Day 299 - Gilded Age Portraits

 May 21, 2022

Gallery 771 is devoted to portraiture during the Gilded Age. The artists on display depicted their subjects in various ways. One common element, the signage notes, is the influence of Velazquez, evident in the shallow,  monochrome backgrounds from which figures emerge in silhouette.  I wonder to what extent the Spanish painter's influence was transmitted through Manet, who revered Velazquez and whom at least some of the Americans met when studying in Paris.

Three paintings especially impress me. John Singer Sargent's "The Wyndham Sisters: Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adeane, and Mrs. Tennant," executed in 1899, is truly portraiture in the grand style, and on the grand  scale, too - perhaps 12 feet high and 9 feet wide. The figures occupy only the bottom part of the canvas. Two of the sisters sit side by side on a divan. The third stands behind, her body turned away in three-quarter view, the better to show off her long, elegant nose and Sargent's adeptness in painting the tiered ruffles of her shawl.   Broad brushstrokes capture the sheen of the trio's sumptuous satin skirts, which contrast with the sheer fabric of their bodices. The women's jewelry is spare but expensive-looking. Enormous white roses (or maybe gardenias?) fill the right border of the picture.  The painting certainly exemplifies conspicuous consumption - but it is quite beautiful.

A second Sargent portrait is much smaller in format, but by no means small (perhaps 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide).  This 1897 work is ostensibly a double portrait of  Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes, but Mr. Stokes is a notably minor and somewhat shadowy figure,  almost disappearing into the background.  (The caption explains that the original intent was to portray Mrs. Stokes with her Great Dane at her side, but when the dog became unavailable, Mr. Stokes decided that he himself should replace the animal.)  Mrs. Stokes wears a sporty outfit rather than a gown, and Sargent captures her fresh, attractive, and  well-heeled appearance; her rosy complexion stands out against her black and white clothing and the misty gray background.   Many of the strokes are broad, but Sargent clearly could paint detail when it counted: the crisp, fine pleating of her shirt shows his skill as a painter - and the careful attention of Mrs. Stokes' laundress. 

Sargent, it seems to me, was more interested in depicting the external appearance of his subjects than in portraying their psychological state.  In contrast, Thomas Eakins' 1900 portrait of his brother-in-law, entitled "The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton," seems to me to epitomize introspection -- and dejection. The subject, which occupies almost the entire 7' X 5' canvas, is clad  in a three-piece black suit that makes him stand out against the tan background. Kenton's head is bowed, his hands thrust into his pockets. his lips closed, his complexion pale. It's a somber image, and an unforgettable one.