Relationships and personal life John Singer Sargent

rosina, 1878, depicting rosina ferrara



man standing, hands on head in metropolitan museum of art, ca. 1890–1910

sargent lifelong bachelor wide circle of friends. biographers once portrayed him staid , reticent. recent scholarship has suggested private, complex , passionate man homosexual identity shaped art. view based on friends , associations; overall alluring remoteness of portraits; way works challenge 19th-century notions of gender difference; erotic , ignored male nudes; , sensitive , erotic male portraits, including of thomas e. mckeller, bartholomy maganosco, olimpio fusco, , of handsome aristocratic artist albert de belleroche, hung in chelsea dining room. sargent had long , intense romantic friendship belleroche, whom met in 1882, , later went on marry: surviving drawing hints sargent may have used him model madame x.

it has been suggested sargent s reputation in 1890s painter of jews may have been due empathy with, , complicit enjoyment of mutual social otherness. 1 such client, betty wertheimer, wrote when in venice sargent interested in venetian gondoliers . painter jacques-Émile blanche, 1 of sitters, said after sargent s death sex life notorious in paris, , in venice, positively scandalous. frenzied bugger. truth of may never established.

there many friendships women: has been suggested sitters rosina ferrara, amélie gautreau, , judith gautier may have tipped infatuation. young man, sargent courted time louise burkhardt, model lady rose.

sargent s friends , supporters included henry james, isabella stewart gardner (who commissioned , purchased works sargent, , sought advice on other acquisitions), edward vii, , paul césar helleu. associations included prince edmond de polignac , count robert de montesquiou. other artists sargent associated dennis miller bunker, james carroll beckwith, edwin austin abbey , john elliott (who worked on boston public library murals), francis david millet , claude monet, whom sargent painted. between 1905 , 1914, sargent s frequent traveling companions married artist couple wilfrid de glehn , jane emmet de glehn. trio spend summers in france, spain or italy , 3 depict 1 in paintings during travels.