John Singer Sargent: A Change of Direction

"The Earl of Wemyss and March"
by John Singer Sargent

"John Singer Sargent's portrait of Lord Wemyess, 1909, may be regarded as the close of Sargent's official career as a portrait painter. After that he painted only when importunity made it churlish to refuse, or his own decided inclination prompted him to accede. The picture, subscribed for by friends, was painted for Wemyss' ninetieth birthday. Sargent considered it one of the best portraits he had painted, a view which was fully shared by the sitter. Nothing is more remarkable in this picture than the way in which the dreariness of modern dress has been disposed of, and a frock coat and tall hat made to serve the end of art.

The hat, held in the left hand, reflects a subdued accent of light. The lines of the coat barely to be distinguished from the background, lose all rigidity in the obscurity, emphasize the composition and indicate the upright carriage and dignity of the figure. The hands, which supply a half-tone in the lower section of the canvas, are a fine example of the painter's gift for modelling, and illustrate a topic to which he often referred - namely, the effect on the circulation and consequently on the tones of the hands when they are held downwards for more than a few moments.

Although he gave up portrait paint John Singer Sargent went on with his charcoal and pencil heads, and a census of these would produce a startling figure. It has been found impossible to arrive at even an approximate estimate of those he did in London and America. A distinguished diplomatist made a habit, when he found himself at dinner next to the lady he did not know, of saying: 'How do you like your Sargent drawing?' He declared that as a conversational gambit it was successful nine times out of ten. But it is not by these drawings that Sargent will live. They are likenesses and deliberate exercises in skill. It is only in comparatively few that his genius is apparent."

To be continued

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