1883 (ca.), John Singer Sargent, Albert de Belleroche -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: Welsh painter and lithographer Albert de Belleroche (1864-1944) was a student of Carolus-Duran several years after Sargent. The pair first met at an annual dinner hosted by their teacher for his students in the early 1880s. They became lifelong friends, and their surviving correspondence reveals a deep intimacy. Sargent made many sketches of his friend, whose chiseled features, angular jaw, and hooded eyes represented a type of beauty he found appealing. Belleroche recalled that Sargent intended to portray him as a heroic figure holding a sword. Instead, he depicted him wearing a Renaissance-style tunic, evoking a past era in subject, spirit, and technique. Sargent's images of Belleroche have fueled speculation that their relationship was romantic, though Sargent was extremely private about his personal life and left no overt evidence of any liaisons.
1883 (ca.), John Singer Sargent, Albert de Belleroche -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: Welsh painter and lithographer Albert de Belleroche (1864-1944) was a student of Carolus-Duran several years after Sargent. The pair first met at an annual dinner hosted by their teacher for his students in the early 1880s. They became lifelong friends, and their surviving correspondence reveals a deep intimacy. Sargent made many sketches of his friend, whose chiseled features, angular jaw, and hooded eyes represented a type of beauty he found appealing. Belleroche recalled that Sargent intended to portray him as a heroic figure holding a sword. Instead, he depicted him wearing a Renaissance-style tunic, evoking a past era in subject, spirit, and technique. Sargent's images of Belleroche have fueled speculation that their relationship was romantic, though Sargent was extremely private about his personal life and left no overt evidence of any liaisons.