Sargent’s Madame X
One of Sargent’s portraits that he was so famous for
John Singer Sargent lived a very privileged childhood, his family traveled to Florence, Rome, Nice, and the Alps just to stay away from harsh weather. Sargent’s parents thought they could give their child a better education then a school could, he received a “Baedeker education” from them. “Sargent learned geography, arithmetic, reading, and and other disciplines” from his father, where his mother, who was an amateur artist, encouraged him to draw and provided many subjects for him to paint. I feel that Sargent gained an advantage over other artists in his early years because he was not burdened by a formal education, and was therefore able to pursue his passion while other blooming artists had to wait until adulthood to work on their skills. In his later teenage years, Sargent was able to study art formally starting in 1873 and shortly after was moved to Paris to “foster his talent.” Sargent’s father made this decision, supporting his son’s artistic pursuits. I do not believe that in today’s society that a father could make the same move, it is simply not a sound financial decision to pursue the arts as a career. If someone were to do this today, they’d almost certainly be ensuring a lower-class lifestyle where they would have to struggle to pay their bills and I don’t believe that a modern parent would see this and encourage it. Defying the odds, Sargent was able to move around to where he could make commissions and was popular due to the “notoriety” of his work, Madame X. Madame X included “an unmodulated treatment of the face and figure inspired by the style of Edouard Manet and Japanese Prints”, which was uncommon at the time and was not appreciated by critics. From the readings, it appears that Sargent often got bored and changed his styles and location to satisfy his artistic desires. Sargent has did most of his most popular work in France, Great Britain, and the United States, being popular for his portraits and later in life, his watercolors. I don’t believe that Sargent would tell us that he has ever worked though, he seemed to love art so much that creating it was more of a passion than an occupation. While I do not share the same passion for the arts, I envy Sargent’s devotion to it and his resilience to the not-so-kind critiques he received at times. if he were able to tell us how he felt about his life and career today, I don’t think that he would say that he resents anything he did or would change a thing.
Sargent was truly magnificent in the way that he went about his “occupation.” I agree that I wish I could have such a passion for the work I do later in life. Very fascinating point you brought up about Sargent’s informal education. I enjoy how you looked at Sargent’s adolescent years, and saw the change in times. What was acceptable in the mid-late 1800s is certainly not as acceptable now. The debate of whether an informal education can succeed is very interesting. I’ll take the bet against it though.
I liked your historical opening. And I certainly agree with your point about not being burdened with a formal education. It let him develop his own curiosities instead of making him hate learning. It was almost like a homeschooled version of a liberal arts education.
I also thought it was interesting that you brought up the point of whether his father would let him pursue art in today’s society. It definitely would not yield a financially stable career, so I would have to say he would be against it.
I like how you brought up the fact that Sargent did not get a formal education and could focus on his passions. I agree that back then people were not as focused on education and pursued whatever it is that they liked. Now we are all pushed to go to college and study subjects, even if they are irrelevant to what we want to do in life.