John Singer Sargent’s ability to reveal the individuality and personalities of his sitters, illustrated in this commissioned portrait of Sarah Choate Sears, made him one of the leading portrait painters of his time.
Mrs. Joshua Montgomery Sears showcases Sargent’s superb handling of paint. Loose, bold brushstrokes accentuate the fabric folds of the skirt and reveal the crispness of fabric. Highlights in lavender and pink add to the shimmering richness of the material. Although originally thought to be posed in her wedding dress, Mrs. Sears is most likely wearing the latest in Victorian fashion. Sargent painted visual cues to indicate Mrs. Sears’s wealth and position. Her relaxed, casual pose indicates her high social status through her position as a lady of leisure. The artist also portrays Mrs. Sears as a study of whites. Though today considered a symbol of purity, at the time white was seen as a sign of wealth. Mrs. Sears holds a bouquet of pink peonies—flowers believed to be symbolic of prosperity and happy marriage.
The dark, almost indistinguishable background with the chiefly white foreground focuses the viewer’s attention on Mrs. Sears and the gracefulness of her persona. The figure intently gazes almost beyond the viewer in a tranquil pose, with her head lightly propped by two fingers. The tension created from the combination of her alert pose and twisted upper body with the relaxed position of her lower body provides an example of how Sargent captured, as one critic wrote, “the nervous tension of the age.”
Rendered in the Grand manner style of painting, a term used to describe paintings that incorporated visual metaphors that suggested noble qualities, Mrs. Sears is depicted life-sized and in surroundings that convey her aristocratic status. Taking into account that Mrs. Sears was a member of the Boston Brahmins, a very prominent class of cultural society in New England, the portrait reflects the affluence and refinement of the American Gilded Age. Although considered an American artist due to his nationality, Sargent spent most of his life in Europe. A truly international figure—living in Paris, London, and Italy—Sargent painted, socialized, and held close friendships with the elite of these societies. Such connections allowed him to provide firsthand accounts of the elegance, opulence, and constraints of Victorian society in his works.
