Mrs
Ralph Curtis
(Lisa de Wolfe
Colt)
John Singer
Sargent -- American
painter
1898
Cleveland
Museum of Art,
Ohio
Oil on canvas
Size?
Jpg: Friend of
the JSS Gallery / The
Athenaeum
From: Friend of
the JSS Gallery
There is another
painting by Sargent
that I did not see on your site. I'm not sure if it is listed
anywhere
on the web, but I thought you might like to see it. It has been
on
exhibition in the Cleveland Museum of Art since it was acquired in
1998.
It is not a well-known piece because it hasn't left the Palazzo Barbaro
since it was painted in 1898.
The Curtises lived and
owned part of
the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice. Ralph Curtis was, of course,
John's
close friend (their fathers were cousins). He traveled with John on
some
of his early trips and was with him during the Madame X showing
(1884).
This is a stunning
painting of his
friend's wife. This possibly was painted in a studio in Venice or it
could
have been painted in the Palazzo itself because of the obvious curtain
backdrop. When Sargent painted at the sitter's house, you generally see
the surrounding room and furnishings. It was not his habit to paint
fictitious
backdrops.
 Clearly
this harks back to John painting of Madame X. The lone standing figure
with exposed shoulders leaning on a round table. Ralph had been very
close
to John during that whole episode at the Salon and the blow-up with
Madame
Gautreau and her mother. It is no accident that we see
similarities
here between the two paintings. The bond these two friends had was very
close, and Ralph must have adored the Madame X painting and wanted the
same stunning theme for his wife; or is it that John and Ralph's wife
secretly
plotted a surprise pose for her husband. I don't know the answer to
how,
where, and why this painting came about, but I like to believe it was
the
latter of the two.
In any event, it
clearly works, and
what we're left with today is a protraite of a very beautiful woman and
a personal symbolic reference to their close friendship.
Note
Exhibitions
Gondola
Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle, 2004
Sargent
and Italy, 2002-2003
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