DOI Heft:
No. 389 (August 1925)
DOI Artikel:Manson, James Bolivar: Notes on the works of J. S. Sargent
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21403#0090
NOTES ON THE WORKS OF J. S. SARGENT
"VENETIAN INTERIOR." BY
JOHN SINGER SARGENT, R.A.
(Diploma Gallery, Royal Academy)
His development was so straightforward
that it would be difficult to divide his work
into distinct periods, as one can do in the
case of Gainsborough and other artists.
No painter, certainly in these days, when
life makes art doubly difficult, had a
better right to say, " I stand on my
attainment "; but he was painting with
undiminished power when the end
came, a 0 0 0 a a
Sargent's work, less almost than any
other painter's, hardly needs praise or
explanation. Its charm, attractiveness and
power require no great measure of per-
ception. He had a great sense of person-
ality, a remarkable grasp of the appearance
of things, and he was a master of presenta-
tion. He knew not only how to place,
with harmony and effect, his subjects
within the limits of his canvas, but knew,
it seemed instinctively, what setting best
revealed the personality of his sitter. 0
relaxations as obviously enjoyed as enjoy-
able. Not that labour ever showed in his
portraits ; the finished product always
looked as though it had blossomed on the
canvas without effort. 000
He turned at times, and latterly with
increasing devotion, to other work, and
his decorations in the Boston Library
occupied much of his later years. a
But it is by his portraits that he is most
widely known. His work forms a remark-
able gallery of notable personalities—all
brilliantly painted, if not all equally
brilliant—and all different. 0 0
That in itself, with such a record of
work done, seems almost miraculous. 0
All are on a high level, for he never
desecrated the deed in the doing. 0
That he fell short, at times, of his best
is less remarkable than that the quality
should have been, almost uniformly, so
high, and that he kept it up for so long.
"VENETIAN INTERIOR." BY
JOHN SINGER SARGENT, R.A.
(Diploma Gallery, Royal Academy)
His development was so straightforward
that it would be difficult to divide his work
into distinct periods, as one can do in the
case of Gainsborough and other artists.
No painter, certainly in these days, when
life makes art doubly difficult, had a
better right to say, " I stand on my
attainment "; but he was painting with
undiminished power when the end
came, a 0 0 0 a a
Sargent's work, less almost than any
other painter's, hardly needs praise or
explanation. Its charm, attractiveness and
power require no great measure of per-
ception. He had a great sense of person-
ality, a remarkable grasp of the appearance
of things, and he was a master of presenta-
tion. He knew not only how to place,
with harmony and effect, his subjects
within the limits of his canvas, but knew,
it seemed instinctively, what setting best
revealed the personality of his sitter. 0
relaxations as obviously enjoyed as enjoy-
able. Not that labour ever showed in his
portraits ; the finished product always
looked as though it had blossomed on the
canvas without effort. 000
He turned at times, and latterly with
increasing devotion, to other work, and
his decorations in the Boston Library
occupied much of his later years. a
But it is by his portraits that he is most
widely known. His work forms a remark-
able gallery of notable personalities—all
brilliantly painted, if not all equally
brilliant—and all different. 0 0
That in itself, with such a record of
work done, seems almost miraculous. 0
All are on a high level, for he never
desecrated the deed in the doing. 0
That he fell short, at times, of his best
is less remarkable than that the quality
should have been, almost uniformly, so
high, and that he kept it up for so long.