Sargent : le beau monde et son revers

An American painter trained in France, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) made a name for himself during the Belle Époque for his talents as a society portraitist, both in Europe and the United States. However, his work is far from being limited to these ceremonial portraits.

This book, the first monograph in French on this cosmopolitan painter, explores the complexity and richness of his art. It offers a new perspective on the artist, or rather a dual perspective, contrasting the Sargent of high society with the other side of the coin, which he also reflected in lesser-known paintings. Each chapter reveals an aspect of his career, reviewing his most famous portraits, his most intimate paintings, his taste for the arts, travel and plein air experimentation, ending with his murals in Boston and his paintings of the Great War. This journey is punctuated by diptychs contrasting Sargent's fascination with the opulence of high society and his unexpected forays into the daily lives of anonymous people, whom he equally sublimated.