Oil on canvas
Circa 1900
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)
Inscribed stretcher 'Study of Man's head by my brother J.S. Sargent R.A.'
Dimensions: 24 x 17 3/4 in. (61 x 45.1 cm.)
Dimensions, framed: 31 x 24 x 3 in. (86.4 x 81 x 7.6 cm.)
Provenance: Violet Garrard; Dorothy Barnard; Gifted to the Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK; Sold in 1962 (with) Spanierman Gallery, New York
Literature: R. Ormond and E. Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1900-1907: The Complete Paintings, Volume VII, New Haven, Connecticut, 2012, p. 39 no. 1169, illustrated

This study by Sargent is a pursuit towards excellence through academic and methodical practice. The sitter is believed to be Nicola d’Inverno, Sargent’s manservant and model. One can see that the artist is working to create life through the elements, specifically in the layers and folds of fabric along the sitter’s kerchief.

The painting measures 24 x 17 3/4 inches and is inscribed on the stretcher “Study of Man’s head by my brother J.S. Sargent R.A.” It is included in the catalogue raisonné titled,John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1900-1907: The Complete Paintings, Volume VII, by R. Ormond and E. Kilmurray.

Lined. Under UV: 2x3x2 inch repaired ‘U’ shape tear in upper left; ½ inch repaired vertical tear 3 inches from left edge in upper left; Significant restoration and inpainting in upper center above sitter measuring 2x3x4 inches, along outline of figure’s head; along sitter’s left cheek; Various strokes of retouch along right and left sides and throughout background; Isolated strokes of retouch in white pigments; along sitter’s left neck and chin, sitter’s right eyebrow and left eye; retouch visible throughout to address vertical craquelure; Nail sized repaired loss to canvas in lower left; 1 inch tear in sitter’s right shoulder where white cloth makes a right angle; Florescence visible in sitter’s right ear.

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy in 1856. As a child he often traveled with his family throughout Europe gathering influences. In 1870 he began at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence then later in 1874 was accepted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, soon diverted to study in the atelier of Carolus Duran. Sargent was influenced by other portrait artists like Velasquez, James Whistler, and Edgar Degas. His most notable work, “Portrait of Mme X," was painted in 1884, his last year spent living in Paris. Throughout the remainder of his life, Sargent traveled between London and the US creating society portraits for notable figures. In 1998 the Tate Gallery in London held a retrospective of Sargent's portraits.