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La Carmencita by John Singer Sargent,
oil painting, 1890. |
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I try and shy away from describing art in bombastic terms. It
can become a slippery slope of flowery language with no real takeaways. But
when I'm studying the works of no less than John Singer Sargent, phrases like
tour-de-force and mind-boggling just sort of slip out. I think that's to be
expected considering how deftly and powerfully he turns oil on canvas into art.
One of the primary oil painting techniques Sargent utilized that
I find most intriguing is that every stroke attempts to describe the essences
of an object. The texture of fur, the sheen of silk, the intricate knots in lace,
the pattern of sunlight on water, a rosy-colored cheek—Sargent attempted to
embody all of these in every stroke. He wasn't trying to add a bunch of strokes
together and hopefully get the shimmy and swirl of the fringe on the dancer's
body in La Carmencita, for example.
The paint strokes are shimmies and
swirls.
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Richard Morris Hunt by John
Singer Sargent, oil painting, 1895. |
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Mabel Marquand by John Singer
Sargent, oil painting, c.1891. |
That's not to say that every stroke Sargent put down was
perfect the first time. As a friend reminded me recently, Sargent painted and
scraped and painted and scraped ad nauseam. But he got there!
Sargent also came
from a point of view that form is never flat. Even a marble walkway as in
Richard Morris Hunt or the open air
behind a portrait sitter, is enlivened with color and texture that is visually
interesting but never overpowering.
And Sargent didn't just paint anything. He painted
exceptional moments. That's not to say he scorned the everyday, but he chose
his compositions thoughtfully and well. Even a simple portrait of a woman, a child,
or a group delivers impact because Sargent pushed to articulate something noteworthy
that makes a viewer linger, as in the position of the two figures in the
portrait of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps
Stokes or the hand gesture and askance look in Mabel Marquand.
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Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps
Stokes by John Singer
Sargent, oil painting, 1897. |
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The oil painting lessons that Sargent teaches me—just by
looking at the works—are incredibly rewarding and enriching, but it is also valuable
to have an expert perspective as well. This is where
American Artist comes in. The authors, artists, and experts who
fill the pages of the magazine really make a difference in how I understand the
depth of artistic practice of masters past and present, and the great images
and updates on what is going on in the art world keep my sights steadily on
bettering my skills and savoring the journey. A
subscription to American Artist can do the same for you.
Enjoy!
