Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre)

1882

John Singer Sargent (American, born Italy, 1856–1925)

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. It combines the Impressionists’ gestural brushwork with a heightened chiaroscuro (light and shade) drawn from Spanish Old Masters such as Diego Velázquez. These compositions helped to establish Sargent’s reputation in Paris as a daring and original painter.

Status: On View, Gallery 273
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: John Singer Sargent
Title: Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre)
Place: United States (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1882
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed, lower right: John S. Sargent 1882
Dimensions: 129.5 × 91.4 cm (51 × 36 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Brooks McCormick
Reference Number: 2007.391
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/191183/manifest.json

Annual Report (Art Institute of Chicago, 2007–2008), 19.
Judith A. Barter et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2011), no. 34.

Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, Twenty-second Annual International Exhibition of Paintings, Apr. 26–June 17, 1923, cat. 60, lent by Mme Paul Escudier.
Art Institute of Chicago, John Singer Sargent and Chicago’s Gilded Age, July 1–Sept. 30, 2018, cat. 13, fig. 66.

The sitter, Louise Lefevre, Paris, 1882; sold through Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh (agent) to Charles Deering (1852–1927), Chicago and Miami, Nov. 1923 [“Carnegie Sells Two Sargents for $60,000,” Art News, Nov. 10, 1923, p. 1]; by descent to his daughter Marion Deering McCormick (1886–1965), Chicago; by descent to her son Brooks McCormick (1917–2006), Chicago; bequest of Brooks McCormick to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.

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.

On View

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

Explore Further

Suggested Terms

See all hours

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Related artworks

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.