geoff: The great painter John
singer Sargent, an American
expat, is the subject of a new
show at Boston's museum of fine
arts, its only U.S. Location
before moving to London.
It reveals much about his
methods and why his work remains
relevant more than 100 years
later.
Special correspondent Jared
Bowen of gbh Boston reports for
our arts and culture series,
"Canvas."
Jared: Painter John singer
Sargent had a way.
A way of rendering the
architecture of an arm, a
playing of the fingers, or an
elevation of the chin so that we
could know exactly what he saw
inside and out.
>> There's some people who
recalled that they saw a little
bit too much and that was a
little bit nervous making to go
sit for Sargent.
Jared: Sargent was an American
artist who became the darling
painter of the upper classes on
both sides of the atlantic from
the late 1800's through the turn
of the century.
His sitters had noble lineages
and cascading jewels.
And paid six-figures, in today's
money, for the privilege of
being painted by him.
>> He decided how they were
going to pose, what they would
wear in many cases, and the
backdrop and setting.
Jared: Erica hirshler is the
curator of fashioned by Sargent,
a new exhibition at the museum
of fine arts, Boston that
follows the threads of Sargent's
process, even reuniting
portraits with the original
garments his sitters wore.
Like this opera cloak enveloping
lady sassoon.
>> He takes it and he pulls it
across her body and he turns out
the lapel so that you get this
great swoop of pink satin across
her body.
And it makes for a much more
interesting painting.
Jared: While the society
portraits may have been
Sargent's bread and butter, his
true nourishment came from
society's fringes.
He relished painting bohemian
poets, playwrights, and
musicians.
He loved the performing arts.
And here, Sargent was as drawn
to dame Ellen Terry as lady
Macbeth as he was to her
costume.
>> The costume is covered with
beetle wings which reflect the
light and sort of shimmer
blue-green.
And the excitement of being able
to paint something that was so
unusual appealed to him.
>> I think there's a lot of
Sargent's biography lurking in
these paintings.
Jared: Paul fisher is a
wellesley college American
studies professor and author of
the recent Sargent biography,
"The grand affair."
Far from the gilded age drawing
rooms, he says the painter was
also drawn to the transgressors,
and had the daring to paint
them.
And all at a time, not unlike
today, when society was publicly
wrestling with gender fluidity.
>> Newspapers of the time often
described this as the "Maladie
du siecle," the illness of the
century.
Women were out and about.
Men were seen as more
complicated, maybe more effete.
So there was a lot of anxiety.
And Sargent capitalizes on that.
Jared: He did it boldly in this
portrait of a well-known
Parisian, the gynecologist Dr.
Pozzi.
For its startling intimacy, the
painting was never shown
publicly in Paris in Sargent's
lifetime.
>> He's wearing a blood red
robe.
And he's got cuffs and a collar
that are highly pleated and
somewhat feminine.
So, Sargent is really sporting
with gender here.
Dr. Pozzi was a famous
womanizer, but he had lots of
queer friends in the circles in
Paris.
And Sargent was kind of gripped
by this man's charisma and you
can see it in the portrait.
He has warring instincts.
On the one hand he's a very sort
of shy, quiet, retiring man who
loves his work.
On the other hand, the
provocation is part of his
making a career for himself.
Jared: But provocation doesn't
even begin to describe what
Sargent did in 1884, when this
portrait of the american-born
madame Pierre Gautreau was
exhibited at the prestigious
Paris salon.
She did not commission Sargent.
Rather, he chased her.
>> Everybody in Paris wanted to
make an image of madame
Gautreau.
One other American artist
described her as black as spades
and white as milk, and she sort
of glided across the floor.
Jared: But when the portrait was
unveiled with Gautreau's
revealing gown, one strap
originally painted slipping down
her shoulder, and her skin so
white it looked lavender,
society revolted.
>> One of Sargent's friends
wrote that it was surrounded by
Shoals of jibing women.
And also in the press, they say
that it looks like her dress is
about to fall down.
They say she looks like a
corpse, she's so pale.
Jared: Gautreau was mortified
and Sargent was singed.
He later repainted the strap and
found the experience bruising
enough to leave Paris for
London.
>> Sargent, when he sold it to
the metropolitan museum in 1915,
he said, I think it's one of the
best things I've ever done.
It's interesting, she sort of
retreated from society.
But then some years later, had
another portraitist paint her
portrait.
Also in profile.
Also with one strap down.
Jared: And validating John
singer Sargent as both socially
and fashion forward.
For the "Pbs newshour," I'm
Jared Bowen in Boston.
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