John Singer Sargent
American, 1856-1925 (active England, France, Italy)

Perseus at Night , 1907 ca.
oil on canvas
50 3/4 x 36 3/8 in.

SBMA, Gift of Mrs. Sterling Morton to the Preston Morton Collection
1960.80



John Singer Sargent, Self Portrait, 1907, Oil on canvas, Uffizi Gallery, Florence. This self-portrait is of the same time period and palette as Perseus at Night.

“I hate to paint portraits! I hope never to paint another portrait in my life. Portraiture may be all right for a man in his youth, but after forty I believe that manual dexterity deserts one, and, besides, the color-sense is less acute. Youth can better stand the exactions of a personal kind that are inseparable from portraiture. I have had enough of it.”

- John Singer Sargent

RESEARCH PAPER

THE ARTIST

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy, on January 12, 1856. The son of American parents and known and referred to as an American his entire life, he nevertheless spent the majority of his life on European soil, primarily in Italy, France and England. The son of a doctor and a hypochondriacal mother who was an amateur artist in her own right, Sargent was well-educated in the arts and culture and was equally fluent in French, Italian, German and English. Sargent had a natural born gift for art that was honed at an early age as he spent a lot of time as a child simply sketching - perhaps as a way to pass the time with his sisters while the family traveled extensively, maintaining their nomadic existence for supposed health reasons. One of the greatest gifts of Sargent's childhood was undoubtedly his mother's insistence that Sargent complete at least one of his numerous sketches per day. Assuredly this led to his strong work ethic - invaluable for the per-eminent artist of the day who churned out over 900 oil paintings, more than 2,000 watercolors as well as countless charcoal sketch-portraits and endless pencil drawings between 1877 and his death in 1925.

Sargent first began his formal study of art in Florence and at the age of 18, he moved to Paris not only to study under the illustrious Carolus-Duran but also at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was during this time that Sargent perfected his technique of working in a broad, painterly style influenced by the techniques of the Venetian old masters and Velasquez. Sargent has become known as one of the last great generalists in art - not only was he a Classical Portraitist, Landscape Artist, Impressionist and Water Colorist, he also created Murals of public art and even started sculpting during the last years of his life. At the age of 21, Sargent had his first painting accepted at the Paris Salon and it was a gratifying success. He continued painting and traveling for the next few years with his portraits and landscapes continuing to be well received at subsequent exhibitions and in 1883, at age 27, he was able to open his own studio in Paris. It was also during this year that he began the painting that was to change the direction of his art and be talked about for years to come -his full-length portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau "Madame X".

While appearing rather tame to us today, in 1884 the portrait of a society lady posing with the strap of her low-cut evening gown falling down her arm was considered to be provocative eroticism. So icy and voluble were the remarks concerning the portrait that Sargent virtually fled Paris for London where, fortunately, he had several portrait commissions waiting. While in London, Sargent became a great friend of the novelist Henry James who introduced him to English society - thus ensuring numerous commissions as a portrait artist - and in 1886 Sargent moved his studio permanently to London.

The Madame X painting continued to haunt Sargent's career - he was considered quite avant-garde - thus leaving him with time between portrait commissions, time that he used to experiment with Impressionism and his childhood love - landscape painting. Beginning in the 1880's, he was influenced by Impressionism, experimenting with light, color, and daring choices of compositions. It was also during this time that Sargent first traveled to the United States and it was here that he began to enjoy his first solid success as a portrait painter. By the 1890's Sargent was recognized as the preferred portraitist of the international elite and spent his time virtually churning out portraits both in America and London where 'he became the darling of the British establishment, made inroads into the English aristocracy and counted the nobility among his patrons'.

As Sargent grew older, his style underwent yet another change - from commissioned portraits to more landscapes, architecture and studies of statues and the human form. He actually spent the last half of his life working on murals commissioned by both the Museum of Fine Arts and the Public Library in Boston. It was as the last of these were being shipped from London and before he left to oversee their installation in Boston that he died on April 14, 1925 at the age of 69.

THE ART

The story of Perseus as the slayer of Medusa has captured the imaginations of artists and writers throughout the centuries and one of the most famous depictions of Perseus - immediately after the beheading while still holding the head of Medusa - is the bronze sculpture completed in 1554 by Benvenuto Cellini. Commissioned by Cosimo de Medici, the duke of Florence, it still stands today in its original location in the Loggia dei Lanzi outside the Palazzo Vecchio. For an artist to choose to paint another work of art is highly unusual and it is worthy to remember that Sargent was technically a Florentine having been born and essentially raised in that city and its environs. Also, this particular painting was highly personal to Sargent as it was a non-commissioned piece. He simply loved the statue that is the pride of Florence and he produced many sketches of Cellini's Perseus at Night from a variety of angles before settling on the daring and rather modern choice of painting the only oil artwork he did of the statue in profile, from below and as lit by night showing the influence that not only Impressionism left upon him but also that of Japanese woodblock prints.

Looking at the painting with its suggestion of stars glowing against an inky black night sky, I am struck not only by the boldness of the brushstrokes utilized by Sargent but also by his sparing use of color. Knowing that Cellini was a jeweler as well as a sculptor only adds to my sense of awe at Sargent's talent in "suggesting" the winged sandals Perseus is wearing; the cloak of darkness pooled around those sandaled feet; and a hint of the incredible detail that the plinth displays - the suggestion of these details in his patchy, sketchy, painterly manner equates him with the talent of Velazquez and Manet. The colors chosen accentuate the essential blackness of the night sky and the light reflecting off the dark bronze of the sculpture without lightening the fact that Perseus is standing thrusting the just-severed head of the Gorgon Medusa triumphantly forward at the completion of the nigh-impossible task he was assigned.

The painting was originally exhibited in London in 1910, titled 'A Florentine Nocturne' - a title which not only contains a musical reference (a nocturne being pensive & lyrical) but also one which harkens to James McNeill Whistler's Nocturne Series. The painting was sold at that exhibition for 3,000 Pounds Sterling to the wife of Charles Hunter - a close friend of Sargent's as well as a client. At some point, the painting was renamed 'Perseus at Night' and sold for the only other time in 1928 to the wife of Sterling Morton who generously donated it to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1960.

The myth is as follows:
Perseus was the son of Zeus by Danae who was a direct descendent of the God Io. He grew up in Ancient Greece on the island of Seriphos and as a young man in his prime he was challenged one day by the ruler of the island, Polydectes, to retrieve the head of one of the Gorgons - the one that could turn people into stone simply by having them look at her - Medusa. Perseus, being very brave, agreed to kill the Medusa and the night before he left to find her, he prayed to the gods for help. Two gods did appear to him: Hermes, the messenger god, who gave Perseus his winged sandals so he could fly like Medusa, and Athena, cleverest of all goddesses, who gave Perseus her shiny metal shield and a sack along with a warning never to look directly at Medusa but only indirectly at her reflection in the shield. Perseus did slay the Medusa and as thanks to Athena for her help, he presented the severed head to her, which to this day she wears on the front of her aegis, or collar. The exact point in time of the myth that Cellini captured in his sculpture is when Perseus makes his triumphant return to the palace of King Polydectes carrying the severed head of the Medusa in a sack given to him by Athena. In front of Polydectes and all of his evil friends, Perseus closes his eyes, reaches into the sack and brings out the head of Medusa, lifting it high for all to see. The court became silent and when Perseus put the head back into the sack and opened his eyes, he saw that all had turned to stone - even the King.

Cellini's 16th century sculpture of Perseus is a technical and artistic marvel that showcases Cellini's dual talents of sculptor and jeweler. Fortunately for us the bronze is still fully intact today in its original location beside the Palazzo Vecchio and the incredibly delicate details such as the veins left protruding from Medusa's head and neck are still intact as are the almost jewel-like details of the pedestal upon which Perseus stands.

Even though John Singer Sargent has become known as the pre-eminent portraitist of his time, he wished to be known as much more than that - it is through his personal paintings of daring and experimental subjects such as Perseus at Night that the incredible range of Sargent's talent is showcased. In choosing Cellini's sculpture for his subject he not only acknowledges his admiration and debt to the Old Masters and their incredible achievements but he also calls attention to his own modernity and mastery of the medium.

Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Tracey Miller, 2007

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Santa Barbara Museum of Art Library and Santa Barbara Public Library

• Olson, Stanley. John Singer Sargent, His Portrait . St. Martin's Press, NY, 1986

• Fairbrother, Trevor. John Singer Sargent . Harry N. Abrams, Inc., NY, 1994

• Hoopes, Donelson F. Sargent Watercolors . Watson-Guptill Publications, 1970

• Ratcliff, Carter. John Singer Sargent . Cross River Press, Ltd., 1982

• Robertson, Bruce. Sargent & Italy . LACMA, Princeton University Press, 2003

• Robertson, Bruce. Sargent e L'Italia . Exhibition Catalog Ferrara, 2003

(More on file in the SBMA docent office)



Photo of Cellini statue, in its original location in the Loggia dei Lanzi outside the Palazzo Vecchio. ©Copyright 2012 by Christopher Gruver-All Rights Reserved No reproduction of any kind allowed without express written permission

SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS

The son of expatriates, Sargent lived and worked abroad for most of his career. His fluency in Renaissance and Baroque art as well as that of his contemporaries made him a master of portraiture, enabling him to adroitly match style and sitter. In Florence, the city of his birth, Sargent devoted several drawings and sketches to the depiction of Benvenuto Cellini’s sculpture Perseus Beheading Medusa in the Loggia dei Lanzi. Dramatically lit from below against a backdrop of the strong vertical of a Corinthian column and the vaulted ceilings of the Uffizi colonnades, Perseus stands triumphant, holding aloft the severed head of Medusa against a night sky sprinkled with stars. Originally exhibited as A Florentine Nocturne, the painting transforms a familiar tourist attraction into an atmospheric chimera of terror and awe.

- Ridley-Tree Reopening, 2021