Sargent the aesthete

Abstract

In the first room of paintings displayed at the National Portrait Gallery's Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends, hangs the stunning full length portrait, Dr Pozzi at Home (1881). Samuel-Jean Pozzi was a French pioneer of gynaecology, known during his lifetime as the most handsome man in Paris. An accomplished surgeon, he was also an anthropologist, a political and cultural activist, and the on-off lover of actress Sarah Bernhardt. Moving in these bohemian social circles accounted for Pozzi's friendship with John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), and his majestic looks would have appealed to Sargent the aesthete. To open the exhibition with this swoon-inducing painting is a masterstroke, and it sets the tone for the rest of the show. Sargent was born in Florence to American parents. His father was a surgeon, and his Europhile family moved in a debonair circle of friends, including prominent artists, writers, musicians, and actors. As a young man he trained as a painter in Italy and France, moving to the UK after causing a scandal in Paris with his risqué and flesh-revealing portrait of Madame X (who was also linked by rumour to Pozzi). Sargent's reputation is informed by preconceptions; he's known as a celebrity portraitist rather than a serious artist, and his name is associated with the lifestyle of the rich and famous of the late 19th century. The artists and friends who feature in this exhibition include many famous names, among them Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, William Butler Yeats, Edwin Booth, and Henry James. But this exhibition forcefully does away with celebrity preconceptions: Sargent's delicate sensitivity and talent bring a depth and subtlety to his subjects. As a portraitist I think Sargent is underrated. He is not a perfectionist, but does it matter? His brushstrokes are sometimes a little clumsy, but the way he captures the essence of people is surely exactly what portrait painters aspire to. His work brings people to life; not only their physical likenesses, but personalities, settings, and context. Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife (1885), one of three Sargent paintings of Stevenson, was completed a year before publication of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and before the writer reached the height of fame. It perfectly captures the slightly off-beat, fidgeting and nervous nature of his friend, which was later well documented. As a painting it was ahead of its time. Reception by critics remains mixed, but the composition of Stevenson in the foreground and his wife slumped behind on a chair made me think of the modernity of David Hockney's portraits. Sargent's move from Paris to Oxfordshire led to some of his defining work and association with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885–86) is one of his best known and most mesmerising paintings—the effect of light in its hanging at the National Portrait Gallery is just perfect. The study Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889) is also riveting; Dame Ellen's beetle-wing dress is iridescent, and her persona ethereal. The exhibition is undeniably one of handsome people with celebrity stories, but its impact is more than aesthetic. The portraits effortlessly succeed in capturing personalities, and the sequence of the display cleverly reflects the progression of Sargent's career, through his cosmopolitan youth, quieter middle age, and twilight years spent dabbling with Impressionism. This is a must-see exhibition, worth visiting to be temporarily transported into the company of these interesting people, and to experience the power of a talented portraitist. Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, until May 25, 2015 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/sargent/home.phpAn accompanying meeting Sargent and the Arts of His Time will be held at the National Portrait Gallery on April 17, 2015 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/sargent/events/conference.php Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, until May 25, 2015 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/sargent/home.php An accompanying meeting Sargent and the Arts of His Time will be held at the National Portrait Gallery on April 17, 2015 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/sargent/events/conference.php