Mrs.
John J. Chapman
(Elizabeth
"Bessie" Winthrop
Chanler)
John Singer
Sargent -- American
painter
1893
The National
Museum of American
Art.
Smithsonian
Institution,
Washington, D.C.
Oil on canvas
125.4 x 102.9
cm (49 3/8 x 40 1/2 in)
Gift of Chanler A. Chapman
1980.71
Jpg: Carol
Gerten's
/ americanart.si.edu
(Click image to Step
Closer)
Bessie Chanler’s
inner strength comes
clearly through Sargent's portrait of this feminine, yet resilient
woman.
Although bred into a wealthy established American family, her life was
not free of tragedy. She shouldered much of the responsibility for her
seven younger siblings after her mother's early death; and after
developing
a decease of the hip herself at the age of 13, she spent two years of
her
life strapped to a board to prevent curvature of the spine. Still,
Bessie
traveled widely in Asia and Europe and would eventually marry John J.
Chapman,
a friend of the family (plaque from the
Smithsonian).
Parallels between
Sargent’s own family
and Bessie are strong. Sargent’s sister Emily suffered from deformity
of
the spine at an early age as a result of a diving accident; and she,
like
Bessie, took on much of the responsibility of the family domestic life
from Sargent’s mother who was always suffering from one ailment or
another
as they were growing up and traveling throughout Europe.
Sargent’s
admiration for this spirited
woman is most evident both in this painting and his observations to
others.
She was, in effect, the type of woman Sargent admired most and reported
to have said that Bessie had the face of the Madonna and the eyes of a
child (Smithsonian).
Note
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