John Singer Sargent: From Portraits to Landscapes with Hattie Bennett
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Born in Florence in 1856 John Singer Sargent is most recognized as the portrait painter of the "Gilded Age" and those ravishing portraits of members of high society whom he flattered and immortalized in paint. Sargent worked around the world: from Paris to the US and England, however, at the height of his popularity, he ceased painting portraits and focused on his main interest: light, and landscape.
In this conversation, we will study the life and work of this talented Italian born American Impressionist painter. We’ll begin by tracing his early years and the beginning of his career from his training to his early success in Paris. We will discuss his relationship with the Impressionists and his trips to North Africa, Spain, and the US. We’ll talk about the famous scandal of Madame X that halted his career in France but re-started slowly in England until it flourished in the 1890s. We’ll spend some time on his landscape paintings which are some of his most beautiful images but are little known among the wider public. We’ll also learn about his appointment as a war artist during World War I and how Sargent combined his figurative drawing within an unforgettable powerful and atmospheric narrative.
Led by an expert on Art History, Hattie Bennett, this interactive seminar will trace the career and life of John Singer Sargent. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased knowledge of Sargent's paintings, personality, and life, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of his array of works.
Hattie has a degree in History of Art and an MA in Historic Interiors, she has a life-long passion and fascination in Fine and Decorative Arts, particularly works produced in Europe from the 16th to 18th century. After working for the Royal Collection in the Print Room at Windsor Castle, she was a curator for a private collector of 17th and 18th-century prints and drawings. Hattie has worked for London's foremost framer of important old master paintings during which time she sharpened her appreciation and understanding of the decorative arts and the changing tastes of collecting. Recently she has been dealing in prints and works of art as well as taking groups of all ages to museums and galleries.
This course is not suitable for children under age 16
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
Hattie had so much information on every slide to show us context, references to other art, comparisons and so on. It was a fascinating look at John Singer Sargent in his time.
Hattie's seminar on Sargent was both intensely detailed and eminently fun! All her talks draw on her vast love of her subjects, and what she covers ranges from the professionalizes viewpoint, to the fun "inside" quirks of her subjects. She is truly one of your very best speakers.l