We
continue our look at several pictures in the current exhibition at The Frick Collection, showcasing 10
masterworks from the Scottish National
Gallery, with the picture in the show I loved most, Lady Agnew Of Lochnaw, painted in 1892 by your correspondent’s
favorite painter, John Singer Sargent
(1856-1925).
Sargent
was one of the greatest, and most prolific, of fin de siècle artists. A
gifted portraitist, Sargent was also painter of many magnificent landscapes, a
champion draughtsman and watercolorist, and he also painted the mighty frescoes
found in the Boston Public Library
and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Contemporary
art historians and critics – largely a benighted lot – are troubled by Sargent
and his achievement. His talent is too prodigious
to dismiss, but he does not comfortably fit with either within the Academic
establishment or inside the Impressionist movement, both of which were dominant
at that time. What Sargent was, in
short, was his own thing, an artist unique to himself who managed also to
wonderfully illustrate his own time.
John
Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy, to American expatriate
parents. He would study in Florence and
Paris, and live in London and Boston. He
was one of most celebrated artists of his time, famous for his “society portraits.” Near the end of his life, he visited the
battlefields in World War I France as an official British War artist. His frescoes for the Boston Public Library
occupied his later years; they are both magnificent and completely unlike his
other work.
The
painting visiting the Frick is a portrait of Lady Gertrude Agnew, the wife of Sir Andrew Agnew, 9th Baronet. She was born in 1865, and was all of 27 when
Sargent immortalized her. There is some
irony in the portrait hanging in the Frick: in 1922, when the family hit
financial troubles, they tried to sell the work to Helen Clay Frick in
1922. Foolish woman – she turned it
down. Lady Agnew herself would die in
1932, following a long illness.
This
is, by any critical and aesthetic yardstick, a magnificent picture. It is easily the most striking piece in the exhibition
– and is strategically placed in the center wall facing the viewer upon
entering. (The magnificent Constable,
covered in these pages last week, is lost instantly – such is the power of the
Sargent.)
Among
the many component parts of Sargent’s genius was a deep and abiding
understanding of the color blue. It is
the dominant color in his work, and he uses it to great effect both alone and
in combination and contrast to other colors.
His use of blue here is nothing short of splendid, morphing through
different shadings, contrasts with white, gold and pale red, and setting the
mood of elegant repose. The notion of Sargent
the colorist is essential to understanding his sense of composition and how he
saw the world around him.
Typical
of the time, there is an Asian influence, consistent with the then-current
Aesthetic Movement of things Japanese and Chinese. This underscores that Lady Agnew is not only
a lady of taste and refinement, but up-to-date with current modes of aesthetic expression.
Let
us look also at some of the things perhaps not blatant at first glance: note, for example, how Sargent suggests the
flesh of her left arm under the gauzy material of her dress. Look at how the pattern on the chair is beautifully
rendered without being stuffy or academic; much is suggested, but all that is
necessary is said.
The
pose is quite special. Notice how her
body is twisted to face one way, while the chair is adjusted to face the other –
both creating the tension of a V. (The
power of this pose is underscored by how Lady Agnew clutches the base of her chair.)
And in the center of that V, Lady Agnew looks straight out at the viewer
with a gaze frank, strong and enigmatic.
Last week we were looking at the portrait of Allan Ramsay’s wife; both
Ramsay and Sargent are able to write volumes with the expressions of their
subjects. Where Ramsay relates a placid
and affectionate beauty, Sargent paints a woman elegant, commanding and
hypnotic. She is fully aware of her
status in life, her own intellectual and artistic attainments, and her own
power as a woman.
Finally,
Lady Agnew holds a blossom in her lap, the white of the petals offset by her
lilac sash. Though literally draped in
beauty, Sargent paints a figure of power and presence – a formidable woman
indeed, and a perfect centerpiece to this splendid show.
Tomorrow: A special
Thanksgiving message!
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