JOHN SINGER SARGENT was born in Florence, the son of American parents. His father, Fitzwilliam, was by that stage a non-practising medic and his mother, Mary, manipulated her health to keep the family on the move, seeking sun in the winter and the cool of the mountains in the summer. John was one of six children, three of whom died young, leaving him with two sisters, Emily and Violet. The family drifted, travelling, as they said, for health, not pleasure, renting accommodation according to the season in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France, but favouring Nice for the winter. As a result of this peripatetic life, the children had little formal education, but were fluent in French, German and Italian, as well as English.
In May 1874, Sargent enrolled as a student in the Paris studio of Carolus-Duran, a latter-day disciple of Velázquez. He exhibited his portrait at the Paris Salon in 1882, together with El Jaleo, which, with another scene of Spanish dancers, had been inspired by an 1879 visit to Spain.
Sargent was 20 when he first visited America with his parents to see the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ambitious for success, he devoted himself to a taxing regime of work, planning a twofold campaign aimed at the markets for portraiture and subject paintings. He balanced his works at the Salon between genre scenes—such as El Jaleo and Oyster Gatherers, Cancale—and grand interiors and portraits, exhibiting The
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Denne historien er fra February 14, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
