Countless sketches and charcoal drawings, about 2000 watercolours and 900 oil paintings, these are not the key data of a well-known art museum, these figures describe the scope of John Singer Sargent's life's work. Born on July 12, 1856, Sargent is one of the most important and sought-after American portrait painters of his time.
However, the artist's childhood was anything but ordinary and cannot be compared to that of other famous painters. His father was a medical doctor for ophthalmology and lived in Europe with his wife and children. Due to the mother's mental suffering, however, the family never stayed in one place for long. They travelled the whole continent, always trying to avoid the heat. John Singer Sargent lived in his childhood and youth in Rome, Paris, London, Dresden and Florence, among other places. In the cities he attended art schools and was a student of some famous artists, among others of Carolus-Duran. Due to this nomadic way of life, the young Sargent enjoyed little formal education, and friendships were rare. One exception, however, was his acquaintance with Violet Paget. She met the Sargent family in Nice. The portrait of the young woman, painted in 1881, is one of the earliest works by John Singer Sargent.
Travel was practically born into the cradle, it rarely kept the talented painter permanently in a particular place in his later life. This is also reflected in his works. They show landscapes and scenes from Egypt, Palestine, France, Spain or Portugal, among others. John Singer Sargents was known and praised for his technical skills, yet it was precisely this technical refinement and perfect brushwork that repeatedly earned him accusations of a certain superficiality. Probably as a result of his free life, the American caused a real scandal in 1884. He submitted a portrait of Madame X to the Salon de Paris. This painting, undoubtedly beautiful, shows a lady with a certain freedom of the shoulders. It was this freedom that led to great discussion, because the bare shoulders did not seem to be conducive to the Paris Salons. Sargent also took part in the resistance against the conservative understanding of art at the Royal Academy of Arts and founded the New English Art Club together with other artists. The painter was appreciated throughout Europe, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, and was one of the most sought-after, but also most expensive portrait painters of his time. His last great works were created during the events of the First World War. For example, his work "Gassed" showed British troops after the gas attack by German forces. In 1922 he was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to paint a group portrait of the generals of the First World War. Only three years later, on April 14, 1925, John Singer Sargent died in London.
Countless sketches and charcoal drawings, about 2000 watercolours and 900 oil paintings, these are not the key data of a well-known art museum, these figures describe the scope of John Singer Sargent's life's work. Born on July 12, 1856, Sargent is one of the most important and sought-after American portrait painters of his time.
However, the artist's childhood was anything but ordinary and cannot be compared to that of other famous painters. His father was a medical doctor for ophthalmology and lived in Europe with his wife and children. Due to the mother's mental suffering, however, the family never stayed in one place for long. They travelled the whole continent, always trying to avoid the heat. John Singer Sargent lived in his childhood and youth in Rome, Paris, London, Dresden and Florence, among other places. In the cities he attended art schools and was a student of some famous artists, among others of Carolus-Duran. Due to this nomadic way of life, the young Sargent enjoyed little formal education, and friendships were rare. One exception, however, was his acquaintance with Violet Paget. She met the Sargent family in Nice. The portrait of the young woman, painted in 1881, is one of the earliest works by John Singer Sargent.
Travel was practically born into the cradle, it rarely kept the talented painter permanently in a particular place in his later life. This is also reflected in his works. They show landscapes and scenes from Egypt, Palestine, France, Spain or Portugal, among others. John Singer Sargents was known and praised for his technical skills, yet it was precisely this technical refinement and perfect brushwork that repeatedly earned him accusations of a certain superficiality. Probably as a result of his free life, the American caused a real scandal in 1884. He submitted a portrait of Madame X to the Salon de Paris. This painting, undoubtedly beautiful, shows a lady with a certain freedom of the shoulders. It was this freedom that led to great discussion, because the bare shoulders did not seem to be conducive to the Paris Salons. Sargent also took part in the resistance against the conservative understanding of art at the Royal Academy of Arts and founded the New English Art Club together with other artists. The painter was appreciated throughout Europe, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, and was one of the most sought-after, but also most expensive portrait painters of his time. His last great works were created during the events of the First World War. For example, his work "Gassed" showed British troops after the gas attack by German forces. In 1922 he was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to paint a group portrait of the generals of the First World War. Only three years later, on April 14, 1925, John Singer Sargent died in London.
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