John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent lived a life so scandalous that he had to leave London after doing "Portrait of Madame X."  Bisexual, prone to diddling Venetian gondoiers and the male domestic help, erratic, and temperamental, he fit a lot of observers' concept of what the "artistic type" should be.

Sketching men sprawled across beds was something of a specialty with Mr. Sargent.

I can't remember if this is the valet or one of those gondoliers.

When he wasn't busy in the bedroom, he could do this.

I'll leave you with a self portrait.

 

1900-ish, Part 2 - John Singer Sargent's Nude Italian Art

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was an American artist who spent most of his life in Europe doing portraits of the rich, famous, and infamous.  A gay man prone to occasional flings with "interesting" women, his life would easily fill today's tabloids, and our Friday art feature is all his.  This photograph shows a bit of the reticence that he could quickly abandon when it suited him.

 

Figure Study

Most of John Singer Sargent's nude male work is made up of drawings and sketches of men he picked up in Italy or Italians he met elsewhere.  (He literally drew some of them in bed after sex.)  Most of these characters came and went, but one, Nicola d'Inverno ended up as Sargent's valet for years in London.  Nicola's job description had to be quite interesting.

 

All over the place

This sketchbook page is literally all over the place in the best possible way.

 

Derriere

Since he was described as someone who "buggered his way through half the gondoliers of Venice," we might expect John Singer Sargent to be able to draw a derriere.  I'm not disappointed.

 

Color

There's not much of a money shot in this one, but Sargent's 

use of color and the male form are both excellent.

 

1900 Again, Part 2 - John Singer Sargent's Art

John Singer Sargent was a gay late 19th C. painter best known for his stylish portraits of socialites and celebrities.  In his spare time he did a number of male nudes that will draw our interest today.

 

I wish I knew the story behind this John Singer Sargent painting of a nude man sprawled on a 

cluttered stairway.  He called it "Study of a Nude Man Reclining" and never exhibited it.

 

This looks like it might literally have been a page out of Sargent's sketch book,

but I'm not sure they even used sketch books around 1900.

 

I did several searches looking for the title of this Sargent painting, but came up empty.

 

Even Sargent's unfinished work is of high quality.

 

This is the most realistic of John Singer Sargent's male nudes,

and the model for it was Thomas McKellar.

 

John Singer Sargent was fond of taking Venetian gondoliers

as lovers, and this model is thought to be one.

 

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925, self portrait above) was an American artist who spent most of his life in Europe where he first gained notice as a portraitist to the wealthy.  Generally considered to be homosexual, he only partially kept his private life private, with an episode in Venice having been described by fellow artist Jacque-Emile Blanche as Sargent “buggering a succession of gondoliers.”  Hmmm … sounds like our kind of guy.  Anyway, today's art posts consist of Sargent's charcoal drawings of Italian men, some of whom were probably among those gondoliers.   

This is Nicola D'Inverno, Sargent's valet who frequently modeled for him.  Nicola was Italian born, but it is unknown how Sargent met him.  Was he one of those gondoliers Sargent picked up in Venice?  Was he also Sargent's lover?  He worked for and lived with Sargent for 24 years and even posed as a woman for one painting.  Hard to imagine them not being sexually involved.

Sensuality is the key concept in this Sargent drawing of an unknown model.

The look on the man's face a great combination or yearning and enjoyment.

Mario Mancini posed for this John Singer Sargent drawing.

The collection of nude studies from which all of today's Sargent works come was mostly charcoal on paper.  I know it's a well known method, but the depth and quality of this one amazes me.

This beautiful reclining man displays a sensuality that Sargent mostly kept out of his successful oil portrait business.  As with all of today's models, this one is presumed to be Italian, likely a gondolier.