1880 (ca.), John Singer Sargent, A Parisian Beggar Girl -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: This enigmatic painting occupies a special place in Sargent's oeuvre, linking themes that preoccupied him during this early period and across his career. As a nearly monochromatic study of pale drapery, it recalls aesthetic white-on-white sketches made in North Africa that led to his major exhibition picture Fumée d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris), shown nearby, while echoing bravura renderings of lush textiles found in his portraits. His ostensibly spontaneous sketch romanticizes poverty, turning the figure into a "type," likely created as a studio exercise. The inscription to Sargent's friend, Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt, suggests it was a gift, thus situating the painting in Sargent's artistic circle in Paris.
1880 (ca.), John Singer Sargent, A Parisian Beggar Girl -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: This enigmatic painting occupies a special place in Sargent's oeuvre, linking themes that preoccupied him during this early period and across his career. As a nearly monochromatic study of pale drapery, it recalls aesthetic white-on-white sketches made in North Africa that led to his major exhibition picture Fumée d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris), shown nearby, while echoing bravura renderings of lush textiles found in his portraits. His ostensibly spontaneous sketch romanticizes poverty, turning the figure into a "type," likely created as a studio exercise. The inscription to Sargent's friend, Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt, suggests it was a gift, thus situating the painting in Sargent's artistic circle in Paris.