'Sargent and Paris' Review: At the Met, a Painter's Brilliant Beginnings
An exhibition featuring his scandalous portrait 'Madame X' highlights John Singer Sargent's early mastery as an expat artist in the City of Light.

New York

He was only 18 years old in 1874, when he moved with his American expatriate family from Florence to Paris, intent on becoming an artist. It didn't take long. By 1882, he was John Singer Sargent, "the most-talked about painter" in the most important nexus of the Western art world, as one critic wrote at the time.

Self-portrait, 1886

That was even before he painted "Madame X" (1883-84), the striking portrait of a glamorous American woman striving to rise in Parisian society. With her low-cut black dress, a dangling strap baring her shoulder, artificial alabaster complexion, and arrogant profile, Virginie Gautreau came across as vain and morally questionable, and the painting—admired by some, mocked by others—became the succès de scandale of the 1884 Salon.

"Sargent and Paris," on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Aug. 3, aims to explore his development before and just after "Madame X," which remains his most famous painting. Astonishingly, the exhibition really shows his brilliance almost from the outset. Before turning 30, Sargent (1856-1925) had created many of his most extraordinary paintings.

Dr. Pozzi

In the first galleries of the exhibition, which includes about 90 artworks and was curated by the Met's Stephanie L. Herdrich and by Caroline Corbeau-Parsons and Paul Perrin of the Musée d'Orsay, where it will open next fall, Sargent is shown to spend his early years in the studio, in the countryside, and on travels to Spain, Morocco, Italy and the Netherlands. Nurturing his immense talent, he set about learning from Velázquez, Manet, Hals and others—playing with light, space and brushstrokes. He soon landed his first work in the state-sponsored Salon: "Portrait of Frances Sherborne Ridley Watts" (1877), a dynamic if conventional painting.

The flow from his easel in the following years was masterly. "In the Luxembourg Gardens" (1879), an elegant, atmospheric work, depicts a couple on an evening stroll. "Capri Girl on a Rooftop" (1878) displays an exuberant energy. The sun-drenched "Staircase in Capri" (1878) is a concerto of light, shadow and angles.

Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron

As Sargent progressed, he grew more ambitious. Consecutive galleries showcase his brilliant, unconventional portraits. "Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron (Portraits de M. E. P... . et de Mlle L. P.)," dated 1880, focuses on the centrally placed young girl, dressed in a frilly, white-on-white ensemble, a contrast with her tightly wound demeanor—and unlike the usual saccharine portraits of children.

The spectacularly sensuous "Dr. Pozzi at Home" (1881), a full-length portrait of this handsome gynecologist, clad in a ruffled scarlet dressing gown and embroidered slippers, is set against a blood-red velvet curtain. It recalls the papal and princely portraits that Sargent would have admired in Italy, but has greater vigor and more than a scintilla of eroticism.

Madame X

"The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (1882) merits its own gallery, save for Sargent's copy of Velázquez's "Las Meninas," his inspiration. The four young girls, in crisp white pinafores, are spread around the room in the picture, disconnected from one another, strangely dominated by two outsize porcelain vases. Shadowy empty space occupies half the canvas, creating an ambiguous portrayal of family relationships.

In 1883 Sargent painted his first commission from high society, "Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd White (Mrs. Henry White)." Statuesque in a shimmering white satin gown with frills and folds, a translucent sleeve and a train, she stands before a gilt chaise longue, a fan and opera glasses in her hands. So many textures! (Need I mention that every one of these works is beautifully painted—with dash and aplomb that scream of his talent?)

Another view of Madame Gautreau

"Madame X" looms in sight, but first—in a canny call—viewers pass through a gallery of six portraits of "Parisiennes," also in black gowns, by artists including Sargent's early teacher Carolus-Duran and Manet. If you have never fathomed the Madame X controversy, you should now: They illustrate the respectably elegant way women were supposed to appear at the time.

Sargent wanted "Madame X" to be different; he wanted the attention. Despite the uproar, he refused to remove the painting from the Salon. Later, though, he repainted the errant strap in its proper place, creating the image viewers see now. (If you wonder why Dr. Pozzi never ignited a scandal, it's partly because Sargent never exhibited the work in Paris. It had its debut at London's Royal Academy in 1882 and was shown in Brussels in 1884, but caused no stir.)

In the Luxembourg Gardens

Though dispirited by the scandal, Sargent was undeterred. He soon went to London to fulfill commissions, but returned to Paris and placed several works in the 1885 Salon. Then, in 1886, he left Paris permanently (except for visits), departing for London and thriving as a painter of society portraits—there and abroad.

"Sargent and Paris" ends on a quieter note, with paintings from 1884 and the following few years. Two stand out, however. The powerful "La Carmencita" (c. 1890), which captures a flamenco dancer in a flamboyant yellow costume, with red lips and pronounced eyebrows, shows that Sargent was not finished making waves. A few critics disparaged it, but the French state purchased it in 1892, when it was first shown in Paris.

Then there is "Self-Portrait" (1886). A small oval headshot painted on his arrival in London, it reminds exhibition-goers that he was just 30; many masterly works would follow. With new insight into his electrifying beginnings, visitors will likely come away seeing Sargent in an even more favorable light.