Powered by Facebook Comments John Singer Sargent (American, 1856
- 1925) circa 1880. Oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 19 1/2". 1943.011
John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy, to American
parents, and he trained as a painter in Italy and Paris.
Eventually, he became the most celebrated portrait painter of
the newly rich of the industrial age on both sides of the
Atlantic. Sargent was a great admirer of the Baroque masters
Frans Hals and Diego Velázquez. Like their work, Sargent’s also
is characterized by a bravura technique and vigorous but
controlled brush- work. Sargent’s style has an international
flavor, as seen by the model here who evokes a Mediterranean
setting, although her address is in Paris (see lower left
corner). The dedication at the upper left is to Paul Poirson,
Sargent’s landlord and patron, to whom the artist may have given
the painting.