John Singer Sargent: The Early Portraits; Complete Paintings: Volume I

by Richard Ormond, Elaine Kilmurray

This magnificent book is the first volume of the definitive catalogue raisonne of the works in oil, watercolor, and pastel of the beloved painter John Singer Sargent. This volume catalogues portraits by Sargent from 1874, when he began his training in Paris, and covers pictures painted while he was establishing his reputation in Paris, during his early years in England, and on his first professional visit to America in 1887. The entire catalogue raisonne will bring together nearly 600 portraits, some 1,600 subject pictures and landscapes, and three mural cycles.The early portraits in this book range from private images of Sargent's family and friends to studies of writers and fellow artists and formal portraits of Parisian celebrities and patrons in France, England and America. These include his most controversial work, Madame Gautreau, and studies of some of the major artistic figures of the day: Claude Monet, Robert Louis Stevenson and Ellen Terry in her role as Lady Macbeth.

Each work is catalogued in depth, with a biographical account of the sitter, a discussion of the contemporary context of the painting, and a detailed provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography. Almost all of the paintings are shown, mostly in color, including some that have never been reproduced before. The fruit of some sixteen years of research, this valuable reference provides a broad and comprehensive view of Sargent's art.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 1998

Reviews

[Kate]

I picked up this book after reading a Goodreads review of The Age Of Innocence illustrated with portraits of what the review’s author imagined the characters to look like; all were John Singer Sargent paintings, and I loved them and wanted a chance to look at them more closely.

A closer examination of Sargent’s paintings didn’t disappoint, and for the first time I had the experience of recognizing, “this is an artist whose overall style and collection of work is something that speaks to me.” Not being very literate in art or art history (and even less so in painting specifically), I’ve of course had individual works stand out as things I enjoy, but never the canon of a visual artist’s actual work. Having spent several hours with this book, I now also appreciate the sense of having enough data points to be able to compare across an artist’s work. I can compare and contrast across the paintings: hmmm, he’s clearly in a phase where he’s more focused on accuracy of the details of the face versus these years when the faces were primarily suggestive, etc. Even if it’s not Sargent who speaks to you, I’d recommend spending time with a single artist’s collection to engage with type of compare/contrast yourself (and this is merely 1 of 4 volumes of Sargent’s life work, so I still have much to look forward to!)

While acknowledging I don’t have the artistic vocabulary to fully articulate what it is about Sargent’s work that appeals to me (made the more evident when held up against the language I have to express why I do or do not like pieces of writing), one thing that appeals to me is Sargent’s use light. I loved best those portraits he did where the background is near complete blackness, but the light falls on the face of the subject and illuminates an utter richness of expression. They merge with, and yet emerge from, the darkness with a level of detail in their features and clothing that is astonishing. That contrast is so powerful, and Sargent’s work illustrated to me why this style of observation remains valuable in the age of the photograph. I found myself contemplating the time it would take to create this – the level of noticing that would be required – and awe for the skill it must take to convey such a complexity of light.

Luckily for me, the Clark Museum in western Massachusetts features quite a few Sargent paintings, and I’m actively planning a visit once COVID restrictions can be safely lifted. I’m excited by this book because it’s given me the experience of looking forward to going to a museum with the express purpose of seeking out an artist’s work. If I loved a miniature reproduction in a book, it must be delightful to stand before the real thing.

(It’s hard to give this book a star rating – am I rating the writing? the number of archives on historical information about each painting the author had access to? the paintings themselves, of which I have zero qualifications to analyze in context? – so I’m not going to. Indeed, I wouldn’t say I “read” this (it’s massive) so much as flipped through to look at each painting multiple times and then skimmed the accompanying text whenever I loved a particular image.)

[Dewey Decimal Challenge: 759 - Historical, areas, persons treatment]

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love an art book with tons of pictures and good, readable story telling about the artist without wordy "art babble"

[Marije Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

..

[GK Stritch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent!

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this artist and the stories around the pictures are very interesting. A big heavy book, so gives you some arm exercises, too. Win-win.