There is no doubt in many people’s minds that John Singer Sargent was a very talented painter, but his paintings hold a greater story than what we can see through his works. Though he possessed a gift that only so many could be born with, he was very secretive and enjoyed his personal life to be private. In a way he was a bit “snobby” because he thrived to paint portraits of wealthy people, but his personality tended him to be extremely shy in public. It seems as if he did his artwork to get recognized for the highly technical skill that he had acquired, rather than doing his art for pure enjoyment and creativity. He was a performer in the art world and often did what people wanted him to do, portraits. As a result, it was hard for him to experiment with his artwork until later in his career. His portraits allow us to take glimpse of how John Singer Sargent was feeling and how his subjects were feeling through various aspects of each of his paintings. For example, we can examine the color choice, expressions of the subject, the brush strokes and time at which he painted the portrait. We may see him as this person with masterful skill in painting and we tend to forget that John Singer Sargent is also a human with flaws.
His life may seem as if it was painted with perfect brush strokes with the right amount of pressure and finesse, but was it really? For him to paint at such a high magnitude he must’ve lacked in some other area. As discussed in the article, John Singer Sargent wasn’t ever married and usually kept all his thoughts behind closed doors. There are tons of people in the world with many different “disabilities,” such as autism and dyslexia. Society has deemed these people to be “stupid”, but some of the most intelligent and successful have these “disabilities.” Why is that? These people were forced to live their lives in an unconventional manner and take on life in a different manner to cope with their problems. John Singer Sargent must’ve had “something” that made him tick, he lost the ability to communicate in public well, but in return he was able to paint like no other.
It is safe to say that John Singer Sargent has lived a life with more accomplishments than most people will ever do in their lifetime. His works told stories that prophesied modern society, he declined the honor of knighthood, and his artwork’s style was ahead of his time (a “hipster”). John Singer Sargent under any definition will consist of paintings that were simplistically realistic to the eye, but held stories greater than 1000 words. His work may not seem to be super innovative, but he knew how to paint portraits better than anyone else during his time.
Matt, I find your point about Sargent being on edge with some sort of “tick” very fascinating. I wonder if you think that geniuses must have something that is holding them back. Obviously we all have weaknesses, but is someone that is so great in one area, need a disability in another area? Just a interesting topic to think about. All in all though, Sargent was truly exceptional in the field of art; and both his early career, and later career show this.
I truly enjoyed reading your response because although I too found it a tad unusual that John Singer Sargent was never married, I did not make the broader connection that maybe the reason he was a master painter was that he lacked in other areas. I agree with your argument because of the abstract personalities of other “geniuses” like Einstein and Poe. Moreover, after reading what you had to say, I felt a sense of pity towards Sargent because of the areas he lacked in.
Hi Matt, I like your idea that Sargent’s introvert tendencies were his “handicap” for being such a good painter. Some autistic people are able to make it into prestigious universities even though they could barely hold a conversation due to their adaptation to a lack of social abilities with good study skills. It is a true shame that we don’t have more records of Sargent’s social life to study.
Yes Matt, I like how you perceived Sargent as just “another human being with flaws.” His personality and laid-back style in his painting-ethic didn’t follow conventional artistic techniques during his time period, which made him an innovator and thought-provoker that even shines today. Because of his creativity and his belief in his abilities, he is a real changer in the painter world.