Pristine Interiors, Exotic Exteriors: Paintings by John Singer Sargent

Left: Mrs Henry White, 1883
Right: Madame X, 1884

In an earlier post, I wrote about the contrasting images of the American painter Winslow Homer. I said:

It is hard to imagine that Winslow Homer paints pristine portraits of society women when I see his Northeaster. It is similar with his contemporary John Singer Sargent, about whom I will be posting in my next blog.

Below are the Sargent's interiors, exteriors, and cultivated ladies. His exotica came from numerous places, included from his travels to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

I think that truly artistic painters can tackle any landscape, or any portrait. Their genius lies not just in depicting these views, but also in infusing their own "vision" in the paintings. Sargent and Homer did that.

Left: Spanish Dancer, 1880-1881
Right: Capri Girl, 1878

Capri, 1878

Open Doorway, Morocco, 1879-80

Donkeys in a Desert, 1880

Bedouins, 1904 - 1905

Gourds, 1905-8

Pomegranates, 1908

Frederick Law Olmsted, 1895

Mid-Ocean, Mid-Winter, 1876

A Dinner Table at Night, 1884


Mrs. Cecil Wade, 1886


Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter Rachel, 1903

Mrs. William Crowninshield Endicott, 1901