About this artwork
In this depiction of Frenchwoman Louise Escudier, John Singer Sargent undercut traditional portrait conventions by prioritizing the dramatic effects of light and dark in a Parisian apartment. The picture grew out of a series of atmospheric views of working-class women in darkened interiors that the artist produced on two trips to Venice between 1880 and 1882. Undertaken in Paris shortly thereafter, this painting transforms those techniques in the portrayal of a fashionable sitter, similarly combining the gestural brushwork of the Impressionists with a heightened chiaroscuro (light and shade) drawn from Spanish Baroque artists such as Diego Velázquez. Such works helped to establish Sargent’s reputation in Paris as a daring and original painter.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- John Singer Sargent
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Title
- Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre)
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Place
- United States (Object made in)
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Date
- 1882
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Medium
- Oil on canvas
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Inscriptions
- Signed recto, bottom-right, on ground, in red paint: "John S. Sargent 1882".
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Dimensions
- 129.5 × 91.4 cm (51 × 36 in.)
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Credit Line
- Bequest of Brooks McCormick
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Reference Number
- 2007.391
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/191183/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.