About the Portrait

Before he was one of the most in demand fashionable portrait painters, John Singer Sargent was an aspiring artist, born in Florence in 1856, from a modest, American family. At age 18, the family moved to Paris so Sargent could study at the atelier of Carolus-Duran, where he was studied masters of art – Diego Velázquez in particular. “The emphasis was on capturing the flow of light on surface, seeking inflections and what was shimmering and in flux rather than solid mass or carefully delineated tonal structure,” writes Colm Tóibín of The Telegraph, in his article “The Secret Life of John Singer Sargent.” Tóibín also notes:

“In 1878, Sargent began to exhibit at the Salon in Paris. He developed a way of making his subjects seem both close and distant. His way of painting a face appeared to capture a vivid sense of life while also managing to depict a fine detachment. His use of costume and pose was highly theatrical.”

Navigating the dynamics not only of Paris, but the well-established Salon, which held its first exhibition in 1667, Sargent was learning how to capture portrait sitters while also developing his own personal style. Many of Sargent’s most celebrated portraits captured members of high society whose world was rapidly shifting, but early on he was also painting his friends. His portraits often have a sense of theatricality to them, along with a masterly depiction of light and fabric, as can be seen in his 1897 painting Mrs. George Swinton (Fig. 1).

Sargent was intensely cultured – an avid traveler fluent in French, Italian and German – and would frequently visit Venice. This is where he met Lady Helen Vincent, in 1903, a year before her portrait was painted. Lady Helen who’s described as “one of the beauties of the age, and a woman of a rare charm and distinction” was a British socialite and wife of financier and diplomat Sir Edgar Vincent (Ormond, Kilmurray 42). She was also a member of “the Souls”, a salon of intellectual politicians, writers, scientists, and artists, among others. As a trained nurse anaesthetist, Lady Helen would go on to treat thousands of patients during WWI (Wikipedia).

Lady Helen’s official portrait was not the first time under Sargent’s gaze. Many preliminary charcoal sketches were also created (Fig. 2). In their book John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes (1898-1913), authors Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray provide some insight into Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D’Abernon:

“There had been a plan for Sargent to paint portraits of Lady Helen Vincent and her sister, Lady Cynthia Graham. Sargent’s magnificent portrait of Lady Helen Vincent was painted in the Palazzo Giustiniani on the Grand Canal, where she had an apartment. In the portrait, she is shown standing beside a column fingering her pearls, with a vivid glimpse of the Grand Canal through the balustrade at bottom left.” (43)

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925). Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D’Abernon, 1904. Oil on canvas; 158.8 x 108 cm (62 1/2 x 42 1/2 in). Birmingham: Birmingham Museum of Art, 1984.121. Source: Birmingham Museum of Art

Painted by Sargent (age 48) in 1904, Lady Helen (37) is seen wearing a highly elegant black satin evening gown, consistent with the Edwardian era (Fig. 3). Susan Brown, editor of Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style outlines the period, often referred to as “La Belle Epoque” or “The Jazz Age”:

“Ladies of the Edwardian era (1901-10), whether young or old, bared their décolletage and upper arms when wearing evening dresses, but encased their lowers arms in long evening gloves. Sumptuous fabrics such as silk satin, damask, and chiffon, usually in light, soft colors, were decorated with lace, rhinestones, and, spangles, often highlighting a part of the body or the face.” (232)

There are two main factors that are reflective of this period – Lady Helen’s low décolletage and her cinched, pigeon-breasted torso, which was achieved by new corsetry introduced in 1900. “The new design had a straight busk, began lower down on the bosom, which it released, and extended more deeply over the hips,” writes Elizabeth Ewing, author of the book History of Twentieth Century Fashion. Ewing also states:

“This corset forced the bosom forward and thrust the hips back, thereby producing what became known as the ‘kangaroo stance’ as well as the ‘S’ line. The fashionable shape therefore consisted of a large, overhanging bust, augmented, if nature was sparing.” (9)

Sometimes called the “health” corset, advertisements promoted this new corsetry as more practical and better for one’s internal organs (Fig. 4), a claim we now know is untrue. As early as 1899, American women were advocating against corsets by forming the “Good Health Club” and arguing that these tight, constricting corsets were causing women to faint in public (Dorsey 103).

Comparison to Madame X

Sargent’s Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D’Abernon has been praised and celebrated by many, but the painting often evokes another emotion, something indescribable, and similar to the feeling one experiences when first viewing Sargent’s most controversial painting – Madame X.

In 1884, when Sargent unveiled Portrait de Mme ***  (Fig. 9) at the Paris Salon, it was met with immense curiosity and criticism. The subject, Madame Pierre Gautreau, was a well-known and absolutely stunning American living in Paris. In the portrait, the only thing that covers her ghostly-white skin, is a solid black and strikingly revealing gown. The public reception to the painting was so harsh that Sargent relocated from Paris to London that same year (Ormond, Kilmurray 101).

The events following this scandal provide context to Sargent’s later design choices, particularly Lady Helen Vincent, which was painted two decades after Portrait of Madame X. In Interpreting Sargent, author Elizabeth Prettejohn provides more insight into Madame X:

Diagram of referenced dress features.
Source: Author