"Sargent and Impressionism – an exceptional selection of landscapes and interiors painted by John Singer Sargent – is on view at Adelson Galleries, New York City, from November 4 through December 18, 2010.
"Sargent and Impressionism features paintings that focus on the effects of light and water; leisure activities captured en plein air; and interior scenes of every-day life. Works on view include dazzling landscapes with family, friends and fellow artists in informal outdoor settings. Additional highlights include two important oil studies for Sargent’s masterpiece, Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose (Tate Gallery, London). Many of the exhibited works are on loan from private collections and have rarely been on public view. Institutional loans include works from the Baltimore Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Flint Institute of the Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Yale University Art Gallery, among others."
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), is a very important American painter and his domestic scenes and highly polished portrait of the gilded ages are very distinctive in its accomplishment. However, when I studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, one of my portrait teachers compared him unfavorably to other portraitists, such as Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 2 August 1788) and her arguments were usually very convincing and I learned to appreciate Sargent somewhat differently since then. Despite the limitations of his artistic accomplishment and the narrow social scope of his works, he is still a very venerable painter, and any major exhibition of his work would be of great interests. Since he is not best known for his connection to the impressionism movement, this exhibit is quite refreshing.
Indeed, to call Sargent an impressionist is quite stretch. He was definitely able to loosen up his brushstrokes and create works with great spontaneity and luminosity, the characteristics of impressionism. But his connection to this movement was reluctant and tangible. He dabbled here and there in its principles, but not always convincingly. His milieu belonged to cocooned indoors. I believe that the motive of his tentative venturing into impressionism was proofing his technique accomplishment. Once challenges met, he lost interests in this movement, perhaps a very sound judgment.
I really appreciate his paintings below included in the exhibit - the virtuosity of his painterly skills were quite amazing and the languor permeated the canvases were overwhelming, even in the seemingly bright setting of Violet Fishing. My favorites of this collections includes:
My Dining Room, c. 1883-89
Oil on canvas
29 x 23 3/4 inches
Paul Helleu Sketching with His Wife, 1889
Oil on canvas
26 1/8 x 32 1/8 inches
Violet Fishing, 1889
Oil on canvas
28 1/2 x 21 inches
I am rather indifferent about the below paintings - they are neither too interesting nor offensive. They are always competent for sure but rather predictable, pallid and a bit boring:
Landscape with Trees, Calcot, 1888
Oil on canvas
22 x 27 inches
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Autumn on the River, 1889
Oil on canvas
29 x 18 1/2 inches
Then there are a group of his works I found rather unsatisfying. His technique was as assured as in other works, and the water treatment in Under the Willows was quite magical. But, they were showy pieces, with colors can be fairly described as vulgar, not dissimilar to some canvases by Renoir. Take At Calcot for example. The color scheme was overwhelmingly warm, colors clashed violently and the painting had a menacing atmosphere rather off putting. Intentionally done? Maybe not. If so, he is much deeper than I thought. This painting also had the zeal of new convert to Impressionism which many painters had experiences at various stage of their artistic arcs, myself included.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Under the Willows, 1887
Oil on canvas
27 x 22 inches
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
At Calcot, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
25 x 30 inches
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
A Backwater at Henley, c. 1887
Oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 27 inches
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