JOHN SINGER SARGENT
Week 1 | 90 mins | Age recommendation: 12+
By David Bickerstaff.
This show is part of our Exhibition on Screen film series.
John Singer Sargent was known as the greatest portrait
artist of the late 19th century. Aside from his immense
talent, what made his portraits truly remarkable was
his choice and depiction of fashion and the complex
messages these choices conveyed. His sitters assume
elegant stances with the fabric of their dress richly
depicted in broad, sensuous strokes.
Sargent brought his subjects to life, but he did much
more than simply record what appeared before him. He
often chose what his sitters wore and, even if they arrived
in his studio dressed in the latest fashions, he frequently
simplified and altered the details. Exploiting dress was an
integral part of his artistry.
Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate
Britain, London, this superb film from Exhibition on Screen
details how the exhibition explores the artist’s complex
relationship with his often-influential clients, their clothes
and their public image.
Alongside 50 paintings by
Sargent, several stunning clothes and accessories worn
by his sitters appear next to the paintings, drawing the
audience into 19th century society and shedding new
light on the relationship between fashion and this beloved
artist’s creative practice.
The exhibition reveals Sargent’s power over his sitters’
images, expressing distinctive personalities, power
dynamics and gender identity during this fascinating
period of cultural reinvention. This film explores the
relationship between artist and subject, examining the
hidden meanings simmering beneath the surface of the
late Victorian portrait.