拍品专文
Executed in 1892, when Sargent became the preeminent society portrait painter, his Portrait of Skene Keith is a perfect example of the work that brought him unparalleled public acclaim beginning in the early 1890s until the end of his career.
By 1892 Sargent had been alternately enjoying critical success and suffering from negative reviews of his work since the 1870s. In Paris, as a student of Carolus-Duran, he compared favorably to his peers. Indeed, "he was older than his years, he was better educated, he was more worldly, he was confident, and he had the high patina of sophistication. His fellow students were dazzled by him, and baffled... He was forbiddingly superior, yet modest; at best he was a perplexing enigma. No definition could help observers to negotiate his character." (S. Olson, "On the Question of Sargent's Nationality" in John Singer Sargent, New York, 1987, p. 17) After Carolus-Duran's first review of Sargent's work, the stern master is reported to have concluded that the young man "showed 'promise above the ordinary.'" (C. Ratcliff, John Singer Sargent, New York, 1982, p. 37) Only four years after his first formal instruction, Sargent's The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale (The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) won an honourable mention at the Paris Salon of 1878. In 1881 he won a second-class medal at the Paris Salon for Madame Subercaseaux (Private collection, Santiago, Chile). The following year, his El Jaleo (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts) and Lady with a Rose (Charlotte Louise Burkhardt) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) attracted favorable attention from reviewers.
Sargent's brief trip to the United States in 1887 proved to be a fruitful one, which helped restore his career following the aftermath of the scandalous Madame X. He used his time in the States to experiment by painting diverse portraits, which honed his skills and allowed him to work without the anxiety of constant critical reviews by established European institutions. By the time he embarked for London, "he had developed a new and successful style of portrait, one that retained the freshness and mood of elegant informality of his most inventive early work but was tempered by a less 'eccentric' look." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits" in John Singer Sargent, New York, 1987, p. 158)
By 1892, the year Sargent painted Skene Keith, his career was well established and was soon to be secured forever by Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (begun in 1892) (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland) which was greeted with overwhelming critical success. As a consequence, Sargent's career soared and prompted the invention of what one critic called "Sargentolatry." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits," p. 162)
Skene Keith is distinguished not only as a work conceived at the height of Sargent's powers as a portrait painter, but as a particularly successful portrait of a child. Unlike their adult counterparts, Sargent's portraits of children were accepted by the general public without reservation. In 1895, a critic found Sargent's Portrait of Beatrice Goelet (Private collection) a "veritable gem and a delicious piece of technical work." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits," p. 148)
Other reactions to his child portraits were similarly positive. His Cecil Harrison (circa 1888) (Southampton Art Gallery, Southampton, England), a portrait of a nine year old boy, was considered "one of the fine portraits of the year." (J. Lomax and R. Ormond, John Singer Sargent and the Edwardian Age, London, 1979, p. 45) Even The Daughters of Edward D. Boit (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts), with its mysterious mood and unconventional setting was praised for its "naturalness of composition and the loveliness of the complete effect." (J. Lomax and R. Ormond, John Singer Sargent, p. 29)
Indeed Skene Keith is distinguished as it is in the company of Sargent's best received works and was painted when the artist was at the height of his career as a portrait painter
This painting will be included in the forthcoming John Singer Sargent catalogue raisonné by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, in collaboration with Warren Adelson and Elizabeth Oustinoff.
By 1892 Sargent had been alternately enjoying critical success and suffering from negative reviews of his work since the 1870s. In Paris, as a student of Carolus-Duran, he compared favorably to his peers. Indeed, "he was older than his years, he was better educated, he was more worldly, he was confident, and he had the high patina of sophistication. His fellow students were dazzled by him, and baffled... He was forbiddingly superior, yet modest; at best he was a perplexing enigma. No definition could help observers to negotiate his character." (S. Olson, "On the Question of Sargent's Nationality" in John Singer Sargent, New York, 1987, p. 17) After Carolus-Duran's first review of Sargent's work, the stern master is reported to have concluded that the young man "showed 'promise above the ordinary.'" (C. Ratcliff, John Singer Sargent, New York, 1982, p. 37) Only four years after his first formal instruction, Sargent's The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale (The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) won an honourable mention at the Paris Salon of 1878. In 1881 he won a second-class medal at the Paris Salon for Madame Subercaseaux (Private collection, Santiago, Chile). The following year, his El Jaleo (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts) and Lady with a Rose (Charlotte Louise Burkhardt) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) attracted favorable attention from reviewers.
Sargent's brief trip to the United States in 1887 proved to be a fruitful one, which helped restore his career following the aftermath of the scandalous Madame X. He used his time in the States to experiment by painting diverse portraits, which honed his skills and allowed him to work without the anxiety of constant critical reviews by established European institutions. By the time he embarked for London, "he had developed a new and successful style of portrait, one that retained the freshness and mood of elegant informality of his most inventive early work but was tempered by a less 'eccentric' look." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits" in John Singer Sargent, New York, 1987, p. 158)
By 1892, the year Sargent painted Skene Keith, his career was well established and was soon to be secured forever by Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (begun in 1892) (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland) which was greeted with overwhelming critical success. As a consequence, Sargent's career soared and prompted the invention of what one critic called "Sargentolatry." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits," p. 162)
Skene Keith is distinguished not only as a work conceived at the height of Sargent's powers as a portrait painter, but as a particularly successful portrait of a child. Unlike their adult counterparts, Sargent's portraits of children were accepted by the general public without reservation. In 1895, a critic found Sargent's Portrait of Beatrice Goelet (Private collection) a "veritable gem and a delicious piece of technical work." (G.A. Reynolds, "Sargent's Late Portraits," p. 148)
Other reactions to his child portraits were similarly positive. His Cecil Harrison (circa 1888) (Southampton Art Gallery, Southampton, England), a portrait of a nine year old boy, was considered "one of the fine portraits of the year." (J. Lomax and R. Ormond, John Singer Sargent and the Edwardian Age, London, 1979, p. 45) Even The Daughters of Edward D. Boit (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts), with its mysterious mood and unconventional setting was praised for its "naturalness of composition and the loveliness of the complete effect." (J. Lomax and R. Ormond, John Singer Sargent, p. 29)
Indeed Skene Keith is distinguished as it is in the company of Sargent's best received works and was painted when the artist was at the height of his career as a portrait painter
This painting will be included in the forthcoming John Singer Sargent catalogue raisonné by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, in collaboration with Warren Adelson and Elizabeth Oustinoff.