Sargent and the "Squiggle"

"Marchesa Laura Spinola Nunez del Castillo"

Oil on Canvas, 1903

John Singer Sargent

I have always admired the paintings of John Singer Sargent, and was recently reminded of several reasons why.  Perhaps the most compelling reason is his artistry with the "squiggly" brushstroke.  As an example, the top photo is a Sargent portrait that I saw this month at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art.  It is a great example of Sargent's bravura brushstrokes that say so much with so little.

I could not express it better than Barbara Babcock Millhouse, in whose private collection this painting now resides.  She talks about Sargent's "masterful rendering of the satins and silks created out of swiftly applied strokes of various tones of silvery gray and white".  In purchasing this portrait, Ms. Millhouse says she was especially drawn to "the masterful way Sargent orchestrated the lower left-hand corner than balanced it with a single shining pearl."  I personally love the collar area--but take a look at the lower left corner (below) that drew Ms. Millhouse's attention.  Wow.

Paint handling like this requires a lot of decision-making and a lot of skill.  It involves coming up with a way to convey reality without "rendering" it in detail.  Therein lays the art.  And Sargent was an undisputed master of this art.  For fellow Sargent fans, note that a special exhibition of his work is scheduled for this spring in New York.  I hope to get there and take it all in in person!

And before we leave this portrait, let's not overlook a lesson in composition.  Sargent made elegant use of diagonals to draw our attention to the sitter's face.  The cane in her hand forms a very strong line up to the face, and the embroidery on her gown forms another.  If you know Sargent, you know that this is no accident!   It emphasizes the point Ms. Millhouse made about balancing the lower left corner with the one shining pearl at above right. Strokes of genius, no question.  (I drew over the painting just to show the visual path of these lines--see below).  Lots to learn from here--thanks for reading!

Bonnard's Dogs

 

"Women with a Dog", P. Bonnard, 1891

Seeing the wonderful Bonnard exhibit this spring, I was struck by the darling dogs in so many of his paintings.  These sweet pups were clearly an important part of the family life that was a leading motif throughout Bonnard's work.  

"Woman with Dog", P. Bonnard, 1922

Sometimes dogs feature prominently in Bonnard's paintings, as in the first two images here.  The top painting, a very early Bonnard, shows the artist's own furry dog "Ravageau".  Don't you just want to cuddle up with him?  Ravageau also appears in the painting below, jumping for joy while out with his mistress.

"Woman in a White Polka Dot Dress", P. Bonnard, 1984

In other paintings, Bonnard's dogs are more peripheral to the overall composition--literally and figuratively.  Sometimes we just catch a pup in profile, at the edge of the canvas.  You might even have to look hard to find him.  But his presence adds a bit of humor or domesticity to the work.

"The French Window with a Dog", P. Bonnard, 1927

These painted pets also play an important compositional role.  They are often placed just so, to direct your eye around  the painting. That is noticeably so in "The French Window with a Dog" immediately above.  See how the dog's head directs our gaze from inside to outside?  A masterful device.  

"The Bathroom", P. Bonnard, 1932

Whether prominent or peripheral, Bonnard's dogs always add warmth to his paintings. They are lively additions--memorably and wonderfully captured. One early critic (Francois-Joachim Beer) even described the "hilarious dogs that [Bonnard] could draw like no one else."  Dog lovers, enjoy!

"Dogs", lithograph on paper, P. Bonnard, 1893