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Sargent's Exuberant Artistry |
| Section: THE ARTS / ART |
| Author: Herb Greer |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/1999 |
| Size: 2,268 Words, 14,241 Characters |
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Tom Wolfe pointed out in The Painted Word that today the essence of a painting or other work of art is not what your eyes tell you about it, but what nonvisual (verbal) explanations--provided by critics, the exhibition catalog, or perhaps a wine-lubricated monologue at a private viewing--say about it.
The depressing effect of this cultural twist showed up in some of the press comment on the John Singer Sargent show when it premiered last autumn at London's Tate Gallery. Many British critics felt obliged to point out that Sargent isn't fashionable these days, chiefly because he doesn't fit properly into the prevailing mold of the avant-garde artist and he painted portraits of characters now held in low regard, such as capitalists and members of the genteel upper class. Most of these reviewers then went on to explain, however, that despite these misgivings they could not escape the fact that Sargent was a very fine painter.
Not everyone was so evenhanded, however. Some still towed the fraying ideological line. The London Sunday Times art critic carped at Sargent's brilliant portraiture, sneering: "None of this is modern. It is the handiwork of a talented lickspittle." To underline this, he cited Sargent's contemporary Camille Pissarro, who huffed that he "could not approve" of Sargent's painting because "his vision lacked purpose."
But this splendid exhibition--which com...
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...ood); his vast World War I painting Gassed; and the more conventional aquarelles of Venice, Bedouin, a tramp, and as the saying goes, much, much more--fill out the grand sweep of this exhibition. If artistic chauvinism and pride were in vogue, this show would be a prime occasion for it. Those who care at all for American painting--or for painting at all--will be very unfortunate if they miss it.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
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Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
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