One of the most celebrated painters of his day, John Singer Sargent defines for many the style, optimism and opulence of turn-of-the-century America. Among his renowned portraits, "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" stands alongside "Madame X" and "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw" as one of Sargent's immortal images. This painting depicts four young sisters in the spacious foyer of the family's Paris apartment, strangely dispersed across the murky tones and depths of the square canvas, as though unrelated to one another, unsettled and unsettling to the eye. "The Daughters" both affirms and defies convention, flouting the boundaries between portrait and genre scene, formal composition and quick sketch or snapshot. Unveiled at the Paris Salon of 1883, it predated by just two years the scandal of "Madame X" and was itself characterized by one critic as "four corners and a void"; but Henry James came closer to the mark when he described the painter as a "knock-down insolence of talent," for few of Sargent's works embody the epithet as well as "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit." Drawing on numerous unpublished archival documents, scholar Erica E. Hirshler excavates all facets of this iconic canvas, discussing not only its significance as a work of art but also the figures and events involved in its making, its importance for Sargent's career, its place in the tradition of artistic patronage and the myriad factors that have contributed to its lasting popularity and relevance. The result is an aesthetic, philosophical and personal tour de force that will change the way you look at Sargent's work, and that both illuminates an iconic painting and reaffirms its pungent magnetism.
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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illuminating Insights to a Haunting Portrait,
By Mary Burns (California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting (Hardcover)
"Sargent's Daughters" is in itself a fascinating, finely drawn portrait of one of John Singer Sargent's most memorable and haunting paintings: Portraits d'Enfants, more commonly known as The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. Ms. Hirshler's cogent "biography of a painting" is not only well-written, but includes numerous illustrations of the portraits and landscape paintings relevant to the history of the Boit family and their relationship to Sargent.
Anyone who has seen this painting has undoubtedly been affected by the almost sinister dark shadows which nearly engulf two of the four girls, and the odd, off-balance placement of the figures in a somewhat bare, large room, the foyer of the Boits' home in Paris in the late 1880's. Ms. Hirshler presents the sometimes sad and strange history of the Boit family, American ex-pats who spent most of their lives in Europe (like Sargent and many others) but always called Boston "home". It is a history that reads like a Henry James novel - indeed, James was a close friend of both the Boits and Sargent - and Hirshler provides us with the fascinating background of the times, the changing state of art, and the intimate details of the lives of four little girls whose images were captured in oils by one of the most acclaimed painters in Paris at the time. There has been a strong and growing revival of interest in Sargent for the last 10-15 years, with several major exhibitions mounted throughout the U.S., and also some splendid art books delineating various stages of his career, to many of which Ms. Hirshler has contributed essays on Sargent's art. Ms. Hirshler has given us a deeply insightful look into one of the finest paintings of the late 19th century, by a painter who was considered the very greatest American painter at the height of his career - it's well past time for Sargent's light to shine again, and Ms. Hirshler has presented us with an interesting and accessible book that will help that process. FYI, the "Daughters" painting is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, along with other Sargent paintings, watercolors and sketches. Mary F. Burns, author
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating,
This review is from: Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting (Hardcover)
A catch was left in my throat as I read Erica Hirshler's description of Sargent's "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit". Ah yes, I thought, if I sought to word-picture this painting, these are the perfect words I would hope to find.
Clearly, Ms. Hirshler's book was not going to be dryspeak that only a scholar could love. Although this book will satisfy scholars, it is also for people like me who have peripheral knowledge of art, at best, but are often captivated by a particular painting. Ms. Hirshler highlights cultural, social, and artistic lives of both expatriate painters and upper middle class Americans during the 19th and early 20th centuries along with the history of accolades and prejudices that art critics and viewers have brought to Sargent's painting. Like scrims being lifted, "Sargent's Daughters:A Biography of a Painting", enlightens us but, as on a ballet stage, scrims remain, keeping intact a sense of mystery along with the beauty of this great painting.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Daughters,
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This review is from: Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting (Hardcover)
A good analysis and history of one important, haunting painting of four sisters. Erica E. Hirshler presents the reader with straightforward information of the subject family (the Boits), the painter (Sargent), and the artistic times surrounding "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (when painted in 1882 down to the present).
Given the prominence and wealth of the family and the long lives led by most of the children, it is startling how little direct source material is available on the four sisters. Readers interested in a similar "biography" of another notable painting by John Singer Sargent may wish to read "Strapless" by Deborah Davis (2003).
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