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     As mentioned in the previous blog (Museum Hopping -- July 2025), I recently had the good fortune to attend an exhibit of John Singer Sargent's work. Since I'm always curious what might have caught another artist's eye, I thought I'd write about exactly that -- a few of the things that caught my eye and why I found them to be valuable.

     Being a true homebody, I'm not an easy traveler. Once I get someplace I usually love it but the getting there part doesn't do much for me. Maybe that's why when I do leave home, I want to make the most of it and focus on gathering information I can't get any other way. Through books and websites I can find images of complete paintings to study for composition, etc. that are usually better than any photographs I can take, but especially for works in oil, those images don't always give many clues about the way the paint was applied and the texture of the painting surface. For this reason, when taking photos on my art travels, I tend to concentrate more on details of certain areas and sometimes I purposely try to include some glare that helps to show what the paint surface looks like. Below are closeups of various areas in which I've tried to capture the paint application. At the end of the post I've listed (by number) the name of each painting for anyone interested in searching for the complete images.

 

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#1                                                         #2                                                         #3

Some of the brushes, the blades of grass and the highlight on the front edge of the table were created using a 

dry brush technique. This involves carefully dragging the brush in such a way that the paint skips across the

surface. The way Sargent used this technique allowed him to add softer and less abrupt strokes to the

painting than if the same value and color of paint had been applied in an unbroken manner. 

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#4                                                        #5

More dry brush strokes are noticeable in the lit candles on the birthday cake. In this instance, the vagueness created by the 

broken paint application helps give an illusion of light, yet avoids drawing the viewer's attention away from the figure.

In #5, the reflected light in the pond looks like maybe a combination of scumbling and dry brush, plus a few thicker areas

where the paint might have been applied or flattened out using a painting knife. 

 

#6

  I've included this image because every time I see this painting I'm blown away by the

skillful way Sargent was able to paint this hand and dress on top of some thick and very

obvious strokes of dry paint.Clearly whatever was underneath was quite a bit different

than the strokes he put on top, yet he was able to look past whatever image was on the

canvas and brilliantly restate a new 'effortless' impression of the subject. To tackle

an area that fearlessly, when he already had so much time and effort invested in the painting,

shows a level of trust in one's vision that very few artists ever achieve.

 

#7

Although it may not be easy to see in this relatively small image, this area captured my curiosity

for an entirely different reason. It's a detail of a large group portrait and I was initially drawn

in closer to study the brushstrokes. Once I got up on it though, I couldn't help but notice

about a dozen hairs imbedded in the paint surface within the space of a couple of square feet.

Maybe a dog was in the room or one of his brushes started to implode?

I'd love to know the story on that one!

 

These were a million thoughts going through my head as I wallowed in the energy of such an incredible body of work, but this should give you a glimpse of some of the lessons I was trying to absorb, as well as the surprises I ran across. If I could be there again, no doubt I would notice entirely different things that would spark my interest. Museum hopping is just the best and as much as I love staying home, a part of me can't wait to go again.

 

Image #1 & 2 --- "Paul Helleu Sketching with His Wife"

Image #3 -- "Madame X"

Image #4 --- "The Birthday Party"

Image #5 --- "In The Luxembourg Gardens"

Image #6 --- "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit"

Image #7 --- " The Wyndham Sisters"

 

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