Goal
- Study Sargent's confident, "bravura" brushwork and how it creates a sense of life and movement.
- Learn how Sargent used light, pose, and composition to tell us about his subjects.
John Singer Sargent (Gallery 232, Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Gallery)
The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, John Singer Sargent, 1882, oil on canvas — MFA's most famous Sargent, with an unusual composition spreading the four sisters across a very large, mostly empty canvas
Only this piece is confirmed by name on MFA's gallery page — ask a docent or check the room labels for 1-2 other Sargent portraits on view that day, since the gallery rotates additional works.
Discussion
Why do you think Sargent placed the girls so far apart in such a large, dark room instead of grouping them together?
Activity
Pose and compose — in pairs, one student poses like a figure in a Sargent portrait while the other decides where they'd "place" them on an imaginary large canvas, and why.
At-home project
Take a portrait photo or draw a family member/pet, but instead of centering them, place them off to one side like Sargent did with the Boit sisters — leave "empty" space and think about why.
Sources
Source: John Singer Sargent · MFA Boston