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Lot Essay
In 1916 John Singer Sargent was commissioned to decorate the rotunda of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston--a project that would become the focus of his professional efforts for the rest of his life. To complete the murals of Classic and Romantic Art and Apollo and Daphne Sargent made extensive figural studies. Among his favorite models at the time was Thomas McKeller, the figure in the present work.
In 1895 and again in 1903 Sargent travelled to Boston to oversee the installation of his murals at the Boston Public Library, a commission that he had initially received in 1890. The present drawing relates to the figure of Moloch in the murals.
These two figural drawings exemplify Sargent's virtuoso draftsmanship--they are imaginative, uninhibited, and graphically intense. His affinity for the beauty of line and the male figure finds expression in the works, with their rich modeling and careful observation of light cast over the human form.
In 1895 and again in 1903 Sargent travelled to Boston to oversee the installation of his murals at the Boston Public Library, a commission that he had initially received in 1890. The present drawing relates to the figure of Moloch in the murals.
These two figural drawings exemplify Sargent's virtuoso draftsmanship--they are imaginative, uninhibited, and graphically intense. His affinity for the beauty of line and the male figure finds expression in the works, with their rich modeling and careful observation of light cast over the human form.