1856 -1925 · Florence, Paris, London, Boston and travel

Brush virtuosity, worldly presence and watercolor freedom make John Singer Sargent the cosmopolitan portraitist par excellence.

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence in 1856 to expatriate American parents and grew up traveling across Europe. His mother encourages drawing; after training in Florence, he entered Carolus-Duran's Parisian studio in 1874. The master taught him to pose broad values directly, by watching Velázquez, Frans Hals and the great portraitists. Sargent quickly exhibited at the Salon and traveled to Spain, Holland, Venice and North Africa. Madame X, presented in 1884, caused a scandal by posing and traveling to Spain, Holland, Venice and North Africa. Madame X, presented in 1884, caused a scandal by the pose and daring presence of Virginie Gautreau. Then settled in London, he became the most sought-after portraitist of the British and American elites. Daughters of Edward Darley Boit nevertheless transformed the group portrait into a psychological space, while Lady Agnew united apparent spontaneity and precise construction. After 1905, Sargent refused a large part of the commissions, traveled and worked more on watercolor. He also devoted decades to the sets of the Boston Public Library and became a war artist in 1918. Died in London in 1925, he left an immense body of work, much larger than just worldly portraiture. The "John Singer Sargent" selection notably compares Madame X and The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.

Sargent gives the impression of painting in one gesture what he actually observed, moved and took back until the presence becomes immediate.