John Singer Sargent: Egypt and Greece

“Egyptians Raising Water from the Nile”
by John Singer Sargent

"In the autumn of 1890 John Singer Sargent and his sister, after a year's absence, returned to Europe, going direct to Marseilles, where they joined Mrs. Sargent and Miss Emily; the whole party proceeding together to Egypt and arriving at Alexandria on Christmas Eve. Thence they went to Cairo, where Sargent hired a studio and painted. After a month at Cairo, Sargent and his family embarked on a steamer and went up the Nile to Luxor and Philae. Sargent himself with an interpreter made an expedition to Fayoum.

His main purpose in Egypt was to familiarize himself with the legend and myth, the history and archaeology, the symbols and religion of the country, and thus furnish himself with the material for the first stage of his Boston decoration. He came away at the end of this visit equipped with all the knowledge his exacting mind could require. The character and significance of the Egyptian gods, their relation to their time, their influence in history, the legends to which they had given origin, and the symbolism by which they were surrounded, had now only to be sifted and sorted in his brain, that they might be adapted for pictorial embodiment. 

Just as Gustave Flaubert had visited Carthage and settled down to master the archaeology necessary for 'Salammbo,' so had Sargent pored over the monuments and lore of Egypt that he might correctly interpret the spirit and significance of the pagan deities. His accuracy has never been questioned.

In April the family crossed over to Athens, whence Sargent set out with an interpreter for Olympia and Delphi. Every morning he was in the saddle at 4 a.m., only ending the day's journey when night again fell. He rode through miles of country carpeted with wild flowers. Long before his return to Athens he had filled up every available corner of canvas and paper that he had taken for oil and watercolour."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "John Sargent" by Evan Charteris.)