John Singer Sargent was a profoundly young and self-defined artist. During his twenties, Sargent built and established a unique name for himself, working from his own thought and without much regard to the pressure of those around him. With perceptions and inspiration gathered from his many travels across the art-world, he combined his own realism and the impressionism of the time (Paris c. 1880s) to create incredible and seemingly under-appreciated portraits very consistent in their techniques and style.
Young Lady in Black (1879)
The main aspect of Sargent’s work that caught my attention was the life and brightness that comprised each portrait. Every brushstroke has a purpose in bringing light and animation to the almost still photography stretched across his canvases. I find myself admiring much of the simplistic beauty that resonates across his work. Henry James, author of “Picture and Text,” puts it perfectly as he describes the Lady in Black: “Out of these few elements the artist has constructed a picture which it is impossible to forget, of which the most striking characteristic is its simplicity, and yet which overflows with perfection” (p.4). At such a young age, I am thoroughly impressed with his successes and aesthetic abilities.
One quote that really resonated with me while reading “Picture and Text,” was describing Sargent’s talent at impressing a wide audience with his style of work: “It is not only a portrait, but a picture, and it arouses even in the profane spectator something of the painter’s sense, the joy of engaging also, by sympathy, in the solution of the artistic problem” (p.3). Sargent conceived beauty capable of satisfying all eyes and preferences, something not even many of those older than him could do.
Not only does James consider his work to be a pleasure to most- if not all- audiences in some way or another, but he also describes Sargent’s portraits as timeless; they could last through generations without losing their effect. This is one of the many positives of painting with such authenticity as he did. “The picture has this sign of productions of the first order, that its style clearly would save it if everything else should change–our measure of its value of resemblance, its expression of character, the fashion of dress, the particular associations it evokes” (p.3).
A man made and remembered in his twenties, John Singer Sargent went beyond the bounds of his time to produce the cultured visions reflected in his portraits. It’s artists like him that will continue to inspire all audiences and artists alike through his passion and unmistakable talent. His story encourages one to follow their imagination, and, as Henry James points out, “remind[s] people that the faculty of taking a direct, independent, unborrowed impression is not altogether lost” (p.11).
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