John Singer Sargent [Hardcover]

Carter Ratcliff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1990 | ISBN-10: 0896596737 | ISBN-13: 978-0896596733

The name of John Singer Sargent evokes paintings of marvelously gowned Edwardian belles, of brooding aristocrats and princes of industry-insightful portraits executed with dazzling virtuosity. Sargent's enduring popularity has prompted a thoughtful reappraisal by prominent art critic Carter Ratcliff, who shows us the surprising breadth of the artist's work. Never before has a book so thoroughly represented that variety: 110 lavish color plates and more than 200 halftones convey the brillance of his portraits, the exuberance of his watercolors, the stately pomp of his murals. It is perhaps the watercolors that are most exciting to contemporary eyes-bold, spontaneous, and vividly hued, they have a breathtaking immediacy. Born in Florence in 1865 to American parents, Sargent spent a nomadic childhood before going to Paris to study painting. He learned quickly and by the 1880s had begun the steady climb to fame that ultimately placed him at the center of his world, with a circle of friends and rivals that included Henry James, Claude Monet, and James McNeill Whistler. When Sargent died in 1925, a childhood companion wrote in her memorial that "the summing up of a would-be biography must, I think be: He painted."

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a truly lively, tangy biography of an artist, with layouts and reproductions that do the paintings proud." -- Newsday

"Never before have Sargent's talents been so gloriously displayed as they are here. Quite simply, this... is a stunner... -- Christian Science Monitor

"Not just another art history book, no title in recent memory recalls with such exactitude the style of an era... -- The New York Times

"The spontaneity, elegance, and grace that characterize Sargent's work are everywhere evident on these large, luminous pages... A visual delight." -- Art and Antiques --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Carter Ratcliff is a leading art critic and contributing editor of Art in America. Among his many books are Botero, Andy Warhol, Komar and Melamid, and The Fate of a Gesture: Jackson Pollock and Post-War American Art. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts and Hunter College and lectured at a variety of institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He lives in New York City. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Promotional (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896596737
• ISBN-13: 978-0896596733
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 11.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,706,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Each Painting Speaks Volumes, August 5, 2005

By 

J. Sapulich - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Singer Sargent (Hardcover)

John Singer Sargent's work is amazing. Each painting is a master class in tone, edges, color and drawing. This book is my favorite in comparison to the other published collections of his work. This collection not only has color reproductions but also contains several tonal prints (black and white) which clearly demonstrate his technique of using five major tonal values in his painting and having color fall within those tones.

You probably won't learn this in art school bur Mr. Sargent used a 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and a 90% tone in all his work. In fact, if you were to print a strip of those five tones and lay them over the tonal reproductions of his paintings, you will learn so much in regards to lighting and modeling a human form for the highest degree of emotional impact.

In a time when angry political statements pass as art and highlight awful drawing skills and horrible color theory, a true student of art can look upon Mr. Sargent's work and find a pool of fresh water in a dry desert. To know each color choice is based on the actual color and temperature of the light source and has a specific tonal value is something that was once taught in our schools of higher education. This truth has been lost in many circles but Mr. Sargent keeps it alive with every brush stroke.

This book is worth every penny and is a must for an artist's library. Even the text is well done. Compare Sargent to Velazquez and you'll learn even more about dividing color temperatures and tonal values within the context of light and shadow. Art can be beautiful and Mr. Sargent continues to inspire and teach us along the way toward creating works that lift the soul and please the eye.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I don't understand the other reviews...., June 21, 2007

By 

D. Mcgowan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Singer Sargent (Hardcover)

On the outside the book is large and gorgeous with a glossy dust jacket. Open the cover and the the inside color matches Lady Agnew's sash! Turn another page and -inferior quality paper. The colors of the reproductions are dull. TONS of black and white photographs. In some sections, pages and pages of just black and white photographs. By the large size of the book, I thought I would get to see large pictures. Not so, except for Chapter introductions where a close up of a detail might be featured, elsewhere there are sometimes 3-4 tiny pictures squeezed onto the same page. Too small (and some in black and white) to appreciate any of them. I was VERY disappointed and am going to return it. I have three other books on Sargent and the quality is just so much better than this one.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely fine piece of visual reference, February 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: John Singer Sargent (Hardcover)

Most likely the best book about Sargent published to date. The colours are brilliant. The text well constructed. The visual detail is quite thorough. If one's to purchase only one book about Sargent this is the one.