Booklist
One of the most beloved American painters, Sargent (1856-1925) is lately undergoing critical reevaluation. Fairbrother concentrates on the quality in his work that, more than any other, appeals most powerfully to most viewers. Sargent was, museum official Mimi Gardner Gates says in the foreword, "a reserved person who made exuberant art." Essential to that exuberance is the keen attractiveness of the figures, male and female, clothed and nude, in his work. If they aren't all necessarily sexy, those that could be--robust adults--virtually always are, and few fail to evoke the desire to touch, even to caress, them. Fairbrother presents a ravishing selection of Sargent's paintings and graphic art as he explores the personal sources of the sensuousness of Sargent's work and the techniques he used to achieve it. An album of Sargent's male figure studies, printed on cream-colored stock, fetchingly concludes the book. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
In this beautiful book, Trevor Fairbrother argues that viewing John Singer Sargent as a sensualist connects otherwise conflicting elements of his oeuvre and offers a new interpretation of his life and work. The book is lavishly illustrated with examples of the artist's oils, watercolors, and sketches, and it includes a little-known series of expressive charcoal drawings of male nudes, here published together in color for the first time.Published in association with the Seattle Art Museum
