Thread by @RobertBohan

Thread: John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was a great American painter. He was a dashing portraitist as well as one of the first major artists to explore his sexuality in his art. His technical genius, response to beauty & revolutionary approach are now beginning to be recognised.

Sargent was an outsider; an American abroad. He was further set apart by his sexuality. Described in the euphemism of the time as a ‘lifelong bachelor’, he was in fact gay & fascinated with men. Bartholomy Magagnosco (c1875), Frank O’Meara (c1876), Young Man in Reverie (1876)

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He studied the male form in the approved Academic approach & also as a form of personal meaning. Works for himself, such as these three, explored the idea of his own attraction. Male Model (c1875-7), Male Model (1878) & Portrait of a Sailor (1878)

The male model in these two works appears in a number of his studies & suggests there might be more than just the professional relationship between artist & model. Male Model with Wreath of Laurel (both c1878), Self-Portrait (c1877-80) & Two Nude Figures (c1879-80)

We know that the aristocratic Belleroche was the love of Sargent’s life & a painting of him hung in Sargent’s house until his death. Here he is in four guises. Albert de Belleroche (c1882), Head of a Spanish Musician (c1880-2) & Albert de Belleroche (c1883) & Study (c1882-3)

d’Inverno was an important model for Sargent too & appears to have been his type with his 1970s ‘Frisco macho good looks. Nicola d’Inverno (c1888), Head of a Young Man (c1900) & Figure Study (c1904). The latter is d’Inverno posing for him.

Here we have d’Inverno in a range of poses. These differ from the usual Academic studies of men in being sensual & erotic images of the male form. Italian Model (c1904), Male Model Resting (c1904), Male Model Seated (c1904) & Male Model Standing (c1904)

Sargent was one of the finest watercolourists & he used that genius to depict flesh & mood in a manner that has rarely been surpassed. Man with Red Drapery (c1904), Study of a Male Nude Figure (1904) & Studies of a Male Nude Reclining (c1904)

Here is one of Sargent’s paintings of Gondoliers (about whom he was besotted). Also shown is his fascination with sleepers. Gondolier (1905), Siesta (1905) & Peter Harrison Asleep (c1905)

A century ago being gay could lead to imprisonment & hard labour so Sargent’s work in revealing a hidden gay world is revolutionary. Nicola Reading (c1904-7) is an image of his lover & Bather, Florida (1917) was painted on an estate there owned by a gay couple.

Sleep & Bathers were his excuse for depicting the male form outside the studio. Highlanders Resting at the Front (1918), The Bathers (1917), Man & Pool (1917) & Nude Man Lying on Bed (1917). The latter is an astonishingly modern work.

As a war artist his approach was unprecedented. His depiction of an Arcadian setting with nude young men is in stark contrast to the fact they would soon be likely to be hideously maimed or killed. Thou Shalt Not Steal (1918), Tommies Bathing (1918) & Tommies Bathing (1918)

Thomas McKellar (c1916-24) & Model (nd). The latter three drawings are of d’Inverno (c1904) & show Sargent’s superbly sensuous & powerful nudes. Each work would have taken a couple of hours & were done in a period of great artistic virility.

Self-Portrait (1892) & Studies of Nicola d’Inverno (c1904). With a growing awareness of Sargent’s exploration of his private life his importance has risen - he can no longer be dismissed as just a high society portraitist.

Sargent drew many superb nudes so I’ll share some more examples. Dating of drawings is not as well developed as the paintings.

He appears to have continued to draw academies (as such nudes are called) throughout his life & his style & subtlety of line evolved over time. He had a superb facility to create form & emotion

Sargent’s drawings have a profound authenticity which is why they are so clearly erotic in impact. We are seeing & feeling what the artist saw & felt. The genius of Sargent’s approach is that his images are sensuous yet never tawdry.

Sargent’s greatest delight was beauty - & that included, of course, handsome men. The oil portrait is of Edward Vickers & is lyrical & sensitive. Despite the cruelty of the time the artist painted images of gay life & love & persevered.

With Sargent there will always be an Edwardian summer, sunlit gardens, hidden love & nostalgic beauty in his art.

The Great War would end all that in reality.

Today his images & bravery are finally beginning to be recognised & rightfully so.

Here’s more on the project to make original art more accessible. It’s your chance to own some of my work affordably.

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