JSS is one of my favorite painters, and I'm terribly sad I don't live in London to be able to see this exhibit. His portraits are striking in their composition and technical execution and I'm glad the curators highlighted the stylist/art-direction aspect of his subject/sartorial arrangements in his works. Thank you for a lovely read, Holly!
Oh, I would have loved to see this exhibition in person - not really familiar with John Singer Sargent but I've always found the few portraits I've seen very arresting - and thanks for this mini tour! I wonder how he compared to other portrait artists of his day and whether his approach helped the subjects stand out from the crowd they undoubtedly wanted to impress? Maybe it's like commissioning the late Peter Lindbergh to take your portrait but being annoyed that he only wanted to do it in black and white...
That said, I would be annoyed if my portraitist had no interest in capturing my personality or preferences -- probably would have gone with someone else!
I've been wondering that too - whether Sargent's methods were really so unusual or what you would expect from portrait artists of the time. I have to assume his styling was at least a little unusual, since this whole exhibition of his work is dedicated to highlighting it, but without looking into lots of other accounts of people's experiences with other portrait artists in the late 19th c., it's hard to say.
I would also be annoyed to be painted and immortalised in an outfit that didn't represent me.
JSS is one of my favorite painters, and I'm terribly sad I don't live in London to be able to see this exhibit. His portraits are striking in their composition and technical execution and I'm glad the curators highlighted the stylist/art-direction aspect of his subject/sartorial arrangements in his works. Thank you for a lovely read, Holly!
Thank you! (And apologies for my delayed reply! I think my phone ate this notification.)
Oh, I would have loved to see this exhibition in person - not really familiar with John Singer Sargent but I've always found the few portraits I've seen very arresting - and thanks for this mini tour! I wonder how he compared to other portrait artists of his day and whether his approach helped the subjects stand out from the crowd they undoubtedly wanted to impress? Maybe it's like commissioning the late Peter Lindbergh to take your portrait but being annoyed that he only wanted to do it in black and white...
That said, I would be annoyed if my portraitist had no interest in capturing my personality or preferences -- probably would have gone with someone else!
Thank you! 🖤
I've been wondering that too - whether Sargent's methods were really so unusual or what you would expect from portrait artists of the time. I have to assume his styling was at least a little unusual, since this whole exhibition of his work is dedicated to highlighting it, but without looking into lots of other accounts of people's experiences with other portrait artists in the late 19th c., it's hard to say.
I would also be annoyed to be painted and immortalised in an outfit that didn't represent me.