“JOHN SINGER SARGENT SELF PORTRAIT”
………………….Chapter #2…………….The paintings at the far left are self portraits of the artist himself…….John Singer Sargent……The portrait of the young man, second in from bottom left is of….Albert de Belleroche….who was many years his junior, and with whom he had a long intermate relationship……It was the painting of MADAME X shown here, that caused a huge scandal when it was first exhibited at one of the largest art shows in Paris. Thousands attended this show, and were shocked at the bare shoulders of a young socialite….Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau….She was the wife of a French banker…This was not a commission. Sargent, thinking she was beautiful and unique, requested to paint her picture. At first she declined, but then said yes….He did many pencil drawings and studies of her before he painted her portrait….At the Met exhibit it said that Sargent often did a second painting of subjects he really liked. Some he sold and some he kept for himself…….Today there is nothing scandalous about this portrait, and it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow….how times have change….Today most scandals seem to be political….not about a bare shoulder…..After this scandal Sargent left France, at age 30, and made his permanent home in England……He spoke four or five languages fluently, and became the portrait artist everyone wanted…..from Kings and Queens to aristocracy…..At the time his commissions were approx. $50,000 which is the equivalent of $150,000.00 today. Sargent traveled all over the world, including the United States, painting portraits of prominent people. If he didn’t like the subject, for whatever reason, he declined the work……He was very controlling, and many times would pick out the clothes they would wear, and the setting…..either in their homes or in his studio where he had a plethora of furniture and backdrops…….Though he kept his personal life very secret, this life long bachelor was known to be a homosexual…..however, he did have known affairs with women.
