Musée No:206.002
Regular price £25.00A Street in Venice
Artist: John Singer Sargent
Date: 1880-82
John Singer Sargent, 1856 - 1925, was an American expatriate artist considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He painted nearly a thousand oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolours, as well as sketches and charcoal drawings. His works show worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.
Sargent's early enthusiasm was for landscapes, as shown by his numerous sketches of mountains, seascapes, and buildings. In 1879 he was a part of Carolus-Duran’s atelier in Paris where he painted a portrait of his teacher to much acclaim. Carolus-Duran's expertise in portraiture finally influenced Sargent in that direction. His best portraits reveal the individuality and personality of the sitters; his most ardent admirers think he is matched in this only by Velázquez.
This is one of a series of around twenty paintings in which Singer Sargent focuses on the little details of 'everyday' Venice instead of the glories of the architecture and canals. Who are these two? Do they know they are being painted? Why are they meeting in this little alleyway between the buildings on such a cold day? This is so similar in style to the candid camera that we are all so used to, but over 100 years before it became popular.
Image courtesy Clark Art Institute. clarkart.edu
