.

Opening: Madame X (Public Domain)

Recommended: Strapless by Deborah Davis and John Singer Sargent, a biography by Merrill Mount

Learn about the fascinating women of the past—shady ladies, nasty women, fashion icons—in  fun and revealing tours of the world’s great cities and museums

Coming Up: Saturday 2/26 2 p.m.:  Great Paris Love Affairs: Chopin and George Sand

Sunday February 27: The Unhung Heroes of the Met (Museum) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/262707173227